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Articles Tagged ‘Cambodia’

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Back to Phnom Penh – Changing Nationalities

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

Up early to start the journey back to Phnom Penh.

Unfortunately it was not possible to get a coach all the way through to our next destination so an overnight stop at the Lakeside guesthouse (where we stayed before) was in order.

The journey began with a seven person ride in a taxi with the driver laughing at us.

For the rest of this post, please go here.

Sihanoukville – Paradise for Pestering

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

Sihanoukville has some of the best beaches in Cambodia. I’ve obviously been spoiled by Malaysian and Thai beaches because i was unimpressed.

The beach was a thin strip of white sand, so narrow in places that the legs of the beach loungers were washed by the waves. Curving round for some miles it was lined with small rustic cafes and restaurants, dotted with grass umbrellas and bounded by Casuarina trees. If i had come straight from England my reaction would have been different, but even then i would stop short of calling it beautiful.

My first morning was spent eating breakfast on the beach accompanied by a troop of kids swarming around me trying to sell the bangles all the way up their arms.

One in particular continued to pester me when the others realised my wallet was staying closed. His name was Tha, a friendly enough boy who insisted on drawing pictures in my journal including an imaginative map of the world. “This is Cambodia, below is Germany” he would say in a teacherly, pedagogical tone as he drew. Scotland came next, to the west of Germany, and below that lay the United States, and so on and so forth.

Sihanoukville is a demanding place to holiday; lying on a beach can be an exhausting test of endurance. Relaxing on a sun lounger dozing off is an invitation for women offering massages to stroke your arm or back without warning and who interpret “No thankyou” as “Possibly in the future”

“You help me yeah?”

“No thankyou”

“Later yeah?”

“No thankyou”

“Tomorrow yeah?”

“No thankyou!”

If it wasn’t massage women it was amputee beggars, blind singers led by obedient guide dogs, or (still more) children with fruit balanced on their heads.

If you desire relaxation and rest, Sihanoukville is a place full of frustration. Even if you take it as it comes, the place can try the patience of a monk. Since entering Cambodia I had been eyeing up a multi-use, checked, red and white scarf so popular with the locals. I purchased one off of a young women patrolling the beach. Immediately Tha came up to me asking why i had not bought from him. I explained i had no idea he sold them; he had never offered any to me. This failed to satisfy him and he irritatingly asked that i never asked him if he had any. Apologies failed to satisfy him. “You don’t like me”, “You think my drawings are crap”, “You wish me dead”(!).

While i was apparently casting a death wish, a young child was reading the last rites to Louis who refused to buy her produce – “I hope you get eaten by a shark and a dolphin eat you too.” How lovely. Wal Mart has greeters, Cambodia has shamers.

For the rest of this post, please go HERE.

Sihanoukville – Sucks?

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
A beach retreat is not the first thing that springs to mind with the mention of Cambodia; a country famous for its temples and infamous for its terror. Most tourists beat a well worn path between Phnom Penh and Siam ... [Continue reading this entry]

Siam Reap to Sihanoukville – Spider and a side of fries please

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007
"Sir, you buy?" a woman asked with a plate of food balanced on her head. An audible "Eeek!" escaped my lips. I don't recall ever making this noise when confronted by a women selling food, except perhaps in McDonalds. But ... [Continue reading this entry]

Siam Reap – Angkor Wat

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Please note: There will be no Angkor What jokes in this post. Sad i know, but i really do have a '100 things to do before i die' list (remember Tara and Amelia?) This year has seen me tick off a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Phnom Penh – Bon Om Tuk Water Fetival

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
After visiting S-21 in the morning, Phnom Penh delighted us in the evening as the country celebrated Bon Om Tuk - the water festival. Bon Om Tuk is one of the largest events in Cambodia and marks the end of the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Phnom Penh – “the place where people went in, but never came out”

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007
Another day in Phnom Penh, and another chance to explore the dark recesses of the human psyche. Security Prison 21, also known as Tuol Sleng (an apt name that translates as Hill of the Poisonous Trees) was a complex that nearby ... [Continue reading this entry]

Phnom Penh – Field of Death

Monday, January 29th, 2007
PHNOM PENH - "TO KEEP YOU IS NO BENEFIT, TO DESTROY YOU IS NO LOSS" ============================================= It is impossible to visit Cambodia and begin to understand or get a feel for the country, its history, present, and people without visiting the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Phnom Penh – Bling, Grand Palace Style

Monday, January 29th, 2007
Sightseeing with a group of people can be stressful. Thankfully we were all in agreement - we would take it easy, give the national museum a miss and concentrate our day on the Cambodian Grand Palace and Silver Pagoda; the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Phnom Penh – Lakeside after light

Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
Our first destination in Cambodia was the capital, Phnom Penh. Every backpacker you meet pronounces the name differently: 1) Penom Pen 2) Fnom Pen 3) Nom Pen 4) Fnom Fen (?) The locals pronounce the name similar to number one but with the stress ... [Continue reading this entry]