Round the World Trip 2011-2012: A week in Cambodia...

So I've been held to gun point to finally write another blog..... Not really, but I said I'd do it, so here goes Cambodia. Writing this from Hue, in central Viet Nam by the way!

We decided to make the long journey from Don Det in the 4 Thousand Islands to Siem Reap in Cambodia. So we booked our bus tickets all the way through to Siem Reap for $30 US. Due to leave at 8.00am in the morning, and arrive in Siem Reap at 9.30pm that night. We initially took the boat across the Mekong where we waited for an hour or so in a travel agent, before heading off to the Cambodian border. We'd heard all sorts of scams involving Cambodian borders so when the travel agent offered us to get our visas for $30 US and the official rate is supposed to be $20, we politely declined. So off we went through the border thinking we'd saved a bit of cash but little did we know we'd be giving money away left right and centre as we went. Stamped out of out Laos, with a $2 stamp fee, a $1 health check as we crossed no man's land (basically a lady pointing a thermometer gun at your head and then yelling at us 'you pay $1 now!!!'), $23 for the actual visa (above the official rate) and then $2 to put a stamp in it for a total of $28 which wasn't too bad considering we'd heard a few horror stories that sounded a lot worse. So now in Cambodia where we were directed to a restaurant. Here we sat for a couple of hours, waiting for other passengers who'd left Don Det two hours after us! We could have had a two hour longer sleep in! So eventually the bus got going and you could tell we were very late. A tyre blow out and numerous stops for food etc didn't really help things and eventually we arrived in Siem Reap at 3.30am, only about 6 hours late. After a few friendly negotiations with agressive tuk-tuk drivers telling us our guesthouse was shut, flooded and an expensive ride away, we eventually made it to bed at around 4.30am.

Sam in a flooded Siem Reap

After a bit of sleep in, the next morning we set off through a flooded Siem Reap centre to Pub Street where we were joined by loads of Aussies and Kiwi's watching the World Cup semi. Had a great time, despite the result and partied the night away in a flooded Pub St with our new mates, including a 4pm round of tequila's that set the mood for the rest of the evening. Sam ran into Pippa, (her mate from the UK) who was in Siem Reap with Paul and Grace whom we spent a lovely evening the following night catching up and eating some awesome Khmer food.

The party after the Rugby

Our third day in Siem Reap and decided to get up early and do a day tour to the temples of Angkor. We were lucky enough to have an awesome sunrise as it had mostly been cloudy/rainy as it was nearly the end of monsoon. Angkor Wat was absolute quality, as were the rest of the temples. Favourite was Ta Promh, the jungle temple which literally has a jungle growing inside the ruins.

Angkor Wat at sunrise

Me at the temple of Angkor

Me at Ta Promh

Sam at Ta Promh

Following our long day of templing, we decided to head down to the capital, Phnom Penh to get our Vietnamese visas and see the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the S-21 Tuol Sleng prison. We'd heard some not so nice things of the capital but we actually enjoyed it, despite the shocking history and things that we learnt and saw. We made a day trip out to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and S-21. At Choeung Ek, we listened to to an audioguide of some horrific stories of some of the victims of the Khymer Rouge, one of whom was killed because a guard accused a her of stealing two bananas. We then went to S-21 which was an old school that had been converted to a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime. There were shocking photographs of the thousands of prisoners who had been held there before being transported out to Choeung Ek. It was here we ran into our Irish mates from the slow boat, Jerry and Jill with which it was decided a beer was in order later that evening to cheer us up. Had another great night out and woke the next morning with a bit of a hangover. Went off to pick up our passports and visas, then straight on to a bus to Ho Chi Minh City in Viet Nam.....