From Vietnam to Cambodia

For the last night in Vietnam enjoyed a lovely evening meal in the Market place. Ignore what the tour managers tell you about not eating off the stalls, we had a great meal. Four dollars for mixed rice and beers for two, bargain, and the food was delicious. What was also enjoyable was that we sat on a table with two local lads, Doe and Wyn, who could not speak English and we not a word of Vietnamese (we are shameful as English travellers) but we still managed to communicate and shared dishes and had a lovely evening.

Only two of us on the tour are interested in mixing with the locals and eating local, and I think it is a real shame. They have missed out on the unique opportunity to mix with the locals whilst enjoying great food. After a great meal, we were on a mission to see just how cheap you can eat here well.

So I said farewell to Vietnam after a fantastic experience and arrive late in the afternoon in Phnom Penh. Our flight was so late that i did not have time to get to the Killing Fields which was a huge disappointment so will need to go to a smaller version in Siem Reap.

First impressions are that Cambodia is very different to Vietnam. You still see the same busy streets, but the roads are quieter and there is a more stark contrast Between rich and poor. As we only have one night here, we knew we needed to go out and have a good look around. We took a tuc tuc to the night Market and the atmosphere is amazing. It's so vibrant and noisy with a live band playing in the centre of the market stalls. Behind the stage is the food quarters where you can sit on rugs and enjoy an evening meal. We opted for the small plastic tables and chairs. We were given a basket by the waiter and told to pick what we wanted to eat, we chose lots, most of which we had no idea what it was and it was cooked for us with another plate of noodles and vegetables. Total meal one dollar and absolutely gorgeous. We paid for drinks separate and had sugar cane flavoured with coconut for 25cents each. We met up with two other single girls travelling and ate together. Everyone was so lovely, and the locals very friendly. What a brilliant night. When we walked back to the hotel, the streets are full of western restaurants mixed with more conventional local restaurants. I would advise everyone though to go to the local Market restaurant. Amazing experience.









Today we did the city tour of Phnom Penh. In the morning we visited the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Cambodia is influenced by India a lot and it reminds me very much of Sri Lanka. The Palace complex is stunning and we got to see the throne room, old costumes and even elephant boxes (that royalty sits on on top of the elephants). We also visited the museum of Cambodia, it's is fascinating that it is only in recent years excavations have been undertaken and found so many historical facts and artifacts.

















After lunch was our visit to Toul Sleng Museum, known also as S21. The genocide museum. This complex was a school that was used by the Khmer Rouge to torture and kill a third of the population between 1975 and 1978 in order to try and active a class less society. Anyone not a farmer or manual worker were subject to the regime, including teachers, bankers, lawyers. The complex is now open and you are free to walk around the buildings and cells. There are pictures showing the in mates on arrival, their haunting stare in the pictures is moving. There are other pictures showing the torture that these people were subjected to but what is really eerie is actually walking around the buildings and the cells. There is an awful feeling of despair and the you get a real sense of how awful this place was. It's dark, gloomy, the cells are scorching hot and shackles and chains are bulky into the concrete.


























It is hard to imagine that this happened only a few years ago and during my life time. Atrocities like this are only meant to have happened a long time ago in history. I just cannot comprehend the killing of a third of the nation. Only 7 of the 17,000 prisoners survived! You cannot come to Cambodia and not visit this museum . It is so important in understanding the history of this nation and will amaze you as to how lovely and welcoming they are despite these atrocities.


This evening we took the flight to Siem Reap or the final leg of the tour. A wander around the town this evening , again, very vibrant. The Cambodians have a wonderful sense of humour, are extremely friendly and welcoming and there is no feeling of intimidation whilst walk around just watch the roads, the bikes will not swerve around you so easily like they will in Vietnam. But they have more cars here, Lexus, land rovers, hummers, and they have built fantastic buildings here for the universities and hospitals etc. You can see this country is quickly recovering form it's past. It's just absolutely beautiful here. I am loving every minute.

There are a lot of street beggars though especially children and people disabled from land mines.

Tomorrow, the day is finally here and my dream of seeing the Angkor Wat is here!


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