Cambodia

I am not a natural blogger, finding it hard to get the motivation to jot stuff down (I am keeping a diary fairly religiously so memories won't be forgot).

Anyway Cambodia. I took a bus from Sigon with a chap called Eli. I had met him at the beginning of my Gap tour and we decided to head to Cambodia together. Eli quickly turned out to be a liability. He'd lost his card so couldn't get any money but didn't weem particulalry keen to fix this. Even when I offered to gt money out ofr him if his rent transfered some online to me he passed. the lack of money instantly became annoying. We got the cheapest bus to Phenom Phen, a $5 bribe got us quickly through the boarder (having to bride officals annoyed me, but it seems almost impossible to avoid) and the bus dropped us off 10km outside of town. It was ment to get us the whole way, but the roads were closed due to the water festival. I had given the poor conducter a hard time about this, thinking it was a scam, turns out police were stopping people, and they wanted more money than I was prepared to pay as a bribe to let us in. Cambodian government is corrupt to the core. We mannaged to get a tok tok with two american chaps into town, to the cheep backstreets which Eli had selected to stay at. We haddn't booked (I asked Eli to but he didn't) and low and behold the guesthouse was booked out. We ended up staying at this midrange but nice enough place. I was surprised at how willing the tok tok driver was to help us. In fact everyone was freindly and wanted to help. Turns out Cambodia is a freindly place, people love to chat and joke and are always happy to help, without expecting anything in return. I love Cambodian people.

Phenom Pehn was tainted by 2 things, firstly Eli and secondly the tradagy at teh water festival. The first day there we relocated to a $3 a night place (freindly staff by no lock on the door and only basic fans in a very hot room) and woundered into town. It was stifingly hot, the weather here is very humid and you find yourself sweating buckets within seconds. Eli insisted we walked to the river front, but after 30 minutes of walking about I accepted we were lost and paid for a tuk to take us. Turns out we had been walking in entirly the worng direction. We watched the baot races from the restaurnt we had lunch at. Eli used his credit card (he had a credit card but didn't know its pin) but didn't sign for it properly, instead he just initalled which cause a stir. In the afternoon we went to the S21 meuseum. Eli and I seperated as it took me longer to read the information points. When I came out he had gone, a tuk tuk driver told me 'your boyfreind left' I replyed 'he's certainly not my boyfreind, in fact I don't think he's my freind right now'. so pennyless (as I had spent my money on tuk tuks and lunch and couldnt find an atm) and armed only with the basic Lonaly planet guide i walked back to the hostel in the stinking heat. Predictibly I got lost, although many kind people on the street offered to help. by the time I got back I was fumming. Decidion made, I was ditching Eli. I did need to stay with him for that night so that we could share the costs of teh tuk tuk to the killing fields, plus it would be nice to have a companion on the bus. we didn't go out that night (guess what no money) but for this I should be greatful, nearly 400 people were killed in the celebrations as a mass panic occured on an overcroweded bridge. Cambodia has been in morning ever since. The killing fields the next day were eiry, we went early and were the only tourists there. the tradagy from the night before had shocked the normaly bustaling PP into silence. Later that day we left for Siem Reap.

Cambodia, a bit of recent history. Its hard to belive that only 30 years ago this seemingly happy nation were in the grips of genocide. 3 million people were killed in just 4 years. that was nearly half the population. area s21 was formally a school. pol pot decided to pergue Cambodia of all teaching, education, and percieved intellegance. He turned the school into a prison and tourcher chamber for anyone who was guilty of education, or was a potential threat (however small) to his dictatership. Between the years of 1975 and 1978 more than 17000 men woman and children were held and tourchered at s21 before being taken to the killing fields to be slughtered. only 7 survived (thanks to loanly planet aka the bible for information). Every victim was photo graphed and thier somber black and white portraits are kept on notice boards as a reminder. there are also photos of those who died from tourcher, dignity was even dinied at death. This is humanity at its worst. Its almost impossible to belive that everyday people are capable of such cruiltly, its amazing what the power of fear can make a person do. Whilst I was there i was lucky enough to hear one of the only survivers talk. He was a small humble elderly gentalman but his courage and forgivness made me feel small in his presence. He told us how he ws tourchered 3 times a day, for 2 hours each session. he showed us where they had broken his fingures and pulled of his nails, but he only spoke of forgivness. He said he would shake his gailers by the hand and forgive. I can't imagine being able to go through that experiance and still be able to forgive, its incredible. Its unlikely that he'll ever get to shake his gailers byt he hand, as most were arrested and tourchered to death by thier own kin, such was the crulty of the Khumer Rouge. The killing feilds were equally harrowing. prizoners and thier families (which they were forced to reveal after insesant tourcher) were taked here and bludgened to death and burried in mass graves. I think the thing that shocked me the most was that babies were killed by smashing them against a tree or throwing them in the air and spearing them with bayenets. Thier teath still remain at the foot of the tree. the Khumer rouge had brainwashed teenagers and made them monsters. If any of teh executinores rebelled they were killed horribly, 163 uniformed bodies lie in a headless grave. Brave soles who tried to stop the killing despite the personal risk. In this period, everyone was just trying to survive. I know my entry is a little morbid, but I think its important that people know what happened, to show how easy it is to insite genocide. This could happen anywhere, the people here are not monsters, they are just like us. This could happen to you.

OK so hard to come back from that topic into normality but here goes. The bus from PP to SR was 3 hours late, in part due to the tradgady of the previous night. Eli decided to take a sleeping pill as he couldn't afford to eat (I had shouted him the bus fair) and didn't want to be hungry. He spend several hours slipping onto my shoulder. grr. We arrived late in SR but were greated by freindly and helpful tuk tuk drivers so I soon found one to take me to my hostel (Eli was going to the $1 place, i was more than happy to part company with him. For the record he was a really nice guy, just a compleat liability). The Siem Reap hostel is amazing I love it. swimming pool, bar, wi fi, pool tables, tv rooms, air con and a freindly atmosphere - I was in heaven. it was pricey in Cambodia at $8 per night, but to be honest I didn't care. Time for some more flashpacking, the experiance in PP totally put me off counting the pennies.

Siem Reap is a cool but slightly strange place. Its an afluent bubble town, Westeners flock to SR to see the temples, so the town is full of markets restaurnts bars and Mr Fishs (fish foot massage/pedicure). The first day I jumped on a trip to see the mountain and water falls (a 2 hour drive out of town). Within 10 minutes of driving we were back out in the real cambodia, simple houses on stilts, simple hard working lives being lived out. I went with the hostel general manager and her freinds. they were a group of aussies and their enthusiasm was contagious. A proper lift for me as I was beginning to get travel weary. We saw the buddest monks prey for the victems of the PP tradgedy, it was very moving. We washed from the fertility linger (well actually I took photos, it seemed counter productive to wash considering I have invested a lot of time and energy in not being fertile). And swam with apprentice monks and locals in the water falls. brilliant. The next day I went to see the floating villages and petrofied forest. The village was amazing, built on stilts in the water. floating pig pens. It looked like something out of water world. The kids played in baskests, spinning them like teapots in the water. we took a canoe out into the forrest, the twisted trees in the black water were both eri and buetiful. our boatswomans kids were shy at first but soon came to play with me. I attract kids like a magnet, but I didn't mind as they were really sweet. And then I had the temple days. Ankor is just outside of Siem reap and is a huge complex of amazing temples. My favourites were Ta Prohm (the set of tomb raider) where huge trees tower over the acient ruiens, thier giant roots hug the stone walls. Preah Khan, which is in a similar state of disseray, but over time algy have changed the colour of the stone so that the ingravings are a beutiful mix of green, brown, grey and black. And finaly Bayon which is a temple made out of faces, truely spectacular. We had a magical experiance at Angkor Wat where the security garde snuck us in after sunset and we got to walk around the grounds all by ourselves at dusk. Really atmospheric, Laura Croft eat your heart out (though I don't think she would be using the light of her mobil phone to get up and down the stairs). I also made some freinds at Siem Reap hostel. We had one night of hedonistic fun getting drunk in the angkor What bar. I have good memories of the loas dance which got the whole street dancing. It was worth the illness the next day. I felt quiet homesick when I left the Siem Reap hostel. i think i might make a new entry for volenteering as I've waffeled in this one.