It was such relief crossing into Cambodia; the atmosphere instantly changed and we were bawled over by the broad grins and waving children. Fifteen mintues in, at a stopover canteen, the waiter took pity on our plin rice order (new country, new attempt at budgeting) and to our delight arrived with a complimentary dish of greens. Wouldn't happen in vietnam.
With it's saffron robed monks, wats adn wide sweeping boulevards, Phnom Penh felt like returning home. After checking into 'okay' guesthouse- it was indeed mediocre. We soon aqcuainted ourselves with a local moto driver who became a friendly face and companion around the city. Big up Call. First stop Harres guest house for an impromptu visit. To our delight he was home and we eventually located him and D was reunited with her ipod (Thanks mum! Kudos for the technological aptitude) We spent the evening catching up with beers, cards and pool lessons with Call and H.
The next day, in search of a more authentic breakfast, Call took us to a local market where we tried a mix of pastries and a coconut based porridge. We then took in PP's sights. A central Wat and the Russian Market- a hot smelly (hello Durian) notoriously over priced market. intrigued byt he smoking baskets, it was here that Call introduced us to a Cambodian delicacy of steamed snails with chilli and lemon grass.
Next on our our whistlestop tour was Siem Reap, major tourist destination and home to Angkor Wat. At our lively hostel, we made friends with a dutch girl and set about coordinating a 3 day temple tour- the main aim of which was to avoided the dreaded templed out syndrome. That evening we went to the temple to view the sunset over Angkor Wat, along with apparently every L.P and Rough Guide reader. Only during the ushering out process did any of us actually locate Angkor Wat- shamefully dissgracing ourselves as we loudly prolaimed...'Oh theeeere it is'.
arriving back to 'okay' in PP, Rs insistence on ignoring doctors advice took its toll and found herslef bedridden, held hostage by a resident mosquito, watching awful 80s movies. As R was delivered a stack of toast by a concerned hostel staff, D, off duty from her fantastic nursing, met up with Steffy and got to know PP a little better. unfortunatly this included unwittingly being bought breakfast by a self confessed murderer, whown as keen to improve his karma. no joke, aftre accidentally running a thai man over he reasoned rather than pay his hospital fee he may as well reverse and finish the job...needless to say the buffets' abundance fo yummies didnt quite sit so well. spent the day revelling in some shopping and happy houring in a posh rooftop bar. Continueing on the food front, with Rs new found intolerance to asian food, we indulged in our first stint of western food - heavenly bagels in an airconned arty cafe and mexican food.
As R slowly recovered we immersed oursleves in the culture PP had to offer; Call endlessly carting us about between geneceide museum and killing fields, filling us in on Cambodias khmer rouge past and presnt through his personal stories.
The following two days Call took us to a orphanage on the outskirts of PP; we were pleasantly surprised to find a really nice environment, complete with volleyball net, basetball hoops and a recently donated play area. aftre playing with the kids we soon found ourselves conducting an english class, coming up with alphabet games and trying to discipline them - we were soon in awe of the resident teacher a fellow traveller and volunteer.
Exhausting the cultural exploits PP had to offer (art galleries, documentary screenings etc) and tiring of the city, it was time to hit the road again!
the orphanage
The next day, in search of a more authentic breakfast, Call took us to a local market where we tried a mix of pastries and a coconut based porridge. We then took in PP's sights. A central Wat and the Russian Market- a hot smelly (hello Durian) notoriously over priced market. intrigued byt he smoking baskets, it was here that Call introduced us to a Cambodian delicacy of steamed snails with chilli and lemon grass.
En route to Angkor Wat, leavin PP unexplored for our return visit, we decided it was high time we got off the beaten track - something we sorely missed in Vietnam. unfortunately the notoriously bad transport links meant timewise we had to abandon the adventurous East, so heading West, we spontaneously hopped off the bus early in Kampong Chnang. Stepping off into a random dusty town, we suddenly realised we really had no clue what this place was or indeed if there was anywhere to stay. After reassuring a local policemen that yes we had meant to stop here and no we werent going to Battambang, we congratulated ourselves on being rather intimidatingly off the tourist trail. Our now epic miming skills proved fruitful and two amused moto drivers took us to we're pretty sure KC's only guesthouse. Passing through, to our delight we saw gangs of children, horse drawn carts and bemused faces. Keen to continue our adventure, we battled the searing sun and on push bikes headed, somewhat blindly to a floating village we'd got wind of. After accidentally starting a bidding was between two boat drivers, we precariously made our way accross thin wooden walkways- of course effortlessly manoevered by the locals- and were navigated through a shanty like community of floating brightly coloured huts. Though mostly one room, true to Asia, most were complete with Satellite TV and ghetto blasters. Twenty minutes in, under the concern of the local ladies, totally baffled by our lack of headgear- never had a Vietnamese hat seemed so appealing, We dashed back, feeling a little sun stroked.
After recooperation in the shade and lunch in a local canteen we spent the afternoon cycling around the town, stopping in a little roadside coffee shack. Our enthusiasm for getting off the beaten track waned a little thanks to the lack of any type of cooling device plus unsafe ice and warm drinks rendered us incredible hot and sweaty despite the fact it was 6 pm. It wasn't as though there wasn't any electricity- the ubiquitos cambodian music videos were blaring (we can now singalong...1,2,3,4 ...uno dos tres QUOTROOOO) reverting to classic overheated behavoir, we guzzled fizzy drinks by the gallon and munched our way through crackers and crisps. Despite resolving that we couldnt possible eat again, we found ourselves back in the canteen, braving the unlit streets on our bikes by 7pm. Sitting down, Shock horror, we set eyes on another Barang, turns out he hadn't quite made it to Battambang after underestimating Cambodia's roads and overestimating his biking skills. The next morning after insisting on sorting the bus tickets out ourselves direct from the bus station (normally a good idea) we found ourselves stuck at the staion for 3 hours, under the unfaltering gazes of the now increasing crowd of Cambodians. Whilst trying to order our optimistic takeaway breakfast, 3 American aidworkers came to our resuce,providing a translator who secured us an omelette in a takeaway box. After learning a little more about their projects we set off to see whether we could wrangle a seat on an earlier bus...no such luck.
it is with pride that we recall our arrival at battambang, with super speady efficiency, we secured our cheapest accomodationi Cambodia and within minutes were on the back of a moto and headed for 2 local sites. firstly a quaint bamboo train whihc hurtled through an area of countryside unchartered by road, squeeling as calfs and squirels jumped off the tracks just in the knick of time..
after this we embarked on a hike up to a beautiful monastry now infamous for its caves used as a killing site and mass grave during the khmer rouge. As you descended inot the caves thousands of unidentified skills were earily displayed an experience made all the more haunting by the tales from our guide and his family. These stories struck a chord and sparked an interest in the period and its cuurent implications.
Next on our our whistlestop tour was Siem Reap, major tourist destination and home to Angkor Wat. At our lively hostel, we made friends with a dutch girl and set about coordinating a 3 day temple tour- the main aim of which was to avoided the dreaded templed out syndrome. That evening we went to the temple to view the sunset over Angkor Wat, along with apparently every L.P and Rough Guide reader. Only during the ushering out process did any of us actually locate Angkor Wat- shamefully dissgracing ourselves as we loudly prolaimed...'Oh theeeere it is'.
That eve had a low key evening on the rooftop bar in anticipations of the 5 am start to catch the much acclaimed sunrise over Ankgor Wat. The morning didn't take off to a promising start when awakened by our Tuk Tuk driver we realized we'd slept thought the alarm and consequerntly missed the unusaully early sunrise. further grumbling was brought about by the realisation D had lost her memory card. Adding insult to injury aftre feverishly stumbling around Angkor Wat, R had to return home somewhat placated by the fact that she hadnt chundered all over one of the nine wonders of the world, levaing D and Steffie to continue the tomb raiding alone. With Rs steadily rising temperature and Ds terror after the overzealous travel nurses diagnosis of malaria, we set off (driiven by a malarial tuk tuk driver) unwittingly to SRs most expensive medical facility. Met with uber aircon the effect of paracetamol finally becoming evident typically R perked up whilst D tried to make up for the extorionate medical pill by pilfering vast quantities of the complimentary tea. Doused up on large quantities of antibiotics and painkillers R ignored the doctors advice and we continued with pahse two - our evening temple programme with a 4th member in tow. met with such a beautiful site we couldnt understand the hype about yesterdays must see. the four of us hit the streets of SR; whist strolling throught the night market found oursleves at a cinematic viewing of a doco covering the rise of the khmer rouge regime. sunrise attempt number two was much more successfula and whiule D had a lazy breakfast and relaxed at angkor wat, R and Greg retraced the path of yestrdays missed temples.
arriving back to 'okay' in PP, Rs insistence on ignoring doctors advice took its toll and found herslef bedridden, held hostage by a resident mosquito, watching awful 80s movies. As R was delivered a stack of toast by a concerned hostel staff, D, off duty from her fantastic nursing, met up with Steffy and got to know PP a little better. unfortunatly this included unwittingly being bought breakfast by a self confessed murderer, whown as keen to improve his karma. no joke, aftre accidentally running a thai man over he reasoned rather than pay his hospital fee he may as well reverse and finish the job...needless to say the buffets' abundance fo yummies didnt quite sit so well. spent the day revelling in some shopping and happy houring in a posh rooftop bar. Continueing on the food front, with Rs new found intolerance to asian food, we indulged in our first stint of western food - heavenly bagels in an airconned arty cafe and mexican food.
As R slowly recovered we immersed oursleves in the culture PP had to offer; Call endlessly carting us about between geneceide museum and killing fields, filling us in on Cambodias khmer rouge past and presnt through his personal stories.
The following two days Call took us to a orphanage on the outskirts of PP; we were pleasantly surprised to find a really nice environment, complete with volleyball net, basetball hoops and a recently donated play area. aftre playing with the kids we soon found ourselves conducting an english class, coming up with alphabet games and trying to discipline them - we were soon in awe of the resident teacher a fellow traveller and volunteer.
Exhausting the cultural exploits PP had to offer (art galleries, documentary screenings etc) and tiring of the city, it was time to hit the road again!
the orphanage
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