Cambodia Complete

Wow!

What an amazing three weeks! Cambodia has surpassed my expectations. When you talk to most backpackers they only plan on spending a week or so here.

I was actually planning to head Vietnam. I bought my plane ticket, got my 1 month visa and headed to the airport. When I arrived at 5am I went through security, or lack of, and tried to check in. The girl proceeded to inform my that my visa was 4 days early! I couldnt enter Vietnam for 4 days! What to do? I had to hitch-hike back to the travel agent who sold me the plane ticket and get my money refunded. After she charged me 15% for the refund I headed back to the airport. I begged the airline manager to let me sit in the cockpit with the pilot. For $150 american I was able to bribe my way onto the plane and head to Cambodia!

I started by flying from Vientiene, Laos into the Cambodian capital. I spent about four day in Phnom Penh hitting all the major sights. I start with the killing fields, then the following day I ventured into S-21 the prison where all the people were held. The killing fields themselves were all that emotional. It was hard to connect to anything. I only spent about an hour there. The prison itself was really, really hard. They had some pretty intense photos there. One picture depicted a guard throwing babies in the air and shooting them down. I was embarassed to be a human being.

Lonely Planet had a wonderful walking tour that I completed in a span of about 4 hours. The Imperial palace and royal musuem had some great photo ops.

From Phnom Penh I took the 5 hour bus ride down south to the beaches. The beaches arent near as beautiful as Thailand but they have a couple good differences that made up for it. Firstly each beach is lined with free beach chairs. Secondly there seemed to always be a nice wind blowing by. In Thailand you cant really sit on the beach all day because you arent very comfortable in the direct sun and on your towel. In assure you its very easy to lay on the beach for 8 hours at a time in Cambodia. I ended up staying for about 12 days.

From Shikanoukville I headed back up North to Phnom Penh before heading up to Siem Riep. Siem Riep is a cool little town that holds all the tourists visiting the nearby temples of Ankor. I bought the three day pass which includes a free sunset prior to the 3 purchased days. I started with the mighty Ankor Wat which wasnt a disapointment considering all the hype. Three more days were spent heading around the area hitting different eras and temple types. The furthest out I ventured to see temples was 32kms. Two hours on the back of a bike was hard but fun. Speeding past slower tuk-tuks(hybrid taxis) at 70km without a helmet on a gravel road can be a blast.

So what have a learned about Cambodia?

Culture: Cambodias seem really great. They are by far the poorest in Asia and seem to live life without any cares. They can be quite aggressive when it comes to selling something to a tourist but it is to be expected. With all the hardships in the past they seem to take each day for what it is, a new beginning.

Tourism: Pretty strong. With Siem Riep being so close to the Thai border you can expect lots of traffic. Most of the tourist here are Chinese, rich Bangkoker, and a mottle of backpackers. If they ever decide to refinish the road from Thailand to Cambodia I think more people will come.

Religion: Similiar to Laos in that there are temples everywhere but not in your face. Cambodians seem to be dedicated Buddists.

Food: Bland. Nothing special here considering Thailands curries, Vietnams Pho, and Indonesias fusions are so close.

Weather: Hot and dry. The wind was a surprise, a nice relief from the high 30's weather.

Thailand still tops the list as my Southeast Asian country fave, but you cannot deny Cambodias charm. Its in its own class and should be visited.

Well the next couple days are gonna be killer. I heading back to Thailand to visit the "Bridge on the River Kwai" and the tiger temple in kanchanaburi province. Once I do some shopping im flying out to Istanbul, Turkey. I only stay a couple days before I head down for a month long stint in Egypt!

Talk in a couple days!

D.

From Phnom Penh