New York Hotel Phnom Penh

... of the events), a few educated Cambodian people with hard hard hardline communist politics start a "revolution", gain control ("liberate") of the country by manipulating/brainwashing uneducated peasants, and then immediately close the borders, send the then-advanced society/country back to the stone ages (no property, no monetary system, no books, etc...) and wage a holocaust against their own people by creating a no-technology version, but disturbingly ...

... and killing by the Kamuchea Democratic party. It bore harrowing and grizzly sights that gripped your heart so tight you could feel it in your chest. They took the old structure used for either rope climbing or swings and turned it into a torture and interrogation machine. The would string people up with their hands tie behind their back until they lost consciousness, then they would dip them in a barrel of filthy water to bring them back to a living hell. There were pictures in ...

... br>&#8211; at a stand frequented by tuk tuk drivers. Tuk Tuks are taxis via<br>motorbikes. The driver is on a motorbike and attached is a covered<br>carriage where the passengers sit. After eating we grab a tuk tuk<br>driver who was eating near us and head 14 kilometers out of town to<br>Choeung Ek &#8211; otherwise known as the Killing Fields. Choeung Ek is<br>one of a number of areas in Cambodia where mass executions occurred. <br>They have uncovered about 20 mass graves there ...

We had been two months traveling, moving from place to place, catching planes and trains and overnight buses, signing in and out of guesthouses and hostels, trapesing to museums and galleries, eating out too often and too much, and drinking local beers a little more...<br><br>The time had come to plant some roots and absorb more of a place, to meet some locals and step back, for a break, from the heavy trodden tourist trail. Phonm Penh seemed just the place. We had visited the Killing ...

... and with Aly on Skype and who do we see but the guys we met for a few drinks in Siem Reap. So we end up getting a few beers with them before kipping.<br><br>08/09 - Today, I did what I hate most, shopping. However its at the markets, and this I quite enjoy. Starting at the russian market (where all the factory rejects for A&amp;F (Aly explained the names for me) end up being sold dirt cheap) where the fish part of the market was interesting but rather rank as they ...

... and then had a look around the prison. It was eerie and you could still see the stain on the some of the cells. In another part there was the pictures of the victims (the Khmer Rouge logged everything) and you could also see some of the torture implements used. It was a really depressing place but not as emotional as our visit to Auschwitz a few years ago. In saying that We are glad we went as we learned a little more of ...

... us and made us choose this place over another with a pool closer to the night life and tourist sites.<br><br>Thankfully we made the right decision! The boutique hotel is absolutely beautiful - a quiet oasis hidden from the hustle and bustle of city life and noisy motorbikes. Tucked behind an iron gate covered by a bamboo wall, lies a calm, peaceful and welcoming garden. Lush trees offer shade from ...

... for the next few days. He is also consistently constantly high and drives the oldest tuk tuk on the planet.<br>We spent one day with him as our guide seeing all the temples angkor has to offer, and I can confirm that they are amazing. Both beautiful and very interesting. The second day was not feeling very cultural. So we bought a bag full of 8% stout called black panther and sat on the grass beside the wonderful view of angkor wat and got plastered with a ...

... with vanilla ice-cream. Now it was nice but it was in-fact crumble and I don&#8217;t know how high on the list it will be - I think after Zorbas in Cyprus but not up with the German Bakery in Jaisalmer ! Not a good show Cambodia!!! Ha ha<br>********************************* *************************************** **************************************< br>After sorting out our laundry we went back up to the room and we are now sat on the balcony watching life on the river in front of ...