Paradise Hotel Phnom Penh

... the country forward &#8211; something the west has seemed to have forgotten and perhaps, for a change, we should take a leaf out of their book. <br><br>Enough of the history lesson&#8230;<br><br>We started out in Siam Reap to visit the country&#8217;s pride and joy, Angkor Wat (built between 900-1100 AD). The plan was for us to get up at 5am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat&#8230;that didn&#8217;t happen due to the typhoon passing through and a monumental argument ...

... get ahead in life. It's interesting how someone local sees the problem and its resolution completely differently than a tourist's perception.<br><br>Last visit of the day was to the Royal Palace... stunning and opulent are good words to use; shameful would be a better word to describe how unconscious (or uncaring) this royal family is to have such a palace, when the country is continually begging for external aid. It's way too extravagant for such a ...

... I think she's one of the rare people that can find humour in such a stressful situation, or at least after a long bucket shower with a lot of soap). We wore our traditional Khmer outfits that made me feel like a Khmer Barbie-doll, a blouse made of lace and silk complete with sewed-in cups that looked a bit too pointy, and an ankle-length silk skirt called a sampot hole, literally a skirt that flows. Now these can be pretty expensive for Kampuchea standards ...

... rush, rush, rush! No time for a shower and anyway when ever I used it the power kept flicking off, run downstairs with 1/3rd of Indochina on my back to find that my pick-up has picked up and left without me &#8211; no issue, get on a moto &#8211; &#8220;Follow that pickup!!!&#8221;<br><br>On the bus finally for Poi Pet and I of course feel *****, but I am lucky to have those blue pills again for a relaxing 14 hour bus journey to Bangkok&#8230;. That 5 hours in on the way ...

... Bangkok, the buildings and layout are practically mirror images. <br><br> As in Siem Reap, you don't have to cover your shoulders but you do have to take your shoes off to enter. There were quite a few buildings that are closed to the public though it's still definitely worth checking out. I loved seeing all the jeweled ornaments and Buddha statues on display. The Silver Pagoda was beautiful even if the majority of it was covered up. <br><br>Killing Fields of Choeung Ek ...

... to see the weird big guy who&#8217;s scared of the little spider. When the driver came back I was first on. I could hear the children flattering the other passengers as they returned to the bus, hoping this might persuade them to buy something, when this failed the young girl with the spider tried a different approach. She called the man sitting nearest to the door, told him he looked like a monkey and asked him if he would now like to buy some ...

... from the 80's shell suits ect...but there were a couple of absolute stunner's on my flight i think it is love!!!!!<br>Anyway Bangkok was good stayed with family got fed and washed and was generally good place to recharge batteries for a day! <br>Flew to PP got a moto (sit on back of motorbike and he takes you were ever you want to go to in theory!) It turns out my driver did not know the hostel i wanted to go to so ended up giving him directions from my lonely planet map, only ...

Before long it was time to say a (somewhat) fond farewell to Vietnam and cross the border to Cambodia. I'd opted for the bus journey to save on time and to keep up with Harriet, who had to be out of the country by 10th June. She assured me this was for visa reasons, and not because she was being pursued by the authorities.<br><br>Phnom Penh is a sprawling modern city, albeit scattered with old Asia charm. Tourism has clearly taken off here, with tuk tuk drivers ...

... the globe began to happen rapidly in some sort of inverse &#8216;domino theory&#8217;, Cambodia included. The Vietnamese left, and Cambodia was again &#8216;open for business.&#8217; But wounds take longer to heal than political stalemates, and the scars still showed. Eye contact was difficult in a country that had attempted suicide. The Khmer Rouge were Khmer killing other Khmers, after all. The best and brightest were long gone, either to other countries or shallow graves, all ...

... Looking down into the pits one can see tattered polyester clothing (the cotton has long since rotted) jutting from the soil. In addition, fragments of bone litter the place or are stacked against trees. In the centre of this now-peaceful spot a towering pagoda has been built to houses the skulls of some 8,000 victims, which can be seen behind glass screens. Of the 129 mass graves, 43 have been left untouched.<br><br>We next went to Tuol Sleng prison or S21 ...