Town View 2 Hotel Phnom Penh

... the jungle and that was the end of the torture but many Cambodians went in search of loved ones and the harvest was neglected and so a famine ensued where many more died. Its such a brutal but recent history that I found it hard to grasp that this all happened 5-6 years before we were born. It was such an interesting and moving day. From there we moved onto the Russian Market which was indoor and reminded me of the souqs in Dubai as the
passageways between the stalls were so tight and ...

We set our alarm for 8:15am this morning, one of the earliest mornings we've had in a while. I know, pathetic, but after waking up at 5 or 6am every day in Africa we’re making the most of being able to sleep in.

This day however we had arranged for a Tuk Tuk driver to take us to the Killing Fields (Choeung Ek) and then to the Tuol Sleng Museum. We ordered breakfast at our hotel and I had a "banana" pancake with honey. It tasted ...

... which was transformed into a prison/holding cell. People were taken and held here before they went to the killing fields. Innocent people were made to confess to crimes they did not commit, or admit they were related to criminals or ' criminals ', just so they can be taken to the killing fields.
You could tell it was once as school because of the layout of the buildings and rooms, the blackboards in classrooms and the climbing ...

... Ek. S-21 is like a horror movie. They have left it as is - metal bed frames and instruments of torture beside them. Like all good genocidal maniacs - the Khmer Rouge took before and after photos of all of their victims - it is sick.

Although it is shocking, it is also gratifying to realise that despite this atrocity - the ...

Ken Svey is a resort area with food markets about 45 minutes outside Phnom Penh, although traffic problems can easily extend that to 1 1/2 hours. The road is shocking and very crowded but we had Mr Rich as our tuk-tuk driver taking good care of us. The usual set-up of gazebos over the water surround the lake and you can pay to laze in a boat or go fishing if you want to. The lovely Soriya and I ...

... caught a tuk tuk to the lakeside area of backpackers, looked around some grotty hostels and chose the best of the bunch to stay. The massive lake in the city has been bought out by some rich property developers and they somehow managed to get permission of the bent Cambodian government to fill it and build houses on it. Kicking out all the people that live around the edge, fish and all the houses ...

... king sized beds, there was more than enough room to spare, and it even had a balcony. What on earth was I meant to do with all this space?! I had to go downstairs just to check the price again, for what I was getting, it was cheap even by Cambodian standards.

As I was so far out of town and on limited time, I decided to hire a tuk tuk to take me around all the main sights of Phnom Penh. My senses were assaulted with smells and sights. People constantly ask you for money in some ...

... were in the process of collapse, with the back legs half gone, and the people sat there were angled at about a hundred and twenty degrees, staring at the ceiling. A few windows were missing and the interior was filthy. Maybe that's why a lot of passengers opted to sit on the roof.

But the passengers were very friendly and we soon on smiling acquaintance with quite a few of them. In fact, we seemed to be a prime source of their entertainment and, at one point, I counted ...