Mysteres & Mekong Phnom Penh Lodge

... you were on agreed that you could tag along and he would help fund us accommodation you can't really make any exceptions.

So we are here in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It's very different from any of the other big cities we have been in. A lot more laid back and a lot less traffic. However trying to cross the road is still a bit of a risk with ...

... joking to one another and telling stories. One of the men spoke good english, he was a pilot for cambodian airlines. He asked about my and my travels and I took interest when he told me about Cambodia. After working up a sweat with the older guys I ended up agreeing to send a postcard to one of them (he works for the Cambodian foreign affairs office and his friends work with the Cambodian Olympic committee (my connections ...

... and the kids. Some of these beggars are professionals and they have much more money than the average hard-working citizens. They run a scam and pay off the cops to keep their game going. The kids themselves are forced by their parents to beg, some of these parents are heavy gamblers and neglect their own children. If we give or feed these kids, we encourage them to stay on the streets. He suggested that we give to orphanages instead, to help truly needy ...

... to say the least.

The Stupa is a major tourist attraction and with that comes children and deformed people begging for money, naked children carrying naked babies on their hips, and gangs of street children running around begging for anything anyone will give them. It’s always tough to see, and it’s hard not to give them anything. It’s taught not to give money, bc it just keeps them on the street longer as it pays their owner or parents and gives ...

... when I had to call the PC and explain what had happened.
Maan came home shortly after and didn't seem to pick up on my frustration over the whole ordeal. But soon we were laughing about it in the way that two people who hardly understand each other do, all smiles and many understanding nods of the head. She kindly rubbed my back saying com pye, don't be nervous, referring to the teenage boys around the house, a kind thing to say yet perhaps she didn ...

... therefore the chamber cannot be sealed. It was quite a day and we were tired after reading so much information and trying to comprehend the horrors.
Back at the hostel the promised spray and bed bug extermination had not happened to we left and got a room in another bug-free hostel!

Next day, after the awfulness of the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng we were off the visit the other side of Cambodia - the Royal Palace. It was a totally serene and beautiful sanctuary ...

... up to Wat Phnom where, to be honest there is'nt much to see and the best things were the monkeys playing about (this in the middle of a busy roundabout). Returning to the hotel and after a quick power nap (tiring, this travelling business!) we watched 'The Killing Fields'- a film about the Khmer Rouge in the hotel.
The next day we get up rather late and take a Tuk-tuk into town. We end up at the Grand Palace, where we find out its closed 12 until 2 (this being ...

... s and Mac software.

• No one, not even Mr. Sun Mao, was able to ...
  Phnom Penh, Cambodia awfullook

... and clothing such as hung up T-shirts. Indeed, it was difficult to find an adequate space, and equally difficult walking through without stepping over some of the clutter displayed on the ground. It wasn't quite as organized as the night market in Luang Prabang but more interesting because it wasn't.
I made my way back to the hotel and Johannes got up to have some breakfast in the restaurant area:
'I slept in, like a log. It must have been the ...

... have booked a hotel, the confirmation hasnt come through yet so fingers crossed. Last chance - we tried to get a flight to PHU QUOC but all fully boooked so we looked through the LP and RG and planned the alternative route, we think we can get a bus from HCMC to Rach Gia late in the evening and travel overnight getting the early morning ferry from RACH GIA to PHU QUOC. That means we dont need the hotel room so how shady do we feel :(