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First impressions favourable..
Entry 21 of 34 | show all | print this entry |
Before I launch into my entry, a big apology for the lack of blog detail over the last three weeks- Vietnam has been a bit of a whirlwind! I will supply some detail of what we got up to in due course (promise!) but for now, on with Cambodia..
We arrived in Phnom Penh last night after a long day on the slow boat from Chau Doc, capping off a 3 day Mekong Delta tour. First impressions of the Cambodian Capital are very favourable- I might even go so far as to say it's my favourite SE Asian city so far: relatively little traffic, wide pavements that you can actually walk along (as opposed to the pavement serving as a motorbike park), touts and tuc tuc drivers who don't persist in pestering you when you say 'no', clean, friendly, nice atmosphere, great food ... all in all feels like an easy place to be!
We've spent today pottering around, taking in a few sights (the National Assembly, Liberation and Independence monuments, Sisowath Quay, Wat Phnom & Wat Ounalom..), treating ourselves to a massage at 'Seeing Hands' (where the massages are given by blind and partially sighted masseurs), and generally finding our feet. The highight of the day has been a visit to the National Museum- a beautifully ornate building (hybrid between French colonial and traditional Cambodian architecture) housing a stunning collection of Cambodian relics, art and sculpture covering Cambodian history from the 6th century to the present day. Many of the sculptures and bronzes have been recovered from Ankor Wat and its surrounds, and I find myself increaingly looking forward to reaching siem Reap.
Tomorrow promises to be quite a harrowing day as we're planning trips to both the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek (the site of the mass graves of >9000 victims of the 1975-79 genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge) and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. I've just finished reading 'The Gate' by Francois Bizot which has really opened my eyes the atrocities of Pol Pot's regime, and we're hoping to watch 'Killing Fields' back at the guesthouse tonight to really immerse ourselves in what we're about to see... a sombre evening ahead!
Where I stayed:
Tat Guesthouse
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