Raw wounds of Cambodia's cool capital

On Thursday 4 August we said 'Goodbye Vietnam'. Though we had generally enjoyed our 10 days there, we considered it our least favourite country so far, probably due to the fact the people seemed borderline resentful of tourists and the service everywhere was poor or indifferent... it seemed to us that Vietnam was taking a short-term approach to tourism, focusing on making a quick buck at the expense of building goodwill.

Phnom Penh

So we were very much looking forward to the next unknown... Cambodia. Like Laos, a place of mysteries which we know little about, apart from the fact that its recent history is traumatic and bloody. Of course, we had all heard a bit about the atrocities committed by the Pol Pot / Khmer Rouge regime in the mid to late 1970s, and many of us had read, in the preceding weeks, an autobiography called 'First They Killed My Father' by Loung Ung. We were not too sure what to expect... embittered, suspicious people, undercurrents of tension, a city still very much in ruins?

Tuol Sleng prison, Phnom Penh

As the two of us strolled through Phnom Penh on Thursday afternoon, after the six-hour bus drive from Saigon, we found something completely different - a vibrant capital where friendly, optimistic locals spend their free time eating, drinking and socialising at lively food stalls lining the broad sidewalks. The attractive riverfront promenade and the green spaces around the Independence Monument are particularly vibey.

Even though the city boasts very little in the way of architectural beauty and has a dilapidated air about it, its atmosphere made it very attractive to us. As evening descended and the hum of motorbike traffic reached a crescendo, we picked our way among picnicking families and admired informal eateries where diners are shown to hammocks, not chairs. It seemed that the unique brand of Cambodian lust for life had not been snuffed out by the traumas of the recent past.