If you didn't already know, Cambodia has a very dark and disturbing history involving one of the biggest genocides on the planet. During 1975 - 1979 almost a third of their population (2 million) was executed by the Kmer Rouge in order to make a fresh start for Cambodia, killing all highly educated people, military, monks and anyone without hard labour skills. We have learnt about the history during our time here and found it very sad as well as interesting. All this tragedy aside, Cambodia has been one of our favourite spots on our trip.
SIEM REAP
We arrived in Siem Reap after a long and scam filled trip from Bangkok! We paid $13 for our ticket but then they tried to scam money out of us at every point possible! First was the Cambodian Visas that they told they would get for us if we gave them our passport and $46. Funny they weren't impressed when we insisted to go with them...and surprise the visa only cost about $33! Then they told us that there were no ATMs in Siem Reap, so we should get money out at the border and exchange it from $US (what the ATM gives you) into reil (Cambodian currency) at their exchange place...which gives the worst exchange in the country...and they get decent commission! Lucky we didn't fall for that either, as you can only really use $US and there are ATMs everywhere! Lastly they drop you at a guest house...which pays the bus company commission and there are a good 10 people there trying to force you to stay at their guesthouse! We got out of there too!
So... finally we were in Siem Reap, luckily unfazed by all the scams, and found a decent guesthouse with a Canadian couple we met! Siem Reap is a really cool town! It is created for the tourist, which people say ruins it... but after all, we are tourists and some restaurants and bars that cater to our weary bodies after 3 months travelling is always appreciated!
We went on a day trip to Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. It was an awesome site to see! We saw the Tomb Raider temple and a few others which were all very interesting! The day was a stinker and we were tired so a few temples was enough for us but for the enthusiasts you can buy a 3 day pass!!
With draft handles costing 60c and main meals for about $4, we spent most of the time in Siem Reap eating and drinking!... (that's not unusual!!) We really enjoyed our first Cambodian stop, but had to leave and decided to head to a place called Battambang...off the beaten track!
BATTAMBANG
Not much to tell! It's off the beaten track for a reason...there's nothing there! No where to eat decent food and nothing to see! We took a stroll through their local markets and checked out some traditional cuisine (spiders, insects, baby chickens, frogs, fertilised duck and chicken eggs). Sounds yummy hey! Spent a day relaxing, watching HBO and sleeping, and left the following day to head to the big smoke...Phnom Penh!
PHNOM PENH
It's Cambodia's capital and it was a fairly busy place!! Tuk tuks and scooters everywhere with beeping horns all day long. It wasn't as crazy as we had heard but definitely the busiest town in Cambodia. They have a very cool river side strip with restaurants galore and cheap beer which suited us just perfect. We jumped on one of their day tours which took us to the 'Killing Fields' and 'ex-prison S-21' which is now a museum and were both unbelievable to see. They took us to a shooting range and I (Jarrad) got to shoot a 22 handgun and a AK-47 rifle. Now that was crazy! A quick stop at the Russian Market for some DVD shopping and a wander around the grounds of the Royal Palace filled up the rest of the day. After a few days in Phnom Penh we headed for the coast to a town called Sihanoukville.
SIHANOUKVILLE
It's a pretty quiet chilled out town with plenty of Westerners that have set up camp here. Even though we had crappy weather the whole time, the beach is nice and there's plenty of coast line to see while cruising on a scooter. Once again there is cheap beer and heaps of food around so the bad weather just forces us to stay indoors and feast more. We relaxed most of our time here before heading across the border into Vietnam. Let the adventures continue......
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