A New Day, A New Country

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  Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The motorbike ride in the morning was fantastic. I think all of us (okay maybe not all of us) wanted it to go on for longer. It did help that it was still early and traffic was light. Each driver grabbed a piece of luggage, stuffed it between his legs and then pulled one of us onto the back of the bike. My driver made me hold still while he strapped the helmet on and away we went. Once I got the hang of it, I managed to pull out my camera (look mom, no hands!) and start taking pictures of the others on their bikes. Vicky took pictures the entire time which makes it for a fun adventure. And then, all too soon it our harrowing ride (not really) was over and we were at the docks for our ferry - which proved to be surprisingly small, especially once it was filled with tourists from England and Germany. It may have been a slightly more pleasant four-hour ride if the German man had showered or washed his clothes sometime in the past week but really, who needs to wash?

The guide on the boat with us helped make the crossing into Cambodia extremely easy and as we stepped back onto the ferry with a new stamp in our passports, we were ready to go! Of course the entire ferry ride took almost five hours so we had a while before we really could go. Once we stepped off the ferry and locked our luggage up in the ferry company's office, we managed somehow to shake the crowd of taxi drivers and tuk-tuk drivers and settled down for lunch. The sign said the "Green Vespa" which sounds like it could be a fantastic welcome to Cambodian food. In fact I remembered seeing it in the guidebook so we walked in sat down - and proceeded to order British food since we had found ourselves in a British Pub. The good news is that it was a nice break from various types of fish and noodle bowls - although somehow I still ordered fish and chips which wasn't a complete departure. The happiest though was Katherine, who settled into a cottage pie and for the first time since we started our trip - she had a meal she could enjoy. I think she is the one who is the happiest with Cambodian food.

From the restaurant, we only had a few hours before our flight so we decided that since we were here we should be good global citizens and see the Killing Fields, rather than regret it later in life. The cab driver told us about the government and life in Cambodia as we first drove past the impressive Silver Palace, the French area and many government buildings. Then we drove through the poorer parts where more of the people live. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor in this country is wide. When we arrived at the Killing Fields, we picked up a guide who started describing the grounds to us. In front of the memorial filled with 17 levels of victim's skulls and clothes, he described how they were killed. From under the canopy of trees, he talked about how bones continue to be found. Pointing down there were a few teeth, clothing and splintered bones sticking out from under the dirt. "It rained here last night - there's always more bones that appear when it rains. Not everything has been excavated." His eyes were surprisingly emotionless as he explained what happened to his people - and the cruel acts that were committed by the same people.

On the way to the airport, our driver told us how the country is filled with people who have no family because so many were seperated during that time. It was a very hard thing to go through but in a different way than the war museum. The war museum in Vietnam had been emotionally difficult because of the conflict of being American and seeing it through the eyes of photographers from around the world in the country where it happened. We had a big part of it. The Killing Fields was just horrific in that there was no real reason - only human nature at its worst.

Brushing that off we were early to get to the airport and couldn't check in so we found ourselves sitting in the cafe/ Dairy Queen playing Yahtzee and waiting for turns to use the Internet. The flight itself to Siem Reap was short and happily uneventful. Siem Reap is our resting point for the next few days. We're all excited to see the legendary temples of Angkor Watt as well as just a day to relax and play for the first time in days. Oh, and not getting on a bicycle will be nice too (even though that part of the trip was fantastic if I may say so myself). :-) That's it for now - until next time, enjoy!

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Vicki preparing for our ride to the ferry.

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