Mekong Cruise -Cambodia
Cambodia -Phnom Penh the capital is on the river unlike the other Cities we visited which were more inland As we came into Phnom Penh on Mekong Jewel what struck me was the bright lights making the city look quite modern . I am not sure what I was expecting maybe less sophisticated - We had a tuk tuk tour arranged to take us on a tour of the city arranged which was great fun there wasn't as much traffic in Cambodia like Vietnam There are lots of beautiful old French colonial buildings , the royal palace , and the national museum to explore. There is also a huge central market called ‘Russian Market’ which sold everything you could possibly need and the street food was very bush tucker trial with scorpion kebabs and meal worms ( no I didn’t try them) I did buy some baggy trousers to wear on my excursions which were a steal at $2 and a godsend as the weather was very hot and humid and this was perfect attire The city was beautifully laid out with gardens and a few statues here and there contrasted with the old French Colonial buildings We had a cocktail in the elephant bar at Raffles Hotel The next day things became a bit more serious we visited the Tuoi Sieng Genocide Museum ( S-21) the history of Cambodia is quite dark – if you aren’t familiar watch the movie the ‘Killing Fields’ which occurred between 1975-1979 when a teacher Pol Pot became the leader of the Khmer Rouge and though it was a great idea to massacre anyone who was educated. S21 was originally a school – but became a place of execution and torture during Pol Pots reign of terror out of 1000’s held here only 7 survived and I met one of the survivors and bought the book about his ordeal during this time he was a ‘mechanic’ so considered useful . Our guide ‘Chan’ was 9 years old when this occurred and told us of his own personal experience and how he was educated in a Thai Refugee camp afterwards . The museum is very chilling but a place of reflection and a place to remember those who died with names and pictures on the walls
We then visited Choeung Ek ‘the killing fields’ which is attached to the school . This use to be an orchard and now a burial ground with more than 8000 skulls found buried here there are 120 communal graves of which 49 have been left intact. It is quite sobering walking around and I didnt take many photos out of respect but what I did see was the most stunning butterfly in the gardens - this to me shows that even in an awful place of massacre beauty is emerging and life continues - as the Cambodian people get on with life and show no remorse they are pretty incredible
On the cruise we visited a school in Angkor Ban a small town of old wooden houses and temples. The buildings are quite old here and one of the few places not destroyed by the Khmer rouge We were really lucky to be able to visit a local school and interact in their english lesson one of the hi-lights of the trip. My student was such a sweetie and was tearing through the reading books with such a thirst for knowledge .The school visit was really emotional as they were so enthusiastic in their studies -this is their way in to getting a job by speaking good English . We also had the opportunity to go inside a traditional home in the village too . The homes are built on stilts for when the river floods and inside is def lacking ‘stuff’ just cooking pots and essentials We then went on further down the river to Kampong Chan . To a monastery and had a water blessing at the 7century temple at Wat Hanchey there were 303 steps to get to the temple and take in the view ( or a bus if you didn’t fancy a walk we walked) There were some lovely views of the Mekong and countryside from the top so well worth the walk and it wasnt too taxing
I thought Cambodia was a lovely country with the most amazing smiley people and a place I would like to go back
Next stop Siem Reap - there is a separate blog for this!
