Cambodia

We breezed through Cambodia faster than you can say Phnom Penh: our first destination. Teaming up with a couple of German girls we swam our way through the entourage of tuk tuk touts targeting us at the bus station and collectively regained our bearings. Eventually we decided on accommodation and shared a tuk tuk.

As my travel companion at the time, N, and I were both pushed for time we decided to get straight out and see Phnom Penh. Although neither of us were big museum fans, we both wanted to visit S-21 and Choeung Ek Killing Fields. The girls decided to join us too. 

S-21 is where the Cambodian captives were detained and a (false) confession extracted from them before they were moved to Choeung Ek. The prison was an ex-school, the classrooms had been turned into torture chambers and cells barely big enough for one person. It was a hollowing experience walking inside these spaces knowing what had happened there only thirty years previously. Portrait photographs of the victims lined the walls. It took a while afterwards for us to catch our breaths and regain our sense of humour.

That evening we wondered to Phnom Penh night market and stared at the vast array of delights. As I knew my travel companion cum time keeper and I would soon be going our separate ways I decided it was time to break the bank and shell out for a $1 watch.

Christmas Day! 

According to our tight schedules - N and I were leaving Phnom Penh at 2pm for Siem Reap so we were to visit Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre first thing. We arrived there before 9am while the air was still cool and quiet before the crowds descended. We accepted the offer of a 'by donation' guide at the ticket gate. Our guide was born in '56, the same year as my Dad. As such he was mid 20's when Pol Pot wrecked disaster on the Cambodian people and could give us a first hand account of the tragedies that took place. 

The shallow graves included the remnants of bones and teeth and we were shown the razor sharp leaves growing on the surrounding trees which were used to end the lives of thousands of innocent people. Emotions bubbled to the surface set to the soundtrack of young children laughing and playing in the school only twenty meters away.

Leaving Choeung Ek we had time before our bus so we joined the German couple to visit the Russian Market; although there was actually nothing Russian about it barring the name. N and I split up from the girls and arranged to meet at the entrance an hour later. After ten minutes we bumped into two pale, vegetarian faces that informed us t hey had just found the food course. I made a B-line straight for it but was dissapointed to find no crickets or edible creepy crawlies to gawp at. 

N and I bought $1 Christmas hats (everything in Cambodia costs $1) and stocked up on festive beers for the bus journey. In light of this we had paid extra for a bus with a toilet: which of course, was out of order!

Our typically slow bus ride landed us in Siem Reap about 10pm and we headed for the $1 a night dorm rooms outlined in the Yellow Bible (aka, the Lonely Planet). These consisted of a raised wooden platform with a mattresses under mosquito nets; perfect! As we only had time for one day at Angkor Wat we arranged a tuk tuk driver would pick us up at 4:30am for sunrise over the grand temple. By the time we had made Christmas phone calls back to family we only had three hours left to sleep and the music from the festivities kept us awake long after that. 

After a quick shower we clamboured in the back of the tuk tuk, dozing and dreaming of coffee. We got to Angkor Wat well before sunrise and readied ourselves for the infamous view. Even the Chinese guy next to us hawking up phlegm and rock concert decibels couldn't put a dampener on it. The sunrise was magnificent. 

We spent a few hours exploring the Tomb Raider temples. After the legendary Angkor Wat, my favourite was the tree temple:

Admittedly we did get a bit 'templed-out' and started to mess around stalking Japanese tourists! After lunch it was decided we were definitely long overdue a break so we had a nap by the lake and waited for the midday sun to pass. The rest of the afternoon was spent climbing to the top of every temple we could see and chatting to our driver. Then we drove to the final temple of the day for sunset. 

We teamed up with another Japanese tourist called Yoshi - a fashion designer from Tokyo - and his guide who showed us the back way up to the top of the temple. It was of course, full of tourists (not that we were contributing to this!) but we managed to find our own ledge by sliding down one of the temple walls; the grazes were worth it! Sunset was spectacular and after the last red glow faded beneath the Earth's horizon everyone applauded and cheered a standing ovation to the Universe. It was absolutely magical. Sun rise and set at Angkor Wat is a must see for every keen traveler.

In a bid to economise and save time we booked the night bus to Bangkok for 1am the same night. Exhausted from an epic day and a fraction of sleep, we bumbled around Siem Reap night market, had some food and waited around the hostel longing for the bus so we could sleep. I went down to take a shower but ended up talking to a veteran traveler - every hostel has one! - picking up the most interesting stories and travel tips until it was time for the bus. 

A reclining seat and a couple of Valium* later we were at the Thai Border.

* A prescription is not required for Valium in most parts of South East Asia!