Back from Cambodia.....

For many years PP has been the SE Asian Capital of Sleaze. That said, there is a wealth of history, often poignant, in the capital city and the countryside as a whole. It's a shame you were put off by typical Asian grubbiness. At least you are safe and well!

Where next?

Dave

Where did you end up staying in Siem Reap and how did you like the temples?

I was pleasantly surprised by PP and actually enjoyed it. The river front was nice especially the foodstalls with all the families out in the evenings..... I had invisioned a far worse scene in my mind .

As far as seedy it is unfortunate that trafficing goes on in so many places, try Thailand. There is plenty of women and child trafficing here in the US and other western countries. It's hard to believe that slavery is still with us and the numbers would probably be shocking.

Stayed at an old graceful budget hotel that goes by the name of Koh Ker, 10 mins walk to the main happening of this beautiful city. I was so taken with Siem Reap that I wouldn't have minded staying for a few more days to unwind.

Love Angkor Wat but found it particularly gruelling to do the minor tour in a day. I would have like to stretch it to a week instead of trying to see as much as possible in a day. Love the tuk tuk rides. I found the tuk tuk owners a more pleasant bunch to deal with than their counter parts in Phuket. All in all, a most enjoyable stay at Siem Reap.

We stopped at another budget guesthouse which is located opposite the museum, close to the palace and just a block from the promenade in Phenom Penh. I was shocked at the prices demanded for accommodation in Phenom Penh especially after the bargain basement prices in Siem Reap. Most of the guesthouses in this area were rundown with broken pavements and rubbish littering the streets. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the loos. Less smelly and less squat toilets than those found in Malaysia. Pretty civilised of Cambodia to have clean public loos.

My travelling companions love markets and are also food and coffee devotees so most of our time are spent checking out markets, sussing out local culinary delights and local outlets that served great coffee.

I didn't visit the Killing field as I found it too gruesome.

Lee52 --
Did you read up on the history of Cambodia before your visit? That country is still recovering from the terrible, murderous regime of Pot Pol and his thugs. The Khmer Rouge eliminated cash, and schools, and banks, and industry, etc., etc., and tried to make farmers of ALL Cambodians, mercilessly killing between one and two million people. I believe that the country is now making progress. Maybe in the future the bad elements that resulted from their oppressive history will continue to diminish and, hopefully, poverty and trafficking will decrease.
SanchoPanza

Hi Sancho

Yes, I am familiar with the history of Pol Pot and his oppressive regime, how he nearly destroyed this beautiful country with his ambition. Makes you wonder how such gentle people could turned on each other and committed such cruelty to their own kind!

According to my travelling companions who have visited Cambodia for the fifth time, they certainly noticed how fast the cities of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are progressing. However, the country is way behind Malaysia, I would say almost 40 - 50 years behind Malaysia in terms of infrastructure but there is hope. One would hope that in their hurry to progress, the Cambodians do not take on some of the values of the west but that is inevitable I guess.

"One would hope that in their hurry to progress, the Cambodians do not take on some of the values of the west but that is inevitable I guess. " - Yep. Look at how far Thailand has plummeted in its demand for Western excess.

I was not keen to visit the killing fields but husband was so off we went. I was glad I did. It felt like I was honouring the dead. That we NEED to go there and walk quietly thorugh those fields, a witness to their lives.

If you get another chance some time, do go.

I was not keen to visit the killing fields but husband wanted to go so off we went.

Once there, I was glad I did. Walking quietly through those fields, stepping between the shards of bone, gazing on the skulls, it became a matter of honouring their lives, bearing witness to the immensity of the loss. It felt right.

Riding the tuk tuk out there we passed a young girl, in her school uniform. She was on her bike, flashing us the biggest smile as we passed each other. And I realized that she, on her way to school, would have been targeted. So when I saw the skulls of the thirteen year olds what I was looking at became very real.

I did a lot of reading about Cambodia and the Pol Pot era while I was there. It is hard to reconcile what you see in the apparently gentle nature of the people - the soft brown eyes and the ready smiles. But as one writer said, the evil that was beyond words came out of those same smiling faces. It was not an anomoly. It is part and parcel of the character of the people. And so the lesson to us all. That evil exists within us all and the unthinkable is always possible and must always be guarded against.

I found the culture, the history, the nature, the lifestyle and,most important, the people to be fascinating in Cambodia. I place it behind Laos but ahead of Vietnam in my Top Three SE Asian destinations. But I have yet to encounter Burma.

Dave