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So at the moment it is day 7 - we are in a place called Silanoukville on the south coast of Cambodia. A beachy type reosrt however not quite up to my standards so found a private beach today! - no hassle by locals trying to sell things etc. haha.So a nice of day in the sun.
So starting from back in Siem Reap we went to Angkor Wat - one of the wonders of the world and then a cuple of temples including the one from tomb raider. A very peaceful place however very hot - 42 degrees.
The afternoon involved 15 very hot people going to the floating village which was a real eye opener. Very chocking to see - they live in such poverty and a great sadness in a way that it is a tourist attraction however it does bring in money for them.
The day after was a 7 hour bus trip to Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia. We continued to celebrate New YEar which is three days of partying and danced with the locals.
The following day was overwhelming. We visited the Genocide prison S21 where 17,000 prisoners were kept, tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge reign. It was a school prior to the prison. You could almost feel a definite presence and sadness of people. Unbelievable that it was only 40 years ago. This was followe dby the killing fields where the prisoners were taken and killed. They have excavated thousands of skeletons.
So after a lot of reflecting and sadness we visited a local family for dinner to celebrate new year. It was magical. It was the tour guide's family from earlier that day. A lot of his family had been killed in the war and he worked as a child labourer. He invited us into his home and cooked a traditional Cambodian meal. They have 5 rooms and thirty of them living them. It was magical - they were full of so much happiness and so welcoming. A very touching evening. To add to it while we were dancing in the street with massive speakers behind us the heavens opened. We spent hours dancin in the rain learning traditional cambodian dancing.
There have been lots of early starts and travelling in mini buses and public buses etc. Tomorrow we cross over to Vietnam for the next 12 days where we experinced slow boats and three over night trains. The accomodation is so far so good - all having air conditioning so far. Very bog standard facilities but guess I have got to get used to no air conditioning in some hostels to come! lol.
Just spoken to Mum and Dad and Lizzie and Skype which has been amazing. If anyone else fancies getting it and maybe having a chat sometime over the next 18 weeks that will be great :-)
One week down and in some ways feels like I have only been here that long and in other ways feels like I have seen so much and experienced so much that it could be weeks already.
Keep emailing
Big hugs from Cambodia. See you in VIetnam
x
- comments
Small Yo yo yo sis, are you trying to say seeing my B.E.A.Utiful face this morning has not been the highlight of your week?!?! :) Loved speaking and hearing from the both of us, everything sounds amazing so far and cant wait to hear more. Em send her love to the both of you. Lots of love and cuddles being sent from sunny southampton x
Cas Love you long time Miss Hawksworth. Missing you loads!! Loving the updates - sounds so amazing already!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx