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Hey,
Time for the Cambodia instalment!
Where do i begin - i crossed over by boat from the mekong delta in vietnam & arrived in phnom penh in blazing sunshine. brit and i missioned across the city centre in a bid to avoid the annoying tuk tuk drivers & rocked up at an awesome hostel called nomads with lovely airy dorms right next to the river.
We also found out it was the last night of the annual water festival, the celebration is held on the day in the year when the tides of the tonle sap and mekong rivers are said to turn. it was a magical festival - over 2 million people all watching the fireworks and the boats floating down the river. unfortunately, it was also the night that over 350 people died in the now famous stampede that happened on the main bridge crossing. brit and i did not find out about this until the next morning through international news - we were only 5 minutes downstream from where it occured, but it was so rammed that we sought refuge in a bar, thank god. cambodia already has a heavy history - it didn't need this as well...
Visited the S21 musuem & the killing fields on the same day we found out about the stampede - just to brighten the day. I was also reading the autobiography by Loung Ung on the khmer rouge rule & it is sick stuff. it is awful what a country can do to its own people - i don't think a visit to cambodia is complete without learning its history.
On the national day of mourning we headed to Battambang, the most densely mined province in cambodia, which has the most land mines in the world, so that is something! great chilled local city, where we headed out on motorbikes into the countryside to check out the surrounding temples & of course the long arm of the khmer rouge extended here as well - there were killing caves next door to sites of worship.
Took the boat crossing from Battambang across to Siem Riep over the Tonle Sap lake, which was gorgeous - hundreds of fishing villages built in the water & loads of tiny little canals where the mangroves seemed to be taking over!
Siem Riep - a random town, local and touristy at the same time. Brit and i teamed up with a german guy we kept seeing and headed out to angkor wat, angkor thom, ta phrom & phnom bakheng by bike, which was pretty hardcore by the end of the day, but brilliant! angkor wat is magical - one of those places that can have a million tourists and still capture your imagination, the outline of the towers you remember forever. Loved Beng Thom and all the smiling faces on the towers, but my favourite was probably ta phrom - it is straight out of tomb raider & looks like it has been lost to the jungle. ancient trees growing through the walls everywhere - very mystical...
The second day we took a tuk tuk and missioned it out to angkor wat for sunrise - no photos can do it justice! then off to banteay srei through the stunning countryside. it was like a little pink palace made out of red sandstone - very different from all the other temples. then we headed to preah khan & finally banteay kdei, which was another favourite - the trees were taking over and reclaiming their territory. truly another world!
Next stop, Borneo!
Iona xxx
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