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Mel & Jammy's Fun Times!
Hello to one and all from the south coast of Cambodia where we are both still thoroughly enjoying ourselves, despite being currently surrounded by a tropical rainstorm which is sadly keeping us from our valuable beach time! Since we last updated those of you who actually give a damn about our whereabouts, we have seen quite a bit of Cambodia including of course Angkor Wat in Siem Reap which is the sort of Buckingham Palace of Cambodia ie a must-see on a visit here. We spent 3 days visiting the temples which needless to say has left us feeling as tho' we don't want to see another ancient temple any time soon! Having said that we had an excellent time there despite the rather pricey entrance fees and the fact that we cycled about 30km a day! We were so keen to get our money's worth that we actually dragged ourselves out of bed on the second day at 4am-never say we're not hardcore (or just sad?!) Was well worth it tho as Angkor Wat itself is a really magnificent temple. You can see on the photos tho that you have to climb some ridiculously steep steps to get into the main part which left Jammy who is well-known for being scared of heights nearly crying like a girl.
After Siem Reap we stopped off at a town called Battambang where we hired moto drivers to take us into the countryside. This turned out to be one of the best days yet as we really got to see how real cambodians live and we got to see some stunning scenery as well as ride on a bamboo 'train' which consisted of a big plank of wood that runs along the actual railway line and is powered by a little motor engine. Sadly however it's so rackety that it leaves you with a rather sore arse and a bitten tongue.
We then headed to the capital Phnom Penh which was our chance to learn some more about what happened in Cambodia during the terrible Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 when more than 2 million Cambodians died. We visited the S21 prison which was a school turned prison where almost every prisoner that entered never came out after having being brutally interrogated and tortured. We then visited the killing fields where many of these prisoners were taken to be shot including thousands of women and children and we saw the mass graves and the piles of skeletons that have been dug-up and are now on display there. All in all a rather depressing day out but worthwhile as it reminds you how far Cambodia has come in such a short time.
That brings us to right about now where we have spent the last few days living it up on some gorgeous tropical beaches and making the most of 25 cent beers. We imagined it to be really crowded and built-up here but it's nothing of the sort thank god! Enough backpackers to socialise with tho and we did a snorkelling trip yesterday which was fun although I swear I got bitten on the lip by a fish. Thought my mouth was gonna swell up to the size of a balloon so was rather quick to jump back on our rather crappy boat!
Planning to stay on the coast for a short while now and hopefully see out the rest of our Cambodian visa in Cambodia. Sorry that we haven't been in contact with you all as much as possible but Cambodia hasn't quite fully come into the 21st century yet so everytime we use the internet we are eating into our rather paltry beer budget! Lots of love mel and Jammy! XXX
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