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Kate on Tour
22 Sept 2006 Jumped on the bus from Saigon...and met Marielle and Meg (two american girls who Ryan and I met whilst hanging out at the 5am noodle restaurant in Nah Trang!) on board which was great. After an easy boarder crossing we arrived in Pnom Penh around 7pm (the touts were already knocking on the bus windows as it pulled in!) We all jumped in a tuc tuc and headed to the Lakeside Guesthouse on Boeng Kak Lake. A really great friendly paid back place with a serious traveller vibe, quite a change to the hotels of vietnam, with a big deck with hammocks, pool table and sofas where everyone hangs out. It's mosquito central and the rooms are pretty basic (had to change rooms as the first had a rat issue...rank!) but feels less 'packaged' than Vietnam which is an exciting change. 23 Sept 2006 First full day in Pnom Penh - and decided to get a tuc tuc to visit Tuong Sleng Museum (S21) Musuem - the famous security centre/ prison (which was previously a school) where the Khmer Rouge detained, interrogated and tortured more than 15,000 cambodians before sending them to the 'killing fields' to be executed (less than a dozen inmates survived). It is absolutely shocking, that such a place existed, and so relatively recently. Pnom Penh is a captivating city where the time just seems to disappear - everyone we have met said they had stayed far longer than they initially intended after falling in love with the place. A city of contrasts - vibrant and laid back yet still very much affected by/ and recovering from it's tragic past. 24 Sept A very lazy day in Pnom Penh ... mostly due to hanging out until dawn at the Drunken Frog bar at the laskeside -an eclectic mix of locals and travellers all sharing stories and playing connect 4!!! Met some very interesting characters! 25th Sept Spent a couple of hours visiting the Royal Palace with Marielle and Meg (and Silver Pagoda) which was absolutely beautiful before heading back to the Lakeside to take part in a volunteer scheme, set up by the Flying Elephant Cafe, which involves teaching english, playing games and drawing with the local kids who live around the lakeside. The children were so enthusiastic and it was fantastic seeing them having fun and actually being kids for a while (much of the time the children are carrying around heavy baskets of books to sell to travellers). 26th Sept Checked out of the Lakeside Hostel and another early start to catch the bus to Siem Reap. After a 5 hour bumpy bus ride we arrived ... and got completely mobbed by touts as we got off the bus! Luckily we had arranged a tuc tuc pick up in advance before we left Pnom Penh so after fighting to get our rucksacks we jumped aboard and headed to our next guesthouse! ....
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