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It was sad leaving the sandy beaches of Thailand as our break within a break came to an end. We both knew that there would be no relaxation during the fast-paced final leg of our journey; Cambodia, Viet Nam and then finally Honk Kong.
Neither of us knew what to expect in Cambodia. Arriving at another generous abode in Siem Reap late in the evening, there was no time to rest as we were invited to join the Manager of the hotel for dinner and a show. The food was interesting yet tasty and the show was a dazzling display of colour, culture and local music.
The next day we set out to explore Siem Reap. We quickly became accustom to the tuk-tuk as a form of travel. Travelling at a speed that allows you to enjoy the surroundings whilst generating a pleasant breeze, all one could do was sit back and watch the world pass by. We were pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic in Siem Reap, we had expected wall to wall scooters and trucks, but this was far from the case. It also surprised us how quickly we left the city and before we knew it we were driving through fields of rice paddies.
Our destination was the landmine museum, which little did we know was about an hour out of town. Our tuk-tuk driver, Mr Sany, would never make it as a race car driver, but eventually pulled into the modest museum car park. The museum is owned and operated by a former Khmer Rouge child soldier who later defected to the Viet Namese Army. Having spent his childhood laying mines, he has dedicated the last twenty years to removing them. His museum is a collection of thousands of mines and other ordinance that he has disarmed over the years. Landmines still kill hundreds of Cambodians every year and best guesstimates suggest there is still over 5 million unaccounted for. It was a fascinating insight into both the carnage landmines cause during and post conflicts as well as what work is being done both nationally and globally to prevent landmine use.
The next day, (for some unknown reason) we thought we would watch the sun rise at one of the many temples in the area. Mr Sany was waiting for us at 4.30am and we tuk-tuked our way to Angkor Wat. Hindsight suggested we should have taken a torch, but eventually after feeling our way along a long causeway and following the hundreds of other tourists, we found ourselves sitting next to a lake waiting for signs of first light. Not being able to see our hand in front of our face, we asked a local coffee salesman if this was the right spot. He told us that it was and we would see the sun rise over the scaffolding in about an hour. This mention of scaffolding, should have given us an indication of the disappointment to follow. After a while I wondered if we would even be able to see the sun rise over the flashes from hundreds of cameras and the large lights set up by a Japanese film crew. As it happens we couldn't, an annoyingly placed cloud meant that all we got to experience was a gradual lightening rather than a rise. Deciding it was over we got up to leave. Our friend with the coffee was confused to see everyone leaving and told us that sunrise had not happened yet because if it had the near by monks would start playing music. This glimmer of hope faded 30 sec later when we heard music off in the distance.
We spent the rest of that day looking around a number of very impressive 12th Century temples in the surrounding forest. Ta Prohm was by far the most impressive. Trees have embedded themselves in any available crack and grow up through the massive structures. In many places it was impossible to understand how they could be supporting their massive weight or even be growing at all as they didn't seem to be rooted into anything other than stone. We became very good at dodging large groups of Japanese and American tourists and at taking photos to look as though we were the only people in the area.
On a number of evenings we enjoyed the local bar district. Despite being tourist central, we had some great meals, made even better by 50 cent beer. I couldn't believe our first bill, when after two large main meals and six glasses of the locals finest, the grand total was only $7.50! New Zealand take note.
A six hour bus ride and we were in Phnom Penh.
Our visit started with a sobering trip to the Genocide Museum. The landmine museum had given us an insight into Cambodia's horrific past but here it was impossible to ignore and is something that needs to be seen to be understood. A trip to the killing fields cemented in our minds just how horrible some human beings can be. Walking around the compound, passing mass grave site after mass grave site, an audio commentary provides details and first hand accounts of the horrors, from surviving prison guards. An aspect of the killing fields that we both found very disturbing was the rudimentary nature of the whole operation. Tens of thousands of people had been killed with garden tools and metal pipes, as bullets were considered too expensive. The tour concluded in front of a tree that was used by Khmer Rouge soldiers to bludgeon babies to death before tossing them into a near by pit. It is hard to believe, even after the Khmer Rouge was chased out of Cambodia and the atrocities that occurred had been discovered, that the Khmer Rouge still under Pol Pot's leadership was the recognised government internationally. They even held a seat in the UN until the early 90's.
During our time in Cambodia, one of Pol Pot's right hand men was appealing his 19 year sentence for crimes against humanity, genocide and for being directly responsible for the murder of 20,000 people. Krissy contacted her former employer and offered to cover the story, as the verdict was due to be announced. The response was sad, but not overly surprising. There was no room in the news bulletin, as the rugby 7s were on in Wellington and they required half of the evening news time slot.
We headed out to a local gun range on our last day in Cambodia, something I had been looking forward to since we planned the trip. We were offered a large selection of firearms to choose from, and Krissy and I both took turns firing an American M16, completing for me at least, a long held desire. Krissy didn't understand what all the fuss was about, but never the less after pestering from me, fired a number of bursts on fully automatic, at the targets down range. The remainder of our time in Cambodia was spent wandering around the local markets, bartering for all sorts of odds and ends.
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