Angkor What?!

Siem Reap

One of our favourite places throughout the whole of Asia was the Blue Pumpkin. It's not a tourist attraction per se...it's an ice cream parlour! Not only did it have air conditioning and free wifi but there were sofas/beds around the cafe that we sat on for hours eating ice cream!

To celebrate our last night on the Asian continent we decided to go out for dinner to a lovely Mexican restaurant. We were intrigued by the cocktail menu and at only $2 a pop we had a second and a third and after our fifth we decided to call it a night! 

Not sure what number this was!

One of the seven wonders of the world is situated just outside Siem Reap and so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to wander around the ancient and fascinating Angkor Wat (which in Khmer means "City of Temples"). Only discovered around 100 years ago it is the site of many different temples, including the set for Tomb Raider. We thought this was the most exciting to visit as the surrounding jungle has grown over the ruins creating an eerie atmosphere. At some points wandering around we felt like we were in the jungle book, but unfortunately the presence of thousands of other tourists brought us back to reality. Mr Rob, our tuk tuk driver, suggested we go and watch the sunrise over the largest and most famous temple and so we arrived in the pitch black. Whilst stumbling over the uneven path we met Mr John. Like most Cambodians he was trying to sell us something and so we indulged him and promised to eat breakfast at his cafe within the grounds. After not seeing the sunrise through the clouds and exploring the temple we started to head for food. We were quickly bombarded by other cafe owners until Mr John, rather comically, sprinted towards us and claimed us as his own. There we enjoyed the most expensive pancakes ever while loving the view.

Sunrise

So many tourists!

Needed to crawl up these really steep stairs

Our breakfast spot

Look David it's you!

Can you see the faces?

The incense ritual was fun until they asked for money

Asians are much smaller

Haha wheres the body?

Tomb raider

'Phun' in Phnom Penh!

The Silver Pagoda houses many national treasures 

Having passed its shiny gates a couple of times in our tuk tuk we decided to visit the Grand Palace. Like most temples in Asia shoulders and knees had to be covered which is rather hot when its 35C and very humid! Although the grand palace itself was closed due to the recent death of the Cambodian king, the silver pagoda was still open. There wasn't much information available but the buildings were very pretty and the grounds were fun to wander around.

Faces on top of the palace to look over the city

All we could see of the palace

Smile!

Dinner with Freya and Jimmy- best food in Asia

That evening it was time to try out some local cuisine so we headed to the night market for dinner. None of us really knew what anything was but we just went for it and tried what turned out to be pork wontons. It was our cheapest meal by far and the most yummy! At the market the stalls are all around the outside of the square with the middle covered in carpet where everyone just sits on the ground munching their food.

Tuk tuks are the cheapest form of public transport and so there are loads everywhere. Unlike the Thai ones the Cambodian tuk tuks are pretty comfortable. The drivers also take a lot of pride in them and so pimp them out! We saw Bat-mobiles and even spider-mobiles (not sure he was aware of Spiderman's method of transport). Our favourite driver, Channa, had an eagle on the front of his which was useful when trying to find him in a crowd of others all wanting to drive us.

Channa and his tuk tuk

Wat Phnom is the temple after which the city takes its name and can be found in the middle of a huge roundabout! This makes it a little tricky to get to because crossing Cambodian roads is just as scary as crossing Vietnamese roads (although Cambodian locals are more likely to help you). Being the cheap skates that we are we decided not to pay the entrance fee but just walk around the roundabout, where we came across some monkeys, much to our surprise.

Wat Phnom 

The clock actually told the right time!

Since it was time to do some Christmas shopping we headed to the Russian Market which is well known for its fake designer labels. Asian markets are like no other market we have experienced before, they are one square block with a maze inside it. All the stalls are cramped together and its easy to get lost! Stalls selling the same things are always next to one another and so it can be quite fun bargaining between them to see who drops the price the most. 

Where we bought Mum's Christmas prezzie

 Lastly, Daughters of Cambodia is a cafe/shop in Phnom Penh which is well worth a visit. It is not just any old cafe as it provides jobs for girls previously involved in the ongoing sex trade industry. The organisation gives girls an opportunity to learn new skills and make money so they can escape the industry once and for all.

Time for some recent history

The Stupa (Buddhist memorial)

Our time in Cambodia was very rushed and so we only had time for two places-Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is known for the horrific killings that took place under the Paul Potts regime only 30 years ago and so the Choeung Ek Killing Fields are a frequently visited spot by tourists. The killing fields, as the name suggests, were where over a million Cambodians were taken to be slaughtered, so although it wasn't the most enjoyable trip it was one that needed to be done. It was a pretty gruesome experience walking past mass grave after mass grave, with fragments of bone and pieces of clothing still being found today. There was an audio tour around the site which was really informative and included extracts from people who suffered under the regime.

Inside the Stupa were more than 5000 skulls 

These mass graves were spread over the site

 

Area cordoned off due to fragments still being found

Known as the "Baby tree"

The executions were carried out using killings tools such as shackles and knives, bullets were considered too expensive. However defectors from the Khmer Rouge were beheaded.

Next on our itinerary was to visit the Tuol Sleng detention centre or S21. It was originally a school but under Kymer Rouge rule it was converted to a prison. The prisoners from this would eventually end up at the killing fields, lots of whom were political prisoners. Now a museum, the buildings have photos of all the prisoners, even women with young babies.

Paul Potts- head of the Khmer Rouge

The sports apparatus used by the school boys had been adapted for torture and there was barbed wire around the buildings to prevent suicide attempts from the upper levels. This day was really worthwhile but left us feeling emotionally drained.

Make-shift prison cells 

Evidence that it was previously a school

7 million bikes, one day to see it...Saigon

After cutting Nha Trang out of our itinerary and flying through most of the country we landed in Ho Chi Minh city. We had been warned it was very like Bangkok, full of people and motorbikes and with a population of over 7 million motor bikes in one city they weren't wrong.

Model of the tunnel system

 Having spent too much time in other parts of the country we left ourselves with only one full day, so we travelled to the 250km range of Cu Chi Tunnels. Cu chi is an area which was very involved in the Vietnamese war. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for the fighters. There are 3 levels of tunnels, the first is 2m below the surface, 120cm high and 90cm wide so not really made for western sized people! The deepest tunnel was not used often as oxygen was in short supply and it was only 70cm high and 50cm wide. Around the site there are also examples of the traps they used on the Americans which all involve nasty looking spikes and large holes! When we first arrived we were shown a short movie about the use of the tunnels and it became obvious very quickly that it was going to be a very one sided report of the war as the Americans were called the 'fat devil workers'. Before we were given the chance to go inside the tunnel we were taken to a shooting range where you could shoot all types of guns with no permit which we found slightly wrong as so many people lost their lives in the same spot. Then at last the time came to venture into the tunnels and we headed down to the entrance... only to wuss out at the last minute! Until that moment we hadn't fully appreciated how small and claustrophobic they were!

Tank used by the Americans 

One of the tiny escape holes from the tunnels

Different types of traps used by the Vietnamese.

Entrance to the tunnels

This is how far we got before panicking! 

With only one night in Ho Chi Minh city we decided to make the most of it and really experience the city... So we hunted down a cinema to watch the final twilight film! It was an odd experience as the Vietnamese like to talk throughout the film and not really pay attention to what is going on. The guy sitting next to us had 3 different phone conversations in the one film. Luckily the cinema must be aware of this and so the volume was extremely loud and slightly deafening!

 Our time in Vietnam was finally over and so we jumped on a bus all set for Cambodia, only to realise that Sarah's phone wasn't quite ready to leave and was still at the hostel! Luckily after days of phone calls and trips to various bus companies her phone joined us in Phnom Penh.