Cambodia: Phnom Penh // A sobering history.

Over Christmas, a good friend asked me about the history of Cambodia and what we had experienced on our brief trip this summer. In total honesty, I had been holding back on this post for fear of being disrespectful or not feeling qualified to talk on the subject. It's certainly an extremely harrowing subject.

However,  having spent time in Cambodia and Phnom Penh in August, it's clear that the Cambodian view is that people should speak about this subject and educate others as to prevent new generations creating the same situation again. So here is my post about the Tuol Sleng Genocide prison (S21) and Killing Fields in Phnom Penh.

Let me be clear, I am certainly no expert and a google search with tell you more about the terrible genocide and forced labour regime that wiped out an estimated 25 percent of the Cambodian population in just four years. However, whilst in Phnom Penh, we were privileged enough to visit two of the sites that commemorate the sufferings and tragedies of those years.

Both the prison (a former high school) and the killing fields make for grim visiting. The air of oppression is tangible and much of the sites have been left the same. In the prison, there is still blood staining the cramped prison cells and rusty, broken beds, chains and torture devices in the torture rooms. The names and photos of every one of the poor souls tortured and killed in the place aline the walls of the prison, forcing you to stare into their eyes and wonder about their last months, weeks and moments. There are collections of their clothes and personal details and the only survivors sit in the courtyard of the prison, now peaceful, hoping to tell their stories and prevent further atrocities.

However awful the prison is, it is nothing compared to the experience of visiting the killing fields. The blistering heat, the stench from the nearby rivers, endless, huge pits dug in the ground with clothing, teeth and bone fragments sticking out of the ground. Worst of all,  the killing tree. The sign will explain its purpose. This is not a place for the feint hearted but it is an important place and the experience of standing on the edge of one of those pits, the sound of a generator and Khmer Rouge chanting blaring in my ears will be one that sticks with me for a long time.

Cambodia: Siem Reap // Ridiculously early mornings at Ankor Wat.

The very next morning after our elephant adventure, we were in for another early morning. This time, we were heading back to the airport to fly on to the next country in our itinerary: Cambodia.

When planning our trip, both of us were so excited to visit Cambodia. It was the strangest thing but we both felt such a connection with the place, despite never having been there before. The only time I have felt anything similar was before going to South Africa for seven months, a country that will always have my heart. We knew Cambodia would be an incredible part of our trip.

In our household, planning holidays most definitely falls as a 'pink job' (mine, not Steve's) but when I asked for Steve's input and ideas, the ONLY thing Steve wanted to do for definite was to visit Ankor Wat. So our first stop in Cambodia had to be Siem Reap, the Cambodian 'city' (said loosely, it's tiny!) situated near to the ancient ruins.

Flying away from Bangkok and arriving in Siem Reap was like going from night to day, it was so insanely different.

Word of advice: make sure you have the $30 something dollars you need for your Cambodian visa handy in your hand luggage when arriving at the airport. 'Someone' left our money in our main luggage and so, after what seemed like an age of glancing longingly at our bags on the other side of the barrier and lots of hushed, angry whispers, we were finally granted entry to the country and found our ever-so-lovely Tuk-Tuk driver, Mr. Bros. 

After dumping our bags at our wonderful hotel and booking in our complimentary massage for later in the evening, we headed into Siem Reap for a wander. We found the best dim sum restaurant and lots of intriguing markets. I fell in love a little that first day in Siem Reap.

Steve modelling the flattering garments needed for our traditional Khmer massage

The next morning, the shrill of our alarm clock woke us at an ungodly hour of 4am. We met our lovely tour guide Chaiiy (who incidentally is probably the most knowledgeable man on the Ankor Wat temples) and hurried off on our rickety Tuk tuk to the Ankor Wat temple complex, chasing one of the spectacular sunrises it is famous for. Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to us and that gorgeous sunrise was hidden behind too many clouds :(

Even in miserable weather, Ankor was a fascinating place with so much to see. If you go, please get a guide - it's worth the £20 to find out the meanings behind all the carvings and hearing the stories behind each temples construction. Whatever you do though, don't leave your water bottle on the tuk tuk. I can tell you from first hand experience that 38 degrees and no water makes for a pretty horrific 48 hours of heat exhaustion.. Enjoy the photos.

Thailand: Bangkok (ish!) // Day three: a magical day.

On the morning of our third (and last!) day in Bangkok, we rose before dawn, sleepily pulled on some clothes and headed out of our hotel for the day of our itinerary I had most been looking forward to.

We left the deserted, slumbering streets of Bangkok and drove two hours through the rolling Thai countryside until we reached our first destination, the bridge over the river Kwai.
I have to be honest here, I've never seen the film or apparently paid much attention in history so I did not know too much about tragic history of the real railroad which snakes through Thailand. Built during WWII, the real railroad that the film is based on was built by prisoners of war. The film only depicts a portion of the terrible atrocities that the prisoners endured whilst building the 258 mile railroad and it is estimated that around 90,000 people died in the sixteen months it took to complete.

After our sombre visit, we drove off past rice fields towards the Tiger temple. This is a controversial place with allegations of drugging the tigers and mistreatment. I can honestly say that in our time there, we did not see docile tigers. In fact, they were frighteningly alert and active which was actually pretty scary when left with them in a cage. We saw many staff who cared and clearly respected the tigers, although there will always be a tinge of sadness to any animals in captivity. Over all, we were pretty impressed with the conditions the tigers were kept in and found it an enjoyable experience.

Our morning at the temple started with offering breakfast to the resident monks. We happened to visit on a national Buddhist holiday so were joined by lots of worshipping public and took part in an interesting but long two hour chanting ceremony.

After a very full morning with the tigers, we headed off to our next adventure and another tick off our bucket list: a bareback elephant ride through the Thai jungle.

Our time in the river with the elephants was probably the most hilarious forty-five minutes of my life. We were tossed around, sprayed with water and laughed our way through it. A truly huge highlight in a month of incredible experiences.