Cambodia in a whole was an unforgettable experience. After spending five days in busy and hot Bangkok, we headed back to basics, as we realized after crossing the Thai- Cambodia border. We shared a taxi with a nice Swedish family (mum, dad and four children aged from 14 to 24). The road was bumpy, but not too bad as I was able to sleep at the end of the trip even though my head was moving from one side to another all the time! Oh, and we heard one reason for the condition of road being that bad is that the thai- flight companies are paying to the Cambodians so that they wont build better roads and there for will get more flying passengers… You never know?!

The sunrise!

Big plans in Siam Reap

Our schedule in Cambodia was a bit tight. We started our visit from Siam Reap, which is famous for its ruins of Angkor Wat. Some might have seen these ancient temples in the movie called Tomb Raider for example. Our great plan in Siam Reap was to wake up at 4am, rent bicycles and cycle the 14 kilometres to the temples to see the sunrise. Easily, we thought in the evening. The reality hit again at the point when the alarm rang and it was all dark and own bed felt so good. As a compromise, we did wake up at that time, but let ourselves to take a tuk-tuk to the temples. So, there we were, at the great Angkor Wat, the greatest holiest "building", right before the sunrise!

This is the one with the faces of buddha

It was fun to climb on top of them!

Angkor Wat

Interesting small details which you would miss by just looking quickly

Hard to guess what is this one?

During the day we saw so many amazing temples. You really lost your sense of understanding, seeing these structures being built by people who had no machines, around the year 1100. I loved the one with the faces of Buddha on it. Of course we also had to see Ta Phrom, the one from Tomb Raider. Laura was doing some great stunts over there, getting all the attention from the cute Japanese tourist groups and I was her photographer.

She would really beat Angelina, dont you think! : )

Rushing to Phnom Penh, freaking out a bit as well!

The next morning we were already on the bus at 6.30am. Once again we had got the worst seats, the last ones on the back row, where you cant really adjust the seat and which is hot as the motor is under you and as a bonus you can feel all the bumps on the road. Well I wouldn't have really minded of all that. But there was this family with mum and two cute kids sitting on our right side and a couple on our left. The girl of the couple was sleeping on her boyfriend's lap for the whole trip, as she was having some kind of a rash which I was freaking about and Laura lost her nerves. The little boy was sick as well, as she started to throw up after eating a package of fish sticks. So, we had a nice trip all in all!

A welcome to Phnom Penh was quite an experience. As our normal local bus arrived to the bus station, already before stopping it was surrounded by maybe twenty anxious tuk-tuk drivers. I was really scared to get off from the bus! Every one was pulling us to different directions, trying to get the precious 1 dollar from the wealthy westerns (tries to describe us…).

 

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia. Begging has been said to be one of the biggest problems on the streets of Phnom Penh. The whole cruel history of Cambodia really got into me in Phnom Penh. While staying in Cambodia I was reading this biography by Loung Ung, called First they killed my father (I recommend for all who are interested in the history of Cambodia!). It was so touching to read the cruel and awful history of the Pol Pot's communist movement with its Khmer Rouge which made the families leave their houses in 1975, from the 5-years-old girl's point of view. Pol Pot was the one, who decided that Cambodia cant let the foreign nations to play around with them, and that the country needs reforming. In his opinion, only the rural people were the real Cambodians, hard work was appreciated instead of education and all the intellectual was to be cut away as well as that all the influence from the nations outside Cambodia were poisonous and to be avoided. I followed the years between 1975 and 1979 with Ung, shared every feeling with her, almost feeling her pain as she describes the awfully cruel years they she and her family went through. I would so much like to think that it was just a book, but as tough as it is, it is reality. From 1 to 3 millions of Cambodians were killed during the Khmer Rouge years.

So in Phnom Penh I realised, every single local I see has suffered and experienced all that. I caught myself thinking, whether this man was a victim of a torture of the one torturing. Or if that old lady had lost all her family during those years. Its amazing how the nation can now live together in peace, after being forced to be against each others, after being forced to kill their own neighbours and friends and being separated from their loved ones, after suffering from malnutrition and diseases, the constant fear. I really admire Cambodian people, the point they have reached after a horrible history like that (which is not even that far in the history).

In Phnom Penh we visited the Security Prison 21, where the ones Pol Pot didn't think were good enough for his Cambodia (or who in other words were too good), were kept, tortured and then sent to get killed in Killing Fields nearby. I didn't really want to go and see the killing fields, where they had finally ended the lives of so many innocent people. S-21 was enough and even too much for me. I read articles about the history, saw pictures of the ways of torturing, watched the movie where the old lady was telling the sad story of her daughter, saw the blood on the floor, felt the sadness of the souls and wondered if the small children with their eyes full of fear and despair in the black and white pictures around the halls are now somewhere where they are safe. Its so hard to understand this life at whiles. That we are all the same in this world. But things like this happen all the time, we are killing each others. How could the world ever change?

After S-21 we went to have dinner, how ever inappropriate it sounds. We found this restaurant called Café Del Gusto, which was serving also some Italian and Greek food. And great desserts such as hot brownies with ice cream and lemon tart! The good thing in all this was the fact that 15% of the income was given to this organization helping young children. On the walls of the restaurant we saw pictures drawn by young girls who had suffered from being abused by their own parents by being sold to slaves to some strange men etc. These girls had been saved by this organization to their children's home where they were able to get some psychological help and feel safe. Also the waiter boy was really cute and he was so happy as we just talked English with him!

The first feta!!

The restaurant was really cosy, on the wall you can see the pictures 

Sun, Sea, Sand = Sihanoukville?

We were longing to meet our dear friend sea for a long while as we travelled to Sihanoukville, which is in the coast of Cambodia. Well yea, there was the sea. And a bit of sand. As well as some sun at some points when we were lucky enough. All in all, in Sihanoukville we cycled around, got burned because of the malaria pills, ate some good and some bad food, saw the ugly western men hitting on the local girls, were pissed off because of the rain and were looking forward getting to Thailand and Koh Chang.

This is how desperate we were!! :D 

Getting across the river, as the bridge is not ready yet! We saw many interesting ways of traveling, which were are working really well despite the doubts we might have had!

All in all, I will always remember Cambodia. The feeling I got there was so different. The country has so many different sides. The history is not far away, but still the people were able to be happy and smile. I really hope the future of the country will be brighter; the people have really deserved it!