Cambodia

The trip up the Cambodian side of the Mekong river took several hours, but it was fascinating seeing the differences in the landscape. The countryside was more open along the river banks except for banana and coconut trees planted around the houses. These are traditionally built on stilts and most are either made of wood or panels made from palm leaves. Every now and again we would pass large pagodas which were painted bright yellow and red. The last part of the trip was by bus and by the time we ended up at the Okay guesthouse in Phnom Penh it was dark. The guesthouse didn't live up to its name - there were some dubious goings on and the plumbing wasn't up to much. However, next morning we found somewhere better and spent the day looking round the royal palace and the silver pagoda. We also went to the so-called Russian market where knock-offs from Cambodia's clothing trade among other things can be bought for a song. The beautiful sunset over the river was enjoyed from the balcony of The Foreign Correspondents’ Club with a large G and T.

Phnom Penh is a beautiful city with much of its colonial architecture and wide avenues still intact. There's much less traffic than in the Vietnamese cities – fewer motorbikes except for those pulling tuk-tuks. Cambodia is noticeably a poorer country, and there are plenty of land-mine victims begging and people from the countryside looking for a better life living on the streets. But the Khmers seem to be a very open and relaxed race. And given their recent past it is amazing to us that the country has got back on its feet so quickly.

On our second day in Phnom Penh we took a tuk-tuk out to "the killing fields" of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng museum, a former High School that the Khmer Rouge turned into the most notorious prison in Cambodia. In the course of three and a half years they killed an estimated 2 million people -15 percent were tortured or beaten to death and the rest died of starvation. It made an enormous impression on us walking round former prison and seeing the fields of Choeung Ek, where those of the mass graves that have been opened still have pieces of bone and clothing sticking out of the ground. Our guide told how his parents, both doctors, and the rest of Cambodia’s educated were beaten to death with clubs and farm implements in a mad attempt to create an agrarian state where everyone did as they were told.

From Phnom Penh we headed north by bus to Siem Reap, a town that is growing at a tremendous rate owing to the increasing popularity of the Angkor temples. Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire and dozens of temples were built over a large area between the 9th and 15th century. We spent three days exploring the most important temples using various methods of transport – tuk-tuk, car and bike. Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world, is the one that is perhaps best preserved, and was a stunning sight at sunrise.

Many of the temples are in a ruined state but still have the most exquisite relief carvings. Others are being torn apart by enormous trees and have been left to their fate in the jungle. A glimpse of monkeys between the trees, elephants being led along the road and the sound of landmine victims playing traditional music to earn money, makes it all a mystical experience.

We also visited the landmine museum nearby that is run by a former Khmer Rouge soldier who was recruited as a child to lay mines. After being captured by the Vietnamese he was trained to use his skill to disarm mines, and has since spent his time making amends by trying to disarm as many as possible and looking after victims.

From Siem Reap we travelled north by taxi to the border, where we walked across into Thailand. Then it was a 4 hour bus journey to Bangkok, where we met up with Kirstin and Rory before travelling to Koh Chang. The “elephant island” is where we are going to spend Christmas.