Apr 28, 2005 - Arriving in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh

April 28th - Phnom Penh Dave Today we arrived in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. What is most surprising is in spite of the poverty and years of civil war here, it actually seems a bit cleaner and even perhaps feels a bit safer than Bangkok. We really thought travelling in Cambodia would be difficult but have been quite surprised. Crossing the country this morning we came on an inexpensive flight on a brand new and comfortable plane, arrived in a new and clean airport, and our staying at a great mid range hotel with a pool, spa and...

Apr 27, 2005 - CAMBODIA, Phnom Penh

And so it was an early transfer to the airport for a 40minute flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Where it was every bit as hot, or hotter than Saigon! It apparently gets up to 40C this month, before the rain start next month. Arrival here was like a less populated version of Saigon, less people, but same no rules on the road applies, this time there are trucks jam packed full of people, hanging out the side off the back,. Apparently it is the people from the provinces who come into the city like this. Saw people with pigs strapped upside down...

Apr 26, 2005 - Phnom Penh

We will never forget our arrival to Phnom Penh. After a successful bus journey we had arranged pick up for our hostel! This turned out to be two teenagers with mopeds!! As there is vertually no road rules (no signs, no traffic lights nor roundabouts) Viv prayed all the way to the hostel! After the most hairiest road experience of our lives we arrives safely at our hostel, and took tuk-tuks for the remained of our stay! As the capital of cambodia, its very much underdeveloped then any other city we have ever seen. They are numerous children...

Apr 24, 2005 - Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is a noisy, overpopulated, dirty, messy city. The main reason to come here is to visit the Killing Fields and the school where over 8000 were tortured, and after touring there today we can't explain how we feel about it. The guide that took us around was 10 when he and his parents escaped from Phnom Penh, and after his parents were killed he found an uncle alive and he grew up wih him, only returning to Phnom Penh after the war. There are so many awful stories, but there was one good one (not to do with the Pol Pot atrocities)....

Apr 22, 2005 - Cambodian capital

After 2 days in Kratie me and Cess took the 7am bus to Cambodia's capital city, Phnom Penh. I was planning on going on my own but Cess gashed her leg on a bucket in the street and needed to see a doctor. We tried in Kratie to see a doctor and went to the surgery there. It was an open shop front onto the street with a small boy on a drip lying in a put-up bed with puppies and babies crawling around on the floor. It was quite scary really. When we asked about the doctor we were told he was 'playing tennis tonight', so we decided it would be...

Apr 20, 2005 - Phnom Penh

Ive just got to Phnom Penh, after an unexpected 4 nights in Siem Reap. I'm staying in a guesthouse by the lake. Angkor Wat, although still pretty amazing, was slightly overated. I had a sneaky suspicion that it was always going to be. Its still the largest religious building in the world and it was great seeing it. What was surprising was all the smaller temple ruins in the jungle around Angkor. These are just amazing. They're still each the size of a big castle and about 1000 years old.. and completely empty except for us - no confused...

Apr 16, 2005 - Phnom Penh

On the way from Battambang to Phnom Penh today, we were scheduled to visit 2 shrines, 1 in Udong and 1 at Phnom Proset. Nonstop, the trip would be about 4 hours, so with the stops, it would be a full day. The road (thankfully) was (1) paved, (2) smooth, (3) and 2 lanes wide. :-) The shrine in Udong consisted of both old and new wats, a couple of stupas, and an animist shrine. Animism is one of the minor religions in Cambodia. Being both a Saturday and the last day of the New Year holiday, the grounds around the site were jumpin'. It was...

Apr 14, 2005 - Heading back to Phnom Penh

We spent the morning on the beach before heading back to Phnom Penh. We had to say good-bye to the cute kids from the bar/restaurant. Rashumai is 9. Becky taught her to play pool and she taught us to count to 50 in Khmer. We also said good-bye to Karote and little 1-year-old Nara. We hopped on the motos to head to the bus station. It's amazing how they can balance my pack in front and me on back. (Considering the fact that I've seen families of five balance on a moto, I really shouldn't be surprised.) Motos aren't really my preferred mode...

Apr 12, 2005 - Cambodia - Penom Penh

Dear All We are now in Penom Penh, capital of Cambodia. We just spent a few days in Siem Riep, the nearest town to the world-famous Angkor Watt, the incredible area of 9th and 12th century buddist temples. The architecture knocks the socks off anything European at the time! It was breathtaking both due to its size and the heat of 40 degrees most of the day. We nearly flaked out completely. Gallons of water are needed to keep us sane. We also visited a floating village on the huge Tomle Sap lake in Cambodia.Chris has attached a photo of boys...

Apr 11, 2005 - Phnom Penh

[Yeah, we skipped over most of Japan for now. After Tokyo, it was just very difficult to have both the time and the Internet access to get the blog updated. So, we'll jump ahead to Cambodia and try to backfill on Japan when we can...] Arrived in Cambodia yesterday after a long day of traveling from Osaka to Phnom Penh via Bangkok. In Cambodia, you apply for a visa when you arrive at the airport. Unfortunately, we had the necessary extra photos of ourselves packed in our suitcases, which we couldn't access till we cleared customs. "No...

Apr 10, 2005 - Phnom Phen, Cambodia

April 5 - April 7 We arrived from Vietnam by boat and were swarmed by taxi and tuk tuk drivers wanting to take us to hotels. We opted to walk to our hotel, the Sunshine Guest house, as it was only 5 minutes away. The next day we hired a driver for the day to show us around the city. Our first stop was Tuol Sleng Museum. This told the story of an interim camp during Pol Pot's regime. We had a guide take us around the museum, who had lived through the tradegy but lost her daughter and her husband. Our next stop was the Psar O Russei Market....

Apr 9, 2005 - Leaving Cambodia

Well, its been a great tour and a blast seeing this country. But its time to move on and check out Vietnam! So we'll send another update from there, albeit a short one as we'll only be in Ho Chi Minh City for 2 days before we head up to the beach. Peace and we hope that you are all well and love hearing from you. Thanks! You are in our thoughts and prayers always. Love ya, Cam and Min