Back to Thailand

The stop in Koh Kong is not even worth mentioning. We arrived, panicked a little as all the guesthouses seemed to be full, but managed to find a place to sleep in the end. Koh Kong might be nice if you are interested in trekking which we at this point were not, so we used it only to stack on dollars, to do some research about how to move to the south of Thailand and little else. The only exciting thing was that I had my first beer in Southeast Asia in Koh Kong, after 2 months of travelling around here!

Taking a break at Crusoe Island

Our next destination would be the small island of Koh Ta Kiev, a little paradise of relax and beach life. The trip from Kampot was so fast that we were able to catch a boat on the same day, without having to spend a night in the touristy and unappealing city of Sihanoukville. After getting off the bus we took a tuktuk and went straight to Otres beach, looking for the white-roofed boat of "Crusoe Island" camping. Luckily we were able to get a passage to the island even without a reservation.

On our way to the island

Piece of crab

We did one more stop before finally getting to the beach, in the riverside town of Kampot. The town doesn't look like much but what we happened to like the most of Southeast Asia are these small, unassuming places that have enough charm, Internet access and good food for us to stick around. Kampot had everything we wanted, Internet cafes, cheap restaurants, motorbike rentals (of course...). And we found here the best guesthouse of our trip so far - large double room with a huge bathroom, hot shower and wifi for just 6 dollars!

Painful past in Phnom Penh

Siem Reap isn't the most charming place, and yet we ended up feeling like at home in our guesthouse. This was in part thanks to the owner, a lovely old man, a nice and friendly "grandpa". With mixed feelings we got onto a bus for Phnom Penh, the much dreaded capital city.

We had read a bit about the place, and most of it seemed bad: ugly, chaotic, polluted, lot of traffic, scams, thefts, expensive hotels and not much to see for tourists. And yet at some point one learns that lower expectations can turn into positive surprises.

Phnom Penh is a real city, not just a large village as other towns in Cambodia and Laos. There are ample boulevards, beautiful houses (mostly embassies), tall buildings. The roads are in rather good conditions and the streets are mostly illuminated at night. There is even a building that looks like the W Hotel (Hotel Vela) in Barcelona!

Monuments, boulevards and Sunday bikers, like a modern city

...that still retains its down-to-earth soul.

The first few hours, a Saturday afternoon, were dedicated to a mission of extreme importance: finding a copy of "The Little Prince" written in Cambodian. We had already failed once in Laos, and didn't want to repeat the experience. A public library near our guesthouse had a copy, and the librarian named a few book shops where we could find it. With hearths filled with hope we walked up and down the crazy roads of Phnom Penh looking for it. Guess what? In the end the Cambodian copy of the book will join the collection... of the ones we couldn't find. Apparently in this part of the world K's beloved prince is not as famous as we thought :(

At least we know how it looks like

While in Phnom Penh we had planned to visit two turistic sights: the Royal Palace and the infamous S21 Khmer Rouge prison. It turned out that the King died in October (we should study more about our destinations) and the Royal Palace is still closed for the three months mourning. Bad luck or a sign from above to get out of the city? We chose the second and decided to reduce our stay to only one day. This gave us enough time to visit the Tuol Sleng (known as S21) prison and stroll around Phnom Penh a little.

A morning at the old prison can be soulcrushing. The Khmer Rouge are part of a very recent past, and the scars that they have left are still deep and burning in many Cambodians, as you can easily hear talking with older people. When Pol Pot seized the power, the country underwent one of the fastest and more traumatic "revolutionalization" of the XX century. Emulating and wanting to surpass China, Pol Pot had planned for Cambodia the "Fastest Great Leap Forward". In a matter of days and weeks the population of the cities was relocated to the countryside to work the land. People of all ages, including the elderly and children, were forced to work in the fields for more long hours and fed a couple of spoonfuls of rice a day. Even that little food was reduced when the crops diminished. Many people were relocated to remote corners of the country, far from their native village, and many families were separated in the process.

One of the buildings of the prison, with barbed wire to avoid suicides of prisoners

Prison cells built inside the old class rooms

All intellectual and religious activities were prohibited: schools and temples were converted into prisons and interrogation centres. Only the manual work, mainly agriculture, was deemed appropriate for a truly revolutionary country. To insure the success of the revolution the Khmer Rouge used the classic instruments of secret police, torture, summary justice and mass killings. The visit at the school-turned-prison Tuol Sleng allows you to see the face of the evil that men can do. When the museum opened in 1979 many Cambodians came to see the pictures of the people that had been killed there, to see if they could find the face of relatives and friends lost during the dictatorship.

The horror of those events is shocking, but it's also amazing (or disturbing) to see how the society has reacted to it. It's probably for the best, but also surprising, to see how the country seems to have tried to move on and forget such a painful past. Until some years ago this part of history wasn't even taught at schools! Also, as in similar cases in other countries, most of the people responsible for the atrocities have never been properly judged and punished for their crimes. Some died of old age, others are still living an ordinary life. Its naive to desire some "real justice", but it's also enraging to see how things always end up.

Relax and mourning in front of the royal palace

Fortunately a walk along the riverfront and between the city's gardens helped us regain our good mood. Phnom Penh is so positive and full of life. In the end we just zipped through it in a couple of nights, but it was much nicer than what we had expected. Perhaps we could have stayed longer, but we are getting closer to the sea and the beaches, and we can't wait to be there!

Peace on the river front

Temples of Angkor

You cannot visit Cambodia and leave without seeing it. Many tourists actually make it their only stop in Cambodia on their tour of the region. The temples of Angkor, one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia and UNESCO Heritage Site since 1992, are the national pride and symbol of Cambodia. From the 9th to the 15th century, Angkor was the center of the Khmer empire which in times of its biggest glory comprised the territory of present Cambodia, parts of Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar. Angkor Archaeological Park contains the remains of the different capitals of the empire and encompasses area of more than 400km2. More than two millions of visitors come to Angkor each year and the number is increasing sharply, so if you go don't expect to be there alone.

Siem Reap-off

We knew that coming to Siem Reap (the town closest to Angkor ruins) on New Year's Eve was not the greatest idea but at least we got to spend it in good company, look who we caught up with again!

Stopover at Kampong Cham

Since Ban Lung is rather far from Phnom Penh, we decided to add a stopover on our way to the capital. Kampong Cham is quite a big city, not exactly pretty but with a nice riverfront and a couple of touristic points of interest.

Sour Sdey

With Christmas being over, it was time for a change ... and for a new country! We arranged the transport from the islands all the way to the Cambodian town of Ban Lung in the northeastern province of Rattanakiri. Although it included a boat, big bus and a minivan, the trip was surprisingly uneventful - maybe our horror bus stories are over! Even crossing the border was quite easy, although the 'fees' that both Lao and Cambodian authorities charge for letting you cross are criminal. Not to mention the so-called medical examination, where the Cambodian official checks your temperature, of course for another fee. I wonder how much they make you pay if you happen to have a fever...