Malaysia
....a higher end Asia, a place where the more wealthy vacation....
Friday, 23 August 2013
Cambodia
Siem Reap. Sihanoukville. Koh Rang Saloem.
...a peaceful land of beautiful temples and gentle people....
Cambodia is speckled with temples and the people have a sense of humour and a smile that outweigh the atrocities that happened not so long ago.
Despite the fact that genocide only came to an end here in 1979, the tour in Phnom Penh of the killing fields is a gut wrenching reminder of the terrible things Pol Pot did to the people of his own country. Doctors, teachers, lawyers - all executed against a wall while music blared from a loudspeaker - told by a guard on a recording that actually lived through the nightmare. There are photographs of prisoners and cells at the cell blocks but the most disturbing is the killing tree - where babies were executed. Now that tree stands adorned with bracelets of every colour, left there by tourists who have just for a moment, felt these peoples sufferings.
Siem Reap
A tiny town filled with markets, delicious restaurants, nightlife and $5 massages...
It is the jumping-off point for the dozens of temples in the area. Pink sand temples, temples on water and the home of Angkor Wat - the granddaddy of them all. Faces carved in stone and the history best explained by a local - the entrance fee is about $40 for 2 days. Mr. On our tuk-tuk driver that we booked through Golden Temple Villa ( http://goldentemplevilla.com/home ) is a local driver that even managed to tetris our suitcases on his little bike to the airport!
Welcome to the land of tiny bananas and if you have an ailment just head to the pharmacy - you will most likely be cured in under 30 minutes. This happened to us a couple times....
Trees growing on, in and through the concrete walls of temples no longer inhabited, but held in place by ancient roots that grip like fingers into the ground.
Sihanoukville & Koh Rang Saloem
A beach town ready to provide you with pedicures, food, drinks, sunglasses, bracelets - pretty much anything you could need will walk by you at some point. People gather at the pier to take speedboats to the islands , especially during full moon parties. Our stop was the small island of Koh Rang Saloem - a small island with white sand on one side, yellow on the other and a hut on the beach costs around $50.
This small island is a quiet paradise where you can buy a bottle of Mekong whiskey for under $5 from a local on the beach. It will soon have you believing that this paradise is real life and for a few days, it was.
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