Cambodia,wow we are loving it here it is definately the craziest country so far,we arrived over the border in Poipet with sarah and chris got the passports stamped and didn't even have to bribe any officials,we have heard some awful stories about this place.It's basically a shanty town with massive casino's that the rich thai's go to,it's all run by the local mafia,it is also notorious for people and drug smuggling.However we didn't hang around for long and were soon on our way in the taxi,not one we chose just one we were told we were taking,but we did haggle and felt we got a good deal,our driver knew the roads pretty well and did well to avoid the many pot holes and bomb crators,we did get slowed down a bit by a collapsed bridge but our driver just went through a field and on we went.
we arrived in Siam reap and hit the Red piano bar for some well deserved beers,this is the bar that angelina jolie would sip cocktails after a hard days filming tomb raider,and a very nice bar it is too.we checked in to a wicked little guest house run by this mad cambodian woman who just laughs at us,but in a nice way.Siam reap is a cool little place with good places to eat and some cracking bars,the only off putting thing is when the view is a load of orphans and land mine victims staring at you and asking for money,and it is too much of a pull on the heart strings and you give money.I can't not mention the peadophiles,they sit in the bars scoping for their prey.it really is a very very disturbing sight.This is after all the home of gary glitter.Sarah our travelling companion has already phoned the peadophile hotline and grassed up a couple of dodgy looking characters.
Anyway the mad old woman at our guesthouse organised us a couple of tuk tuks for the next day and we headed out for the temples of angkor,and what a sight they are,truly a wonder of the world and we spent the next 3 days wandering in and around these amazing temples,we even got up at 4am to watch the sunrise but it was worth it.We spent time chatting to monks,being fleeced by everyone we met (including the monks)everyone here has an angle and everything it seems costs a dollar.Around the temples its the kids that do the hard sell to you and probably because they pull on your heart strings you end up with books and bracelets and bottles of water,but at the end of the day its nothing to us but loads to them.
The following day we went to a war museum and were shown around by Sisipin,now he had a story to tell,his family was executed by the khmer rouge and as a result became a soldier in the khmer rouge at the grand old age of 12.He basically had no choice in the matter and for the next 10 years fought as a foot soldier.He lost his leg and sight when he stepped on a mine,he was shot twice and still had 13 nails in him as a result of a nail bomb.And not to mention that his wife got killed 2 years ago after standing on a mine leaving him to bring up their daughter......And we moan about things.
Anyway i had to tell you about this because he was such a nice guy and showed us around and told us the history and shared his life experience with us and he really moved us all...and the museum was great he let me and chris play with guns and in the tanks,it was wicked.
And so we go to Phnom penn
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