Cambodia - Phnom Penh

We were picked up at 6.30am to be taken to the airport, so we were up very early in order to have a light breakfast before we left.

We have absolutely loved Vietnam, the people are so gentle and friendly and the food was so delicious and healthy. We have not quite finished with Vietnam yet as at the end of our trip we go to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city) for a couple of days before flying home. Our guide was a wonderful young man who only got married two days before he picked us up (as that date was advantageous according to feng shui, although his wedding celebration will only be in 2 weeks' time to give the families time to prepare.) What we love about the Vietnamese people, which is actually true of all SE Asian cultures, is the absolute respect and care they have for their elders and ancestors. Sadly that respect does not always exist in western cultures anymore these days so it was good to see how they take care of their elders. 

It was an easy flight from Hanoi to Vientiane in Laos, where we did not have to get off the plane, and then on to Phnom Penh (the plane was then continuing on to Ho Chi Minh City). We had to apply for a visa as we landed, all very easy and efficiently done on iPads provided in the arrival hall. For a moment we thought that Gavin’s suitcase was lost as it did not appear on the conveyor belt, but on enquiry they found it had fallen off!

We were met by a guide from Audley who took us to the hotel and explained some of the facts about Cambodia. Gavin and I had both read books on the recent history with the genocide by the Khmer Rouge so we understand the horrific cruelty this country has endured. Our guide shared a story about how her grandmother lost four out of six children under the Khmer Rouge regime - her aunt gave birth to a baby during that time of persecution, and as the soldiers did not like the sound of the baby crying they took it from her and bashed it against a tree until it died. Her aunt committed suicide shortly after that horrible incident. The Khmer Rouge persecuted their own people during their radical communist ruling from 1975 to 1979 when over 3 million people died from being murdered, starvation or disease.

We were taken to our hotel, the Raffles Hotel Le Royal and it is very similar in design to the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Our first impressions of Phnom Pehn are that it is very clean without the litter that we saw in Vietnam, it also has some very impressive modern architecture that surprised me. Cambodia has had the benefit of much international aid since the Khmer Rouge war ended in 1979 and it can be seen in the infrastructure and all the modern buildings going up.

We had a free afternoon so after checking in we found a tuk-tuk to take us to the Royal Palace, which is very ornate with many different temples and buildings set in beautiful gardens. The buddhas in the Silver Pagoda are made of solid gold and one has a 25 carat diamond in it. I was surprised at the low level of security for such rich treasures. This is an image of one of the temples, and I have an extra of a group of young monks I saw at the temple.

Thank you for continuing to look at my journal when I have not been able to spend time replying or commenting on other journals. Not only is my time limited, but without roaming I only have access to wifi when I am back in the hotel at the end of the day. 

Tomorrow we go visit the harrowing Tuol Sling, known as S-21 which is the interrogation and torture centre used by the Khmer Rouge, before going on to visit the Killing Fields. Later in the afternoon we board our boat for the start of our Mekong River cruise for four days, I hope we have decent wifi on board to allow me to continue posting my blips.