Angkor Wat
I haven't been very attentive to the old blogging in the past few days, most of which have been spent on one bus or another and some of it on a boat. So my apologies to any of you who have been checking back for updates! ;)
Last time we were speaking, we were in Phnom Penh and our clothes had just arrived. We
spent another day in Phnom Penh, visited the Tuol Sleng prison, an old school that the Khmer Rouge took over and turned into a secret prison and torture camp. Only 7 of the over 2000 people held there actually survived. The rest were brought to what are now known generally as the killing fields about 13km away and it has since been well documented what happened there (if the name hadn't given it away).
After that rather jolly morning, we took some time out to digest what we had seen. Later we strolled back to the riverside and had dinner out in the FCC, Foreign Correspondents' Club, overlooking the river and enjoyed our last night in Phnom Penh, for now.
The next day it was on to a bus and off to Siem Reap, most famous for it's ancient temples, 'rediscovered' in the late 1800's and now Cambodia's major tourist attraction. Angkor Wat, the most famous of the many temples, is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world. Others were completely covered by the jungle and still have trees growing on and over and in
them. I won't be able to describe these temples here, just don't have the words or the energy and it would never come across properly. (Though apparently Toby thinks himself up to the challenge, so go read his description at http://tobyontour.blogspot.com/ . If you've just come to my blog from his blog with a promise of descriptions 'without all the prevarication' you will be sorely disappointed!) Suffice to say that they were amazing! I'll try get some good pictures up so you can see for yourselves. Anyone who has seen Tomb Raider might be familiar as it was filmed here.
The town of Siem Reap is really great although you can see the effect having a UNESCO pretected building can have on a place. It is quite touristy, with masses of construction work going on on what look to be very large hotels and lots of them. This said, it still retains a lot of character and again the people are lovely. Our guesthouse this time lived up to and beyond my now reajusted expectations of accommodation in Cambodia. It was like a proper hotel, had a lovely open chillout area in a courtyard and really nicely kept rooms. It was more expensive than the last place, going from $10 a night to $15 (for the room), but you could see the difference $5 can make!! The town has a street now called 'Bar Street' on most maps, though the official name is probably Street 157 or something, but it is very lively and the centre of all backpacker nightlife, so someone was obviously inspired to give it a better, more descriptive name. Bar Street. Well done.
Last time we were speaking, we were in Phnom Penh and our clothes had just arrived. We
spent another day in Phnom Penh, visited the Tuol Sleng prison, an old school that the Khmer Rouge took over and turned into a secret prison and torture camp. Only 7 of the over 2000 people held there actually survived. The rest were brought to what are now known generally as the killing fields about 13km away and it has since been well documented what happened there (if the name hadn't given it away).After that rather jolly morning, we took some time out to digest what we had seen. Later we strolled back to the riverside and had dinner out in the FCC, Foreign Correspondents' Club, overlooking the river and enjoyed our last night in Phnom Penh, for now.
The next day it was on to a bus and off to Siem Reap, most famous for it's ancient temples, 'rediscovered' in the late 1800's and now Cambodia's major tourist attraction. Angkor Wat, the most famous of the many temples, is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world. Others were completely covered by the jungle and still have trees growing on and over and in
them. I won't be able to describe these temples here, just don't have the words or the energy and it would never come across properly. (Though apparently Toby thinks himself up to the challenge, so go read his description at http://tobyontour.blogspot.com/ . If you've just come to my blog from his blog with a promise of descriptions 'without all the prevarication' you will be sorely disappointed!) Suffice to say that they were amazing! I'll try get some good pictures up so you can see for yourselves. Anyone who has seen Tomb Raider might be familiar as it was filmed here.The town of Siem Reap is really great although you can see the effect having a UNESCO pretected building can have on a place. It is quite touristy, with masses of construction work going on on what look to be very large hotels and lots of them. This said, it still retains a lot of character and again the people are lovely. Our guesthouse this time lived up to and beyond my now reajusted expectations of accommodation in Cambodia. It was like a proper hotel, had a lovely open chillout area in a courtyard and really nicely kept rooms. It was more expensive than the last place, going from $10 a night to $15 (for the room), but you could see the difference $5 can make!! The town has a street now called 'Bar Street' on most maps, though the official name is probably Street 157 or something, but it is very lively and the centre of all backpacker nightlife, so someone was obviously inspired to give it a better, more descriptive name. Bar Street. Well done.
However, as much as I would've loved to have stayed an extra day or so in this place, we have a whole other country to visit. Off to Vietnam....via Phnom Penh...again.
posted by Dee @ 7:05 a.m.
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