Shianoukville - Ha tien - Can tho

Caught minibus from Shianoukville to a little town called Kampot where we all got off bus, everyone else was staying there so I waited for bus to the border. There must have been a change of plans as my backpack was taken off the bus and thrown in boot of a car and I was told get in don't worry money. So I got in the car with a little Cambodian family and hoped for the best, it was unclear if this was a family car or a shared taxi? We drove for a while before turning off on a dirt track, was very bumpy and dusty ride for ages, I was a little worried I may end up in the middle of nowhere so I just relaxed and trust everything would be ok. I arrived at the border crossing quite relieved, the border has only recently opened up for tourists so not many people cross there. It was all very straight forward at I already had visa and getting quite used to border crossing. After getting through customs I discovered my ticket stopped there and I would have to pay for a moto bike for 15km trip to Ha tien, I tried to argue that I had bought a ticket to Ha tien but no point, I had to pay or stay at border. Got to Ha tien and was introduced to a guy who was supposedly a travel agent, he told that all boats to Phu Quoc island were full and if I didnt get bus straight away to next town I would be stuck for 3 days as all buses full. Decided to trust the guy so he drove me to bus stop out of town, when the bus arrived they rushed me onto the bus getting me all confused and flustered then charged me 700,000 Dong, which I realised later was almost $50 for a 2 hour trip. Arrived in Rach gia and went in and out of ticket offices discovering that all the boats to Phu quoc were full too, and would be for the next week due to TET. I decided that if that many people were going to the island there would be no chance of accommodation and it would be too busy to relax, so I thought F*$# this and went straight back to bus station and booked ticket to Can tho to see the floating markets. I arrived in Can tho bus station around 9Pm exhausted after a pretty stressful day jumped on the first moto and got a lift into town. Expected to have trouble getting a room with TET madness but found a nice big room, aircon, hot shower and double bed for $10 I took it straight away!

Shianoukville and Bamboo Island

Arrived in Shianoukville and thought I would treat myself to a nice bungalow on the beach for a couple of days to relax. I found a nice place with ocean views and a hammock for $30/night was only avaliable for 1 night, as it is TET new year everthing is really busy and lots of accomodation is full so it was going to be hard to find somewhere to stay the next night. I found a place offering boat trips to Bamboo Island including accomodation for $25 return decided that would be easire than looking for a place on the mainland. Had a great day on the beach in Shianoukville it was so nice to be back on the coast! I didnt realise how much I had missed it! I spent the day on a deckchair reading, eating seafood and getting massaged having pedicure and swimming. The beach was very beautiful but quite touristy and there was a bit of rubbish in the water, especially down one end, very sad but most places I have visited so far there is lots of litter thrown everywhere. In the evening the length of the beach is full of restaurants serving fresh BBQ seafood, I ate a delicious grilled snapper and sat back feeling the waves at my feet. In the morning I got a boat out to Bamboo Island, was about an hour trip, we stopped for some snorkelling along the way and saw some beautiful fish. On the island there were max 10 Bungalows right on the beach, it was busy with day trippers but mannaged to find a little beach all to myself where I read and swam all day. By the evening most tourists had gone and the island was so quiet it was beautiful, I sat under the stars and ate some fresh seafood chatting to a lovely swiss couple about motorbike adventures in Cambodia. In the morning I woke up and jumped straight into the ocean then ate banana pancakes for breakfast so good! I could have stayed for days but visa for Vietnam started already and very excited to get there. I got back to mainland and booked minibus for the morning to Ha Tien which is just over the border in Vietnam.


View From my Bungalow, Sihanoukville Beach, Beach Cat, Sunset on Main Beach, Bungalows on Bamboo Island, My Private Beach, Bamboo Island.

Phnom Penh

I slept most of the 5 hour trip to Phnom Penh so didn't see much of the scenery, I did see some busy little farming villages close to town. Cambodia is so flat its incredible, I read that it didn't exist 5000 years ago and was one big bay with some islands, slowly the Mekong filled the bay with sand and silt and formed Cambodia, the islands are still visible today as hills on the flat planes. I got off the bus in Phnom Penh and was surrounded by the usual mob of tuk tuk/moto drivers, one guy offered to drive me round till I found a place for $3US so I took his offer. Found a place on the Boeung Kak Lake which had cheap rooms $3 but plastic doors which you could easily open even when locked, ended up settling for a room $4 with my own shower/toilet. The place is right on the lake, quite beautiful, there are hammocks on the deck surrounded by water, nice place for watching the sunset.
Today I visited the killing fields of Choeng Ek, where thousands of Cambodians were executed and buried in mass graves. There is a massive 17 story white Stupa filled with 9000 skulls and other bones visible behind glass, it was built as a Today I visited the killing fields of Choeng Ek, where thousands of Cambodians were executed and buried in mass graves. There is a massive 17 story white Stupa filled with 9000 skulls and other bones visible behind glass, it was built as a memorial and a reminder of the horrific past, Surrounding the Stupa are over 120 mass grave sites which look like craters in the earth. Next I visited Tuol Sleng Museum, the former Security Office 21, it was once was a high school until converted into detention center for interrogation, torture and killing by Pol Pot. The rooms which were once class rooms had been divided up into tiny cells and the front of the building had been covered by a net of barbed wire to stop prisoners committing suicide. Was feeling pretty emotional after visiting both museums, what a horrific past! It is hard to imagine what the people here have had to deal with and still effected by today. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the National Museum, it was a lot lighter than my morning, saw some beautiful sculptures from the Angkor era and other Khmer art. I have decided to leave Phnom Penh tomorrow and get a bus down to the coast to relax on a beach for a couple of days before heading to Vietnam.

The Place I Stayed on Lake, Tonle Sap river, White Stupa at The Killing Fields, The Victims skulls, The Mass Grave Craters, The Torture Rooms at Tuol Sleng, Barbed Wire Net on Front of Building, Cells, Some of the Many Victims Photos.

THE NEW REGIME
Poem by Sarith Pou
displayed at Tuol Sleng

No religious rituals.
No religious symbols.
No fortunetellers.
No traditional healers.
No paying respect to elders.
No social status. No titles.

No education. No training.
No school. No learning.
No books No library.
No science. No technology.
No pens. No paper.

No currency. No bartering.
No buying. No selling.
No begging. No giving.
No purses. No wallets.

No human rights. No liberty.
No courts. No judges.
No laws. No attorneys.

No communications
No public Transportation.
No private transportation.
No traveling. No mailing.
No inviting. No visiting.
No faxes. No telephones.

No social gatherings.
No chitchatting.
No jokes. No laughter.
No music. No dancing

No romance. No flirting.
No fornication. No dating.
No wet dreaming.
No masturbating.
No naked sleepers.
No bathers.
No nakedness in showers.
No love songs. No love letters.
No affection.

No marrying. No divorcing.
No marital conflicts. No fighting.
No profanity. No cursing.

No shoes. No sandals.
No toothbrushes. No razors.
No combs. No mirrors.
No lotion. No make up.
No long hair. No braids.
No jewelery.
No soap. No detergent. No shampoo.
No knitting. No embroidering.
No colored clothes, except black.
No styles, except pajamas.
No wine. No palm sap hooch.
No lighters. No cigarettes.
No morning coffee. No afternoon tea.
No snacks. No Desserts.
No breakfast (sometimes no dinner)

No misery. No forgiveness.
No regret. No remorse.
No second chances. No excuses.
No complaints. No grievances.
No help. No favors.
No eyeglasses. No dental treatment.
No vaccines. No medicines.
No hospitals. No doctors.
No disabilities. No social diseases.
No tuberculosis. No leprosy.

No kites. No marbles. No rubber bands.
No cookies. No Popsicle. No candy.
No playing. No toys.
No lullabies.
No rest. No vacations.
No holidays. No weekends.
No games. No sports.
No staying up late.
No newspapers.

No radio No TV.
No drawing. No painting.
No pets, No pictures.
No electricity. No lamp oil.
No clocks. No watches.

No hope. No life.
A third of the people didn't survive.
The regime died.