Notes from Cambodia : Part 1

Let's start from the beginning. Cambodia is a small country in the.....nah actually I can't be bothered with that. I could rave about the miles of paddy fields and charming children, but I'll give you the honest account as far as I saw it.

Our journey took us from the capital Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (base for Ankor exploration) and then to Battambang, Cambodia's second city. The map is from here.

The trip from big brother Vietnam, HCMC, takes around 5 hours to the Cambodian capital (by bus). Comparison of the two cities is futile, Saigon being a sprawling bastion of a booming economy whilst Phnom Penh still resembles a provincial town around goldrush time. For a few kilometers after the border huge Casinos line the road, a legacy of the illegality of gambling in Vietnam. If you really want to ruin you and your family's life, Cambodia gives the foolish man a chance to jump across the border and do so. The Casinos even got together to build a bridge in the locality for players to jump off once they lost everything -- or maybe it was there beforehand anyway.

Enough! As you would expect PP oozes colonial-ness, a prime example being the old Raffles Hotel.

Like a gameshow girl showing off the tumble dryer, Minh Chi models a nice green area that looks down towards the spire of the town pagoda.

Does this everyday street scene look like somewhere familiar?

The central market, with PP's biggest shopping centre off to the right (with the domed roof).

The city has some nice park areas, however they are strewn with litter, as are the streets. The main focus of the city is the riverfront, where the Tonle Sap (Sap River) visibly merges into the Mekong. Here you can see package tourists dining in posh restaurants whilst landmine victims and the homeless beg for anything they can. Whole families can still be seen sleeping on the streets of the capital, and also in park areas. The expat community have a yummy choice of cafes, restuarants and bars to satisfy both thirst and hunger. The idea of this disparity always has me a little confused about what to make of it, especially with the backpackers who treat SE Asia like Disneyland.

There is one word I can use to describe the temples of Ankor - circus. I remember my one previous visit to Siem Reap and Ankor Wat in June 2003 being a much more peaceful experience. The town has changed into a night time freakshow with thousands of tourists strolling around 'pub street' and it's adjoining alleys, whereas before there seemed to be little or no nightlife. Around the temples, coaches, motorbikes and tuc tucs transport tourists between various sites, most of which you can't move in for loud tour groups. The temples of Ankor should be a place of quiet and reflection -- this is almost impossible. The only hope is to give up the main attractions and find the smaller less popular temple ruins. However, Ankor Wat itself is unmissable.

The infamous steps at Ankor Wat -- near vertical.

This scene looks like something out of a CS Lewis novel -- you can even see a unicorn in the middle.

Looking back from Ankor Wat. The odd white circle in the distance is the Ankor ballon, which will take you about 200m above the ground. We have one of those in Bournemouth too.

An indication of the unbelievable number of tourists is that some of the hundreds of tuc tucs carry advertising!

A typical scene inside a temple complex : Koreans.

The funfair in full swing.