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Cambodia
  • Gillian Johnson

Cambodia

A 14-day adventure by Gillian Read more
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  • Trip start
    November 18, 2018
    Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Phnom Penh

    November 18, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Arrived after a not too harrowing plane journey. Only seen glimpses of the city so far but looks great and I'm really excited to go and explore. Both India and China have influenced Cambodia and I definitely had a sense of both those places when driving through. Off to pass out now so hopefully will feel less like a truck has hit me/look like one giant swollen ankle tomorrow.Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Kampot

    November 19, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    Started the morning with a bus journey to Phnom Chiso temple. The ride was great as got to see a lot of the countryside en route. The rainy season has just finished here so everything is beautiful - lush greenery, rice in the fields and flowers of every colour. I wanted all of them for my garden! Passing through the villages was interesting and our tour guide told us a lot about the struggles the Cambodian people have been through which puts thing into a bit of context. It's cliche but it does remind you of how lucky you are as a Westerner to have a social safety net and healthcare even though it's a bit shit sometimes. The temple was lovely. Our group had it almost entirely to ourselves which always makes it a bit more atmospheric. Built in the 11th century, the temple was subsequently abandoned but is now worshipped in and well kept. After that we headed to Kampot after a brief interlude when our tyre blew and we had to sit in a service station Amazon cafe. (Who knew they still existed? Finally my 90s childhood goal was realised when I got to go). In Kampot we went for a sunset cruise which was sadly lacking in sunset as the clouds drew in. So no sunset but this was more than made up for by seeing some fireflies, which were like little fairy lights in the trees (please no-one tell me these are just fake ones planted by the boat ride company. Let a bitch live).Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Kep

    November 20, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Updating retrospectively as there was a power cut at the hotel in Kampot last night so no Wi-Fi. Fascinating day starting with a trip to a salt farm where we saw how the (predominantly female) workers slog away in the boiling heat lugging salt around in two baskets over their shoulders! The farmer told us that last year's salt production was terribly low due to unprecedented rainfall. Although the family own the land they're not allowed by the government to use it for anything else and receive no subsidies. Must be a really terrifying existence for them. Next we travelled through ridiculously muddy roads to see rice farming. Something like 80% of Cambodia's people are rural. Their houses are basic, no real running water and although technically they have access to electricity it's so expensive they don't really use it. A lot of the farms are still ploughed with cows and planted by hand. Next we visited a cave which had a temple within it. Then, Kep, which was an old French colonial resort. Eerie and sad to see rotting shells of once beautiful villas abadoned, but at least there's a thriving market full of fish and tons of restaurants with tasty food (Kep specialises in crab and also has a giant crab statue saying 'welcome to Kep ' submerged in the sea which is exactly as tasteful as it sounds). Finally we saw a pepper plantation which was gorgeous. It grows on vines which I hadn't realiser. You could tell these farmers were a lot better paid than those we had seen the rest of the day.the region is known for producing a great crop. Interestingly the Khmer Rouge destroyed all the pepper plants during the revolution but luckily for all of us the trade is back up and running again. Back at the hotel in Kampot we went for a delicious meal to celebrate being so bloody lucky our livelihood doesn't rely on salt.Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Koh Kong

    November 21, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Mostly travelling today but with a few stops. First, a fishing village. The boats look pretty but I was quite shocked by the poverty people live in here. The journey then took us through more rural areas and eventually into the rainforest area which was absolutely amazing! Dense layers of trees and thick bamboo. Elephants migrate through this area but none around today :( The final stop before our hotel was to go and see Ta tai waterfall which we had to travel by small boat to see. No pics because there was torrential rain as we set off so was focusing on keeping my already delicate phone from drowning. Luckily the weather held off for a beautiful ride through the rainforest and the steam coming off the trees in the mountains made it even better. We're staying at a hotel in a mangrove sanctuary tonight so we're in a room on stilts! Arrived when it was dark so can't wait to see the trees in the light (way too terrifying to go out there in the dark 🤤)Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Koh Kong

    November 22, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Woke up this morning to the creepy mangrove trees outside. The hotel is a bit odd. Think tropical honeymoon meets Fawlty Towers. First trip of the day was to a local stupa. It has a legend attached to it and the locals visit it to leave offerings. It's not attributed to any particular spirit according to our guide but I read in our Lonely Planet there is still a lot of Animism locally so perhaps it could be something to do with the water, as it's in the sea and accessible via a platform. Who knows - I'm probably totally wrong. On a similar note our guide also mentioned that the shrines we see outside all houses and shops are actually to do with local gods (nothing at all to do with Buddhism. Which is not a big surprise but interesting). Next, a Buddhist temple including a garden of concrete statues depicting humans being tortured in 'hell'. I felt a little confused by the guide's explanation but I think that it's meant to remind us that we create hell in our own minds by torturing ourselves with the past/future rather than focusing on what is actually happening in the present moment. So it's not hell in the Christian sense of it as there is no such thing in the Buddhist religion. I guess in conclusion humans just like looking at gory shit no matter what they believe in. After hell we got to forget about that for a bit and enjoyed some beach time and a sea swim. Back at the hotel, we went for a walk into the mangroves but all the locals were there as it's bank holiday and it was a bit stressful on tiny wooden platforms battling human traffic in both directions so we didn't last long. Dinner was in the local town,a lot of which has been totally taken over and shut down by the Chinese. We've heard from a few locals now that this is what they're doing in several beach resorts with a mind to turn them into Chinese holiday destinations. I can't imagine how different it will be here in 15 years time.Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Phnom Penh

    November 23, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Nothing much from today as most of it was spent travelling. Now back in the city and we were lucky enough to be staying right next to the river so caught the tailend of the water festival. Loads of fireworks and barges that all are paid for and represent the different Government ministries. One of my favourites was the MoD one which was a monkey (Ankit thinks it is Hanuman). All the rural Cambodians flock to the city for the event so it has to cater to millions of extra people so the public spaces are heaving! However it seemed very civilised with mostly families and young couples rather than a big piss up which is what it would be back home!Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Phnom Penh

    November 24, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Started the day at the Royal Palace. Had a great local guide who made some absolutely fantastic jokes(!) Such as Angelina Jolie being his ex girlfriend. Royal Palace is mostly 19th century but still pretty special to look at especially in the blazing sunlight and there was a good collection of Buddha statues and gold elephant boxes. We then went to the killing fields which was fucking horrifying. It's hard to even imagine how nearly half the population was wiped out over a few years by boy soldiers essentially. The fields were shocking because on top of the thousands of remains already found,more bones, teeth and rags of clothing keep showing through the earth after the rainy season. We actually saw bones and teeth poking out of the ground beneath our feet which I was not anticipating. We also visited the genocide museum which was equally as grim - we were shown around the tiny cells prisoners were kept in and saw photos of their bodies which was horrifying. It's really difficult to comprehend something in such recent history that hasn't really been reconciled- ex guards and soldiers of the regime still go about their lives despite all the things they did which is strange. Our guide said it is the Buddhist way to forgive and understand those people will be punished in their next life. After that we went to the National Museum which was a welcome respite. Lots of amazing sculpture from the Ankor period which was interesting to see as it's not something I'm familiar with. We also saw the first graphical depiction of zero which was pretty exciting for nerds like us. No protection around it of course so we could get up really close. Finally, we went on a 'fun' cyclo ride which comprised of sitting in a seat facing directly into the traffic powered by a bike peddled by a seemingly exhausted man no longer in the prime of his life who kept coughing every 30 seconds. I thought my weight would be the death of him but we both made it through unscathed and saw the spectacular 1920s central market. Also managed to have a cocktail at the FCC which is supposedly famous for colonial journalists and authors but I have to confess my ignorance on this as hadn't heard of them! But still, it was a good atmosphere and I needed a strong drink after today.Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Battambang

    November 25, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Mostly on the bus again today driven by trusty Mr Paul (definitely not his real name but that's the closest word it sounds like to my ignorant ear). He is an absolute legend at both over and under taking and has a right laugh when he scares the group by driving over potholes at 60mph and making the whole bus shake. On the way to Battambang we stopped by some of the artist villages along the way - metal work and pottery. Everything is essentially done by hand and their skill is amazing. They pass down their knowledge through generations and there was some definite child labour going on (but it is Sunday here to be fair...). The hundreds of piggy banks in various shapes below haven't been glazed but we saw loads on stalls - favourite colour choice seems to be bright gold (even for the pumpkins). We arrived in the city just before sunset so haven't seen much yet. I was most excited for this area and what I've seen so far is beautiful so can't wait to see more in the morning.Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Battambang

    November 26, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Brilliant day today. Went out for a rural ride this morning (everyone else went on a bike) around the surrounding areas of the city. It's really beautiful here and so lush and green. The houses are all nestled amongst the trees which must be quite dark but they looked lovely. We visited a rice paper maker, a dried fruit seller, a rice wine maker, and a fish market specialising in prahoc (fermented fish). We also stopped by a roadside stall selling a sort of rice pudding cooked in a bamboo stalk which was absolutely delicious. The fruits were also lovely but the rice wine infused with snake (to help strengthen your back) less so because it was 40% alcohol to stop the snake from rotting. It was interesting to see at the fish market that they were using fresh water farmed fish only for dried and fermented use,not to eat, because it's too fatty. I bet we eat really fatty fish all the time in the UK. We've also been in awe of how little anything goes to waste in the rural communities. Every aspect of the rice is used - the husks are used for fuel/ash in pottery, the inner husk bit pig food, and 'broken rice' (small bits broken in milling process) used for rice based products like the paper (user in the flour) and the rice wine. Once back in the city, Ankit downloaded a map of the colonial buildings so we did a tour of those which were stunning to look at but inevitably dilapidated. Next, mountainside temples. We had a brilliant guide who took us and also showed us the killing cave located in the same area. He had been 5 at the time of Khmer Rouge and told us some incredibly hard memories from that time and the impact it had on his family. Some were killed but he also explained how even post regime it was really hard to reconnect with one another as everyone fled to various places and couldn't then work out where others might be without access to phones or internet. He also said that although he loved his people he had tried to escape to Thailand to get away from the memories but they turned him away. It is so crazy to think of how many people must have serious PTSD from the time and just having to live with it. On a lighter note we also saw some of the 3 million bats that come out of a nearby cave at dusk each day. It was amazing! Coming out of the cave in swarms and they just kept coming for over 20 minutes!Read more

  • Gillian JohnsonCambodiaTraveler

    Siem Reap

    November 27, 2018 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Travelling until this afternoon, but we stopped by the road where the guide bought us a grilled rat(!) To try. Ankit said it tasted a bit like rabbit crossed with chicken. Next was a beautiful vegetable market where we tried some lotus (the beans taste a bit like fresh peas). The others also had some insects and chicken livers on a bamboo stick. Next stop was a silk farm. The industry slowed in Cambodia after the French left and the Khmer Rouge stopped it entirely,but they're coming back. The Cambodian silk worms produce a naturally yellow silk (really pretty) which is unusual for silk worms. We got to see the worms and they're pretty cute actually - like white caterpillars. Shame they have to be left to die in the sun to get silk! The process of turning it into silk is crazy - so many steps and skill required. After that we made it to Siem Reap. We didn't get much time but enough for a wander and look at the fruit bats in the park which are pretty big. There were bloody loads of them! Oh and I had some durian ice cream which I really liked despite sewage smell :DRead more

    Trip end
    December 1, 2018
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