Saturday, 28 January 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
sihanoukville
Well i was going to do a blog called the good the bad and the ugly but then Norwich drew with Chelsea and me and Amy had a few drinks and my imagination has vanished into oblivion. What an amazing result!!!
So we left Angkor and moved on to Battambang which was a very pleasant. The people in Battambang are known for there friendliness and they didnt dissapoint. Most days were spent just walking along taking in a place which intruth is the best example we have seen of Cambodian culture. There isnt much tourists here so every corner we turned we were greeted with a hello. As we searched Battambang we went to the muesum so a massive statue of some god(his name escapes me) Watched fisherman on the river. and visted an art gallery. We had the pleasure of visting some restaurants with a scheme of taking on young vunerable woman and teaching them the restaurant trade,the loc lak was delicious .
There are many fantastic schemes like this in Cambodia but there also some scheme that cant be trusted. unfortunatley alot of ophanges are very corrupt most with no child protection in place.It breaks our heart to see young children on the streets of Cambodia picking up litter or simply begging etc. lots of these kids are forced on to the streets and giving them money only keeps them on the streets its a vicious cycle.
i have details of charities that i would like to support when im home and have money.
We got on the bus in Battambang and braced ourselves for a 10 hour trip to Sihanoukville we arrived at 8pm so it ended up being 12 hours. we read our out of date rough guide 2008 that pointed us in the direction of "Weather station hill is a cheap a cheerfull place to stay"". we walked around this place for a place to eat and realised that every bar was full of men over 50 with young Cambodian girls. This place was absolutley disgracefull. sleazy isnt even the word i felt intimadated walking round there eyes glaring in our direction. we just want to eat and get to bed and leave. unfortunatley a man came and sat down and talk to us. He was trying to justify other peoples behaviour making statments like " they are well looked after here" and "at least they have money they are the lucky ones" thats for me is the sick insight into the mentality of a people who delph into sex tourism. After everything this countrys gone through i cant believe this world exists. I have some stories regarding this but i think of said enough.
needless to say we left the next day and went to serendipity beach which is beautiful we are topping up are tan the sea and sand are superb. Tomorrow is Chinesse new year so were expecting fireworks should be amazing.
we are almost at the end of this leg of the trip Vietnam is calling are next blog should be from there.....
i hope you enjoyed this blog im sorry if it aint the best or there is spelling mistakes. But Holt is better than Torres and for that reason we had to celebrate
take care people
So we left Angkor and moved on to Battambang which was a very pleasant. The people in Battambang are known for there friendliness and they didnt dissapoint. Most days were spent just walking along taking in a place which intruth is the best example we have seen of Cambodian culture. There isnt much tourists here so every corner we turned we were greeted with a hello. As we searched Battambang we went to the muesum so a massive statue of some god(his name escapes me) Watched fisherman on the river. and visted an art gallery. We had the pleasure of visting some restaurants with a scheme of taking on young vunerable woman and teaching them the restaurant trade,the loc lak was delicious .
There are many fantastic schemes like this in Cambodia but there also some scheme that cant be trusted. unfortunatley alot of ophanges are very corrupt most with no child protection in place.It breaks our heart to see young children on the streets of Cambodia picking up litter or simply begging etc. lots of these kids are forced on to the streets and giving them money only keeps them on the streets its a vicious cycle.
i have details of charities that i would like to support when im home and have money.
We got on the bus in Battambang and braced ourselves for a 10 hour trip to Sihanoukville we arrived at 8pm so it ended up being 12 hours. we read our out of date rough guide 2008 that pointed us in the direction of "Weather station hill is a cheap a cheerfull place to stay"". we walked around this place for a place to eat and realised that every bar was full of men over 50 with young Cambodian girls. This place was absolutley disgracefull. sleazy isnt even the word i felt intimadated walking round there eyes glaring in our direction. we just want to eat and get to bed and leave. unfortunatley a man came and sat down and talk to us. He was trying to justify other peoples behaviour making statments like " they are well looked after here" and "at least they have money they are the lucky ones" thats for me is the sick insight into the mentality of a people who delph into sex tourism. After everything this countrys gone through i cant believe this world exists. I have some stories regarding this but i think of said enough.
needless to say we left the next day and went to serendipity beach which is beautiful we are topping up are tan the sea and sand are superb. Tomorrow is Chinesse new year so were expecting fireworks should be amazing.
we are almost at the end of this leg of the trip Vietnam is calling are next blog should be from there.....
i hope you enjoyed this blog im sorry if it aint the best or there is spelling mistakes. But Holt is better than Torres and for that reason we had to celebrate
take care people
Friday, 13 January 2012
Siem Reap & Angkor
Bonjour people,
Its amy here, reporting from Siem Reap (Cambodia). So we traveled here from Phnon Pehn almost a week ago, we got a really cheap bus for a couple of quid for 6 hours travel, which sounds a bargain but it wasn't really that straight forward...The bus was old school but definitely not the worst we've experienced, the roads were pretty bad - the rules of the road out here is to beep the horn constantly to make the slower vehicles aware that you are coming through. The beeping is CONSTANT, and so loud! also to help break the sound barrier was a khmer sing-a-long video being played, with the passengers all singing along. The t.v on this bus (like a few others i've witnessed) is a hole made at the front of the bus and an actual t.v just shoved in, D.I.Y style. Thankfully the driver made two stops where i could have a break from the noise and relieve myself in a hole in the ground with a groupof naked kids watching me. Good times.
We arrived in Siem Reap in one piece and got a tuk tuk to a place called "Happy guesthouse" which is indeed, very happy. The people are excellent here, they literally laugh at most comments i make, they either are genuinely nice OR they have drunk too many Happy Shakes (which are actually on the menu) Don't worry mum, i havn't had one. Yet.
So our first thoughts are about getting tickets from the famous Angkor temples, a city which was built a lonnnnnnnnnng time ago under the rule of this famous king (i don't retain info too well, google it) the city was the capital of the khmer empire. All was well until the Thais invaded and caused the cambodians to flee (bloody Thais) they also subsequently left and therefore the city was abandoned....left to the jungle. We decided to visit Angkor Wat - the largest and most "magnificent" temple, at sunrise. So at 5.00am we bundled into our tuk tuk, the driver was nice but his name, was just a noise, so we mostly called him friend, and off we went. When we arrived, there were not too many people there so we got a good seat on the floor in front of the lake which is in front of the temple. We sat for around 3 hours to watch the sun come fully up, it was worth every minute. It seemed to stay dark forever, i glanced down to pick up my camera, and the whole backdrop of sky behind the temple has turned a strawberry red colour. From then, the sun slowly but surely made its way up, at one point it was so dazzling you could only just make out the temple, but around 7.30am it had reached to a position which bathed the temple in light so the outline shone. It is one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen, my camera picked up a few good shots but it never seems to capture the beauty of seeing it for yourself.
After the sun came up, a little 10 year old girl persuaded us to have tea at her stall, so we did. The place seemed quite peaceful although by this time the crowds had gathered, in the distant we spotted a white pony walking freely through the fields around the temples.We set off inside the temple which again was magnificent, it was like something from indiana jones. Old scribes on the wall etc. We check out Angkor Thom also, probably my favourite and then maybe 5 others. One temple had trees entwined into the interior, this really gave the effect of a city abandoned to the jungle, mystical. The trunks and branches also appeared to be silver. It was a full on sight seeing day, but we enjoyed every minute, it really felt like visiting one of the great wonders of the world.
The begging in Siem Reap is at a whole new level, there are a lot of children beggars trying to sell books etc - its sad but buying things only condones it and keeps them on the streets. The money also doesn't always go to them, it gets back to the guy sending them out there every day/night and often they are involved in sex trafficking as they are so vunerable. We have spoken to some people that work in the fairtrade markets which "empower the people" by trying to ensure adults earn and children learn-Adam is thinking about sending some info back to his old school he worked at and maybe also we can do something in the way of a charity event to send some money back here and for it to go into the right hands (which is never too easy) There are so many causes you could help donate to and try help in this part of the world but the street kids of cambodia really deserve it. In my opinion.
Lighting up the situation, at lunch today whilst eating, a man pointed his stump at us repeatedly.....every cloud...
We have until Monday here and then we are off to Battambang, we wanted to venture into the highland areas for more trekking (North east...ish) but we don't have too much time here and we have to get our visa in time for Vietnam in Feb. So back down South we head.
Tonight we are heading over to a bar called Rosy, run by a guy from......Norwich! So Adam has his retro shirt laid out ready to don tonight, in hope this guy can stream the game live (or at least find a radio station)
Take care guys
Amy xxx
Its amy here, reporting from Siem Reap (Cambodia). So we traveled here from Phnon Pehn almost a week ago, we got a really cheap bus for a couple of quid for 6 hours travel, which sounds a bargain but it wasn't really that straight forward...The bus was old school but definitely not the worst we've experienced, the roads were pretty bad - the rules of the road out here is to beep the horn constantly to make the slower vehicles aware that you are coming through. The beeping is CONSTANT, and so loud! also to help break the sound barrier was a khmer sing-a-long video being played, with the passengers all singing along. The t.v on this bus (like a few others i've witnessed) is a hole made at the front of the bus and an actual t.v just shoved in, D.I.Y style. Thankfully the driver made two stops where i could have a break from the noise and relieve myself in a hole in the ground with a groupof naked kids watching me. Good times.
We arrived in Siem Reap in one piece and got a tuk tuk to a place called "Happy guesthouse" which is indeed, very happy. The people are excellent here, they literally laugh at most comments i make, they either are genuinely nice OR they have drunk too many Happy Shakes (which are actually on the menu) Don't worry mum, i havn't had one. Yet.
So our first thoughts are about getting tickets from the famous Angkor temples, a city which was built a lonnnnnnnnnng time ago under the rule of this famous king (i don't retain info too well, google it) the city was the capital of the khmer empire. All was well until the Thais invaded and caused the cambodians to flee (bloody Thais) they also subsequently left and therefore the city was abandoned....left to the jungle. We decided to visit Angkor Wat - the largest and most "magnificent" temple, at sunrise. So at 5.00am we bundled into our tuk tuk, the driver was nice but his name, was just a noise, so we mostly called him friend, and off we went. When we arrived, there were not too many people there so we got a good seat on the floor in front of the lake which is in front of the temple. We sat for around 3 hours to watch the sun come fully up, it was worth every minute. It seemed to stay dark forever, i glanced down to pick up my camera, and the whole backdrop of sky behind the temple has turned a strawberry red colour. From then, the sun slowly but surely made its way up, at one point it was so dazzling you could only just make out the temple, but around 7.30am it had reached to a position which bathed the temple in light so the outline shone. It is one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen, my camera picked up a few good shots but it never seems to capture the beauty of seeing it for yourself.
After the sun came up, a little 10 year old girl persuaded us to have tea at her stall, so we did. The place seemed quite peaceful although by this time the crowds had gathered, in the distant we spotted a white pony walking freely through the fields around the temples.We set off inside the temple which again was magnificent, it was like something from indiana jones. Old scribes on the wall etc. We check out Angkor Thom also, probably my favourite and then maybe 5 others. One temple had trees entwined into the interior, this really gave the effect of a city abandoned to the jungle, mystical. The trunks and branches also appeared to be silver. It was a full on sight seeing day, but we enjoyed every minute, it really felt like visiting one of the great wonders of the world.
The begging in Siem Reap is at a whole new level, there are a lot of children beggars trying to sell books etc - its sad but buying things only condones it and keeps them on the streets. The money also doesn't always go to them, it gets back to the guy sending them out there every day/night and often they are involved in sex trafficking as they are so vunerable. We have spoken to some people that work in the fairtrade markets which "empower the people" by trying to ensure adults earn and children learn-Adam is thinking about sending some info back to his old school he worked at and maybe also we can do something in the way of a charity event to send some money back here and for it to go into the right hands (which is never too easy) There are so many causes you could help donate to and try help in this part of the world but the street kids of cambodia really deserve it. In my opinion.
Lighting up the situation, at lunch today whilst eating, a man pointed his stump at us repeatedly.....every cloud...
We have until Monday here and then we are off to Battambang, we wanted to venture into the highland areas for more trekking (North east...ish) but we don't have too much time here and we have to get our visa in time for Vietnam in Feb. So back down South we head.
Tonight we are heading over to a bar called Rosy, run by a guy from......Norwich! So Adam has his retro shirt laid out ready to don tonight, in hope this guy can stream the game live (or at least find a radio station)
Take care guys
Amy xxx
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Phnom Pehn, Cambodia
On our arrival in Cambodia (Phnon Pehn) for $7 the tuk tuk driver assures of a good place to go because the places we want to go are too expensive, we have't slept in 24 hours and we lost the strength to barter for anything so its a leap of faith as we dodge traffic through the streets. It was as chaotic a scene as i can remember.We went past some fairly nice hotels some impressive buildings but as we started to turn off the main road it was clear that with our budget accommodation. You pay for what you get in life, we paid $4, we live in a run down part of town along side locals this place used to be vibrant with back packers that was when there was a lake.... (the Chinese drained it to build hotels!)
When we arrived we were then bombarded by deals, offers, name it we were offered it.... we went to bed.
Walking around town it is a real mix of beautiful buildings and amazing history, but every now and then there is a reminder of the plight in Cambodia, for example the young boy clinching his hands begging for money just as we had eaten. On the sign where our guesthouse is, which asked people to report any evidence of people involved in child sex tourism because its rife in these parts, you can see it with your own eyes.
On the plus side the food is great, i was even close to trying a spider.... next time. the People are quite timid but very proud of there country. The Angkor beer advert a good example " my beer my country" it feels as if with the Vietnam alliance and the use of US dollar its clear to me that the Cambodian want something to call there own which is a nice change to Malaysia.
But the real reason we have come to Phnom Pehn was to ""ünderstand"" the Kymer Rouge Regime and how it affected the people and the country. Me and Amy had a real thirst for this knowledge and were looking forward to finding out why Pol Pot did what he did so off to the S21 prison (Tuol sleng) and the killing fields (Choeng Ek) we went.
We got a Tuk Tuk to S21 by a man named Sally we went with him as he had a sign saying ""I wont ask you for Tuk Tuk if you need one please talk to me" which was a refreshing change and he was a nice man indeed. Sally told us when he dropped us off at Tuol Sleng that he lost 5 of his family To the Kymer rouge regime, including his dad and sister, with tears in his eyes.
I wish Amy was writing this blog as i have been trying to forget about yesterday , i thought that S21 would be upsetting sure, i felt that i was almost briefed about how to feel but the feeling i had walking round that museum I have never experienced before. I had to remove my self from rooms as the feeling in there felt like something bad lingering. I felt heavy and sick. The museum is now what an old high school once was before being turned into a prisin camp. The rooms haven't been changed since 1979, the scratches on the wall from the prisoners to the blood stains on the floor. Photos of the victims on the walls staring back at you like ghosts from the past it really cut to the core. Young boys and girls glaring back at you scared, some angry some confused, in pictures knowing they were to be tortured until they admitted they were spies and their crimes were that they did their homework and were top of the class or had a good job as a doctor or teacher. So their crime was intelligence. This place was designed for pure evil a place of education was turned into hell. the museum was a way for everyone to visit to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Next we were off to the place where they would go on and be killed and buried if they admitted to "crimes" which people often did to stop the horrific torture, not because they were guilty. We walked around and had an audio tour guide, the place is so tranquil these days and at peace with so much nature there now, but the audio tour guide soon showed us the reality. Pieces of cloth come to the surface everyday we could even see teeth in the soil.... The people of Cambodia still have no justice for what happened, even Pol Pot remarried after these events and lived until he was nearly 90. But thankfully there was some justice as in a court case 2 years ago the head of the S21 was taken to the killing fields and was placed at the killing tree and was made to listen to the story. The Tree was next to a pit, this pit was used to bury mothers and children (family of the accused) but even worse when the Vietnamese found the tree it had bits of hair and brain in the bark, they had used the tree to smash babys skulls against before tossing them into the pit. The Kymer rouge did this as they believe to kill a ""tree you must dig up the roots also"".
With this story the man that ran S21 fell to his knees and finally admitted responsibility.
Nearly 3 million Cambodians lost there life due to the Pol Pot regime.
I am sorry to be so depressive but they were the facts, me and Amy were just mentally drained yesterday but today is a new day, we booked a ticket to Siem Reap, we leave tomorrow. We drank sugar cane juice from the central market and I just saw Norwich won 4-1 - So we are all systems go!
I hope all is well back home and your new years resolutions are still intact
Take care
Love Adam
When we arrived we were then bombarded by deals, offers, name it we were offered it.... we went to bed.
Walking around town it is a real mix of beautiful buildings and amazing history, but every now and then there is a reminder of the plight in Cambodia, for example the young boy clinching his hands begging for money just as we had eaten. On the sign where our guesthouse is, which asked people to report any evidence of people involved in child sex tourism because its rife in these parts, you can see it with your own eyes.
On the plus side the food is great, i was even close to trying a spider.... next time. the People are quite timid but very proud of there country. The Angkor beer advert a good example " my beer my country" it feels as if with the Vietnam alliance and the use of US dollar its clear to me that the Cambodian want something to call there own which is a nice change to Malaysia.
But the real reason we have come to Phnom Pehn was to ""ünderstand"" the Kymer Rouge Regime and how it affected the people and the country. Me and Amy had a real thirst for this knowledge and were looking forward to finding out why Pol Pot did what he did so off to the S21 prison (Tuol sleng) and the killing fields (Choeng Ek) we went.
We got a Tuk Tuk to S21 by a man named Sally we went with him as he had a sign saying ""I wont ask you for Tuk Tuk if you need one please talk to me" which was a refreshing change and he was a nice man indeed. Sally told us when he dropped us off at Tuol Sleng that he lost 5 of his family To the Kymer rouge regime, including his dad and sister, with tears in his eyes.
I wish Amy was writing this blog as i have been trying to forget about yesterday , i thought that S21 would be upsetting sure, i felt that i was almost briefed about how to feel but the feeling i had walking round that museum I have never experienced before. I had to remove my self from rooms as the feeling in there felt like something bad lingering. I felt heavy and sick. The museum is now what an old high school once was before being turned into a prisin camp. The rooms haven't been changed since 1979, the scratches on the wall from the prisoners to the blood stains on the floor. Photos of the victims on the walls staring back at you like ghosts from the past it really cut to the core. Young boys and girls glaring back at you scared, some angry some confused, in pictures knowing they were to be tortured until they admitted they were spies and their crimes were that they did their homework and were top of the class or had a good job as a doctor or teacher. So their crime was intelligence. This place was designed for pure evil a place of education was turned into hell. the museum was a way for everyone to visit to learn from the mistakes of the past.
Next we were off to the place where they would go on and be killed and buried if they admitted to "crimes" which people often did to stop the horrific torture, not because they were guilty. We walked around and had an audio tour guide, the place is so tranquil these days and at peace with so much nature there now, but the audio tour guide soon showed us the reality. Pieces of cloth come to the surface everyday we could even see teeth in the soil.... The people of Cambodia still have no justice for what happened, even Pol Pot remarried after these events and lived until he was nearly 90. But thankfully there was some justice as in a court case 2 years ago the head of the S21 was taken to the killing fields and was placed at the killing tree and was made to listen to the story. The Tree was next to a pit, this pit was used to bury mothers and children (family of the accused) but even worse when the Vietnamese found the tree it had bits of hair and brain in the bark, they had used the tree to smash babys skulls against before tossing them into the pit. The Kymer rouge did this as they believe to kill a ""tree you must dig up the roots also"".
With this story the man that ran S21 fell to his knees and finally admitted responsibility.
Nearly 3 million Cambodians lost there life due to the Pol Pot regime.
I am sorry to be so depressive but they were the facts, me and Amy were just mentally drained yesterday but today is a new day, we booked a ticket to Siem Reap, we leave tomorrow. We drank sugar cane juice from the central market and I just saw Norwich won 4-1 - So we are all systems go!
I hope all is well back home and your new years resolutions are still intact
Take care
Love Adam
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
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