About an hour out of Phnom Penh the scenery changes to flat fields with the occasional palm tree making a dramatic statement. The country dwellers are busy planting their rice crops and everywhere is a vibrant green. Planting is staggered, so some fields are filled with lush plants, others are still a muddy brown and being plowed by hand with […]
We left Phnom Penh at 10.45 p.m. and travelled overnight on a night bus. Apart from many of the roads being atrocious and therefore bumpy, it was comfortable and I slept quite well. The bus had almost lie flat ‘beds’ – just the shoulders & head were raised, so that the person behind could tuck their feet or bags into […]
Yesterday we wandered round a local temple. Southeast Asia is famous for its Buddhist monks,and most Cambodian boys and young men spend some time living this way. Buddhist monks do not take vows to remain monks forever and the young man who is helping our tour guide spent 10 years as a monk. He exudes an aura of calmness and […]
A sobering day today. We learned about Cambodia’s history. An attempt by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot to form a Communist peasant farming society resulted in the deaths of 25 percent of the country’s population from starvation, overwork and executions. When the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh, every single person living there was forcibly evacuated on foot into the […]
36º when we landed! But less humidity than HK so it doesn’t feel 5º hotter. The usual bit of chaos at the airport – we’d done our visas online beforehand so didn’t have to stand and fill out those forms, but firstly we were directed by an official to the diplomats channel, only to get to the desk and be […]
