Learning alot in Cambodia

Our time in Cambodia began in Siem Reap, the jumping-off point to the historic holy city of Angkor. In Siem Reap we spent our days wandering around the markets and our evenings on "Pub Street" sampling the 25cent draught, Khmer curries and ice cream at 'Banana Leaf'. The highlight was obviously our time spent touring the temples of Angkor via tuk-tuk which were incredible to see in person. My favorite temple was Bayon (the one with the faces) but they were all uniquely impressive, especially the jungle temple where trees are growing out of the ruins. The intricate stone carvings are fascinating, at least the ones that are still in tact after the destruction & looting during the the late 70's and 80's.

We continued to learn more about the devastating recent history of the Khmer people in the capital city, Phnom Penh; I feel so ignorant for having had no idea about the genocide and what the people of Cambodia have been through prior to coming to their country. In Phnom Penh we walked through "S-21", the school-turned-prison where the Khmer Rouge imprisoned roughly 17,000 innocent Cambodians and tortured them into confessing to crimes they did not commit. It was eerie and sad, especially meeting two of the seven survivors afterward who were selling books they'd written about their experience in the prison. We also went to the "Killing Fields" at Choeung Ek where the soldiers marched prisoners (men, women & children) to their death by completely inhumane & gruesome methods.
After all of this, I'm still not sure I had a complete grasp on what really happened during Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's reign (if you click on no other link, click this one) from 1975-1979 until I read the book "First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung. It is a firsthand account of a young girl & her family who were forced out of Phnom Penh to work as slave laborers in the fields of the countryside; reading this book made the situation feel a lot more real.
Despite all that they have been through in the past 40+ years the people of Cambodia are among some of the kindest we've met on our trip and the most welcoming. Many people speak great English so it was nice to be able to get to know some of them during our time there.

Temples in Phnom Penh

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum a.k.a. "S-21"

Memorial stupa at Choeung Ek

Visitors have left thousands of bracelets in memory of the children at the 'killing fields'

On a lighter note, we left Phnom Penh heading for the coast starting in Kampot which is a region known for their pepper. We rode bikes through the town and surrounding villages along the river then escaped to tiny, primitive "Rabbit Island" where there are no proper showers & only 3 hours of electricity per day. It downpoured the first day we were there and the next day was hot, like get-a-sunburn-in-the-shade hot.

We spent a night in the town of Kep before meeting up with 'The Belgians' one last time on the island of Koh Rong where, when it wasn't raining, the beach & sea were very inviting. During the downpours we passed the time eating curries, playing cards, reading & generally laying around laughing; we had a great time!

The view from our bungalow

Sunset from the boat heading back to the mainland

Our last stop was Sihanoukville before crossing the border back into Thailand and heading for the beaches of the Andean Sea!