The Killing Fields

From the best to the worst in Cambodian history in just 24 hours - the Killing Fields Memorial is a sinister reminder of the tragic genocide of more than 2 million people that took place only a couple of decades ago during Pol Pot's lunatic regime. Not exactly a nice thing to see, but a trip to Cambodia would not be complete without it.

Angkor Vat

What a day - I never knew the temples covered such a big area. Hired a tuk-tuk for the whole day for 10$ which was good value for money. Penh, my driver, knew everything about the area and took me to all the best places.

Phnom Penh - Siem Reap (and a quick glance at Angkor Vat)

Got up again at 5:30 to be ready for my 6:30 boat. Because of low water the first part of the trip is currently servicd by bus. As everything else in Cambodia the arrivel times are not very precise, they said we would be in Siem Reap around noon, but we did not arrive till 15:00.

But still it was a nice trip, seeing the floating villages (complete with a post office, a school with a football field on the top floor and a dentist!) and water buffaloes.
Checked in at a clean, nice hotel and got an airconditioned room for 15$ - not too bad for a tourist resort like this one.






Although I was 3 hours late I was still able to get a tuk-tuk taxi to see the sunset over Angkor Wat - a mighty experience, watching the towers change their colors to gold in the late sun. Looking forwards to seeing more of it tomorrow - and understanding my son Lars (hovigs.blogspot.com) who is capable of crossing multiple time zones just to admire old rocks, too...

Phnom Penh

Flew from Vientiane this morning - but the plane was a little delayed so there were no buses for Siem Reap this afternoon. Bought a ticket for tomorrow's boat and will be there at noon, early enough to be able to see some of Angkor Wat and maybe the sunset.

Phnom Penh is a little less noisy than Bangkok - but the moto taxis cannot seem to accept that a tourist would ever want to see the city on foot, which can be a little frustrating. Will find a hotel and have an early night again, maybe a hotel with aircon this time, as I did not sleep too well yesterday. The fan in the ceiling was working, but circulating air still being above 30 degrees does not help much...

The city is beautiful - with the Mekong as the natural center and waterway. Pics will come as soon as I find a place to upload!

Vientiane

Nice and quiet for a capital - ecpecially compared to Bangkok! The border controls took a couple of hours and cost more than 40$ including all the small little things - but not a very good idea for developing tourism... or do they believe people will come no matter what?

Vientiane itself was nice, a relaxed atmosphere, good food, and sitting next to the mighty Mekong river watching sunset was quite an experience.

Night train to Nong Khai

A good idea to take the night train! Efficient, clean, comfortable - and very good company - locals and tourists. As there seems to be a problem uploading pics right now I'll find a better Internet cafe and do it later...

First day, Bangkok

First day in Bangkok - noisy, full of smog, extremely hot, and a terrible jet lag. Discovered that I forgot my newly aquired digital camera at home, so I had to get one here -couldn't come home without any photos.... The Aeroflot flight went smoothly, but was looooong. Bought my ticket to Nong Khai an now I am waiting to go - looking forwards to a real night's sleep.