Five buses, One flight, Three Countries in 4 Days!- Cambodia

After Vietnam Liz and I had a quite the travel experience to Cambodia. As Liz says we did "Cambodia in a Flash." I would have loved to spend more time there but we saw what we could in the time that we had. Cambodia is a place that makes you feel grounded and leaves a big impact. We started in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia and only had one day there (it took two overnight buses to get there). We met a tuk tuk driver named Vidal who took us all around the city and gave us a very good history lesson of the area. In the 70's, the people of this area experienced a cruel and awful genocide. During this genocide there was a famous prison called S-21 which held and tortured the most important prisoners of the genocide. We visited this prison which had mug shots of all of the prisoners, torture rooms, stories of the survivors, and the grave stones of the only prisoners found at S-21 when the prison was invaded. Only seven people were found alive at the prison at the fall of the prison.

From there we went to "The Killing Fields" where prisoners were taken to be killed and buried in mass graves after being held at S-21. Today they have a huge memorial in this field to honor the people that were murdered in the genocide. It was a very somber day for Liz and I but we were grateful to learn more about what the Cambodian people have survived and how strong and resilient the people are there. Regardless of their suffering, the Cambodian people are kind, happy, intelligent and the nicest people we met in South East Asia in my opinion.

The next day we took a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia to catch the sunrise at Ankor Wat the following morning. Come 5am we were at Ankor Wat ready for an incredible photo shoot of the famous wat (temple) when we slowly realized the sky was cloudy and our hopes of a colorful sunrise and amazing picture were not meant to be. Regardless of the unsuccessful sunrise, Liz and I explored Ankor Wat and enjoyed a day of wat touring and a nice dinner in the lovely town of Siem Reap. While we were only in Cambodia for a short time we loved the food, people, and learning about the history and recent struggles of this country. After our Cambodian adventure we took two more overnight buses to Bangkok and and early morning flight out to Phuket..... stay tuned for an update on my last week in Thailand in the West island of Koh Phi Phi.

With our tuk tuk driver Vidal- he took us to an authentic Cambodian Lunch

Chicken Amok- so good

Toul Sleng Genocide Museum  (S-21 Prison)- gravestones

S-21

Prisoner Holding Room

Prison

Cell block

Buddhist Stupa holds the remains of over 8,000 prisoners

The Victims Found in Mass Graves

Memorial

Field of Mass Graves

Red Peanut Curry Noodles

Market in Phenom Phen

Market in Siem Reap

Streets of Siem Reap

Ankor Wat

Liz and I after our unsuccessful sunrise :)

Crazy steep stairs at Ankor Wat

Stairs to the top of the Wat were closed for the day- typical for us! No problem :)

We climbed this arch to touch the nose of the Budda

Don't be scared Liz!

touching the nose!

T- our tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap

For additional information on the Cambodian Genocide:
Click here for more information on the S-21 Prison
Click here for more information on the Killing Fields