After our bad start to the mornings travel leaving Laos we ended up walking away from the border crossing actually laughing at the experience. A few hours later and a whole lot more tired we stopped at a road side cafe of sorts and without informing us the bus drove away with our bags! Resulting in one very irate ginger lad running out after it and shouting his head off! After he'd been assured by the locals (by the way Cambodians are called Khmer) that everything was fine and that the bus is going to drop some people off in the nearby town of Kratie and will be back in ten minutes to pick us back up he was a little satisfied but still annoyed after having spent the morning asking questions and never getting an honest answer. When the bus returned, all the locals, including a very merry toothless old man, were all laughing and mimicking him. What can a man do, if he can't laugh at himself? So he ended up performing a parody of himself for the benefit of everyone else and we got back on the bus laughing again.
We arrived in the small tavel hub town of Kampong Cham just after dark. Crossing the huge Japanese funded bridge (the only bridge in Cambodia that actually spans the width of the Mekong) gave us a heads up of our arrival so we were straight off the bus before anyone else, and grabbed our bags before the tuk tuk drivers could properly swarm us. We wandered from guesthouse to guesthouse in search of a decent room for the night before we finally accepted the fact that a decent room in Kampong Cham doesn't actually exist. No matter, we only had to spend the night there and had a very early start in the morning to reach Siem Reap.
We got to Siem Reap the day before Tammys 25th birthday, so it was time to celebrate. Rather than get Tammy a gift that would only add weight to her backpack, I decided instead to just spoil her rotten. So two nights in a posher than posh guesthouse, a day spent learning how to cook Khmer food, a day spent in a spa getting pampered seemed like something she might enjoy. We stayed in a really nice guesthouse called The River Garden and I told the staff it was Tammy's birthday so they organised a cake to be made for her and even left a lovely sign on the path outside our room wishing her a happy birthday.
So we spent the first two days in Siem Reap pretty much entirely within the confines of the River Garden. I mean if you're going to pay for luxury then you might as well enjoy it as much as possible for as long as it lasts. And after our horrible room in Kampong Cham and our shitty hut in Don Det, not to mention all the other cheap places we've stayed since coming to Asia, it was about time we enjoyed some comfort.
We arrived in the small tavel hub town of Kampong Cham just after dark. Crossing the huge Japanese funded bridge (the only bridge in Cambodia that actually spans the width of the Mekong) gave us a heads up of our arrival so we were straight off the bus before anyone else, and grabbed our bags before the tuk tuk drivers could properly swarm us. We wandered from guesthouse to guesthouse in search of a decent room for the night before we finally accepted the fact that a decent room in Kampong Cham doesn't actually exist. No matter, we only had to spend the night there and had a very early start in the morning to reach Siem Reap.
We got to Siem Reap the day before Tammys 25th birthday, so it was time to celebrate. Rather than get Tammy a gift that would only add weight to her backpack, I decided instead to just spoil her rotten. So two nights in a posher than posh guesthouse, a day spent learning how to cook Khmer food, a day spent in a spa getting pampered seemed like something she might enjoy. We stayed in a really nice guesthouse called The River Garden and I told the staff it was Tammy's birthday so they organised a cake to be made for her and even left a lovely sign on the path outside our room wishing her a happy birthday.
So we spent the first two days in Siem Reap pretty much entirely within the confines of the River Garden. I mean if you're going to pay for luxury then you might as well enjoy it as much as possible for as long as it lasts. And after our horrible room in Kampong Cham and our shitty hut in Don Det, not to mention all the other cheap places we've stayed since coming to Asia, it was about time we enjoyed some comfort.
Our room at the River Lodge
Tammys birthday cake, way to big for two people
A nice touch left outside our room on the morning of Tammys birthdayProbably the best part about staying in The River Garden was our day out with the Cooks in Tuk Tuks. This was the name of the cooking class which I treated Tammy to. We woke up early and hopped aboard our custom tuk tuk and were taken to one of the huge local markets in Siem Reap by one of the cooks who worked in The River Gardens restaurant, who's name was Yinh. We stopped briefly on our way to the market to go see a more unique street vendor selling fried tarantulas and water beetles, which Yinh assured us went great with an ice cold beer! If Kev had been with us I'm sure he would have been up for sampling the "delicacies", but we decided to pass.
Our custom tuk tuk
Water beetles
Deep fried tarantula
Tammy checks out the snacks on offerWhen we reached the big market it was all hustle and bustle, locals only stopping briefly when the two strange barang (Khmer for foreigner) with the holes in their ears and metal in their lips stopped to see, smell, touch, taste and in some cases listen to the produce on offer.
We probably were more on show than the locals felt as we navigated the narrow lane ways. We hadn't experienced so much genuine interest in our appearance before in Laos and Thailand. But the Khmer people it seemed were definitely interested, as our guide informed us that of the people who were all smiles and chuckles were actually discussing us. So we were happy to entertain them as much as they were entertaining us.
Later that night one of the waiting staff in The River Garden would ask Richie what was wrong with his skin, apparently she had never spoken to someone with freckles before, We found this hard to believe but she, unlike the people at the market wasn't giggling, she just seemed very confused....
We probably were more on show than the locals felt as we navigated the narrow lane ways. We hadn't experienced so much genuine interest in our appearance before in Laos and Thailand. But the Khmer people it seemed were definitely interested, as our guide informed us that of the people who were all smiles and chuckles were actually discussing us. So we were happy to entertain them as much as they were entertaining us.
Later that night one of the waiting staff in The River Garden would ask Richie what was wrong with his skin, apparently she had never spoken to someone with freckles before, We found this hard to believe but she, unlike the people at the market wasn't giggling, she just seemed very confused....
Laughter at the strange barang
Ugly steel fishApart from serious amounts of every kind of vegetable and fruit, different sections of the market were dedicated to meat and fish. Some of the animals were still alive so even though the overall smell of the place was particularly disgusting, you couldn't argue with the fact that all the food on the display was as fresh as it gets.
Well not all the food there was so fresh, as Yinh pointed out, a certain type of fish paste called "Pouchoc", which in Cambodia is the second most consumed food by your average Khmer after rice. A huge percentage of the fish caught in the rivers and along the coast of Cambodia are too small to be really considered a meal so some are used in soup and others are thrown into large buckets and seasoned with things like salt etc and then left for at least three months!
The resulting gray paste is pouchoc and its yet another local "delicacy" that I'm afraid to say we neglected to sample!
Well not all the food there was so fresh, as Yinh pointed out, a certain type of fish paste called "Pouchoc", which in Cambodia is the second most consumed food by your average Khmer after rice. A huge percentage of the fish caught in the rivers and along the coast of Cambodia are too small to be really considered a meal so some are used in soup and others are thrown into large buckets and seasoned with things like salt etc and then left for at least three months!
The resulting gray paste is pouchoc and its yet another local "delicacy" that I'm afraid to say we neglected to sample!
Market people, Siem Reap
Pouchoc, bottom right hand cornerAfter finishing in the market we went back to The River Garden and applied what we had learned and made a four course Khmer meal, with the aid of the chefs in the restaurant of course.
For starters we were shown how to prepare a banana flower and how to a make salad with it.
For the main course we were shown how to make an Amok, which is a type of Cambodian curry made with Coconut milk.
For dessert with made a strangely tasty sweet potato tiramisu and then finished it off with some herbal tea made from fresh hibiscus flowers.
We even had a small arts and crafts lesson where we folded and cut the leaf from a banana tree for use as a fancy natural place mat. More importantly in my book though we got to eat what we made, not to mention the fact that Tammy took notes and hopefully Amok is something I can expect to be eating for dinner on occasion in the near future. Banana Flower salad though, pass.
For starters we were shown how to prepare a banana flower and how to a make salad with it.
For the main course we were shown how to make an Amok, which is a type of Cambodian curry made with Coconut milk.
For dessert with made a strangely tasty sweet potato tiramisu and then finished it off with some herbal tea made from fresh hibiscus flowers.
We even had a small arts and crafts lesson where we folded and cut the leaf from a banana tree for use as a fancy natural place mat. More importantly in my book though we got to eat what we made, not to mention the fact that Tammy took notes and hopefully Amok is something I can expect to be eating for dinner on occasion in the near future. Banana Flower salad though, pass.
Making dinner at The River GardenAs enjoyable as our time in The River Garden was, we are travelling on a budget so with that in mind we left after two nights and headed for the center of Siem Reap and back to reality.
We checked back into the kind of accommodation that we're more used to and quite sharpish we were out and about to finally have a proper good explore of the place. We went straight to the center of the backpacker area, a street called Pub Street, and found just what we were looking for, draft beer at 50 cent a glass or $3 dollars for a pitcher! Tammy decided that it was time to properly celebrate her birthday so we hit the beer at an earlier than usual hour.
After sitting there for only an hour or so we witnessed the strange incident of two truck loads of police come to a stop in the middle of pub street and storm all the restaurant and bar fronts taking with them any tables, chairs, menu boards or anything that was obstructing the foot path. Thankfully we were sitting at a table just inside one of the restaurants so we had a comfortable view of the chaos without being disturbed ourselves. I say chaos but it wasn't really, some restaurants like the Indian ones, had their staff come running out to try and pull there property inside before it could be taken but most of the restaurants run and staffed by Khmer people simply stood there and laughed!
Our waitress informed us that the police had warned them not to obstruct the foot path during the day and that no one had listened, expecting nothing to happen, so I guess they found it funny that maybe for once, the police had held true to their word.
We checked back into the kind of accommodation that we're more used to and quite sharpish we were out and about to finally have a proper good explore of the place. We went straight to the center of the backpacker area, a street called Pub Street, and found just what we were looking for, draft beer at 50 cent a glass or $3 dollars for a pitcher! Tammy decided that it was time to properly celebrate her birthday so we hit the beer at an earlier than usual hour.
After sitting there for only an hour or so we witnessed the strange incident of two truck loads of police come to a stop in the middle of pub street and storm all the restaurant and bar fronts taking with them any tables, chairs, menu boards or anything that was obstructing the foot path. Thankfully we were sitting at a table just inside one of the restaurants so we had a comfortable view of the chaos without being disturbed ourselves. I say chaos but it wasn't really, some restaurants like the Indian ones, had their staff come running out to try and pull there property inside before it could be taken but most of the restaurants run and staffed by Khmer people simply stood there and laughed!
Our waitress informed us that the police had warned them not to obstruct the foot path during the day and that no one had listened, expecting nothing to happen, so I guess they found it funny that maybe for once, the police had held true to their word.
Street raid, Pub Street, Siem Reap
Some people who lost their chairs were a Scottish couple sitting next to us called Mike and Lauren, we asked them to join us and in turn had found willing drinking buddies for what would turn out to be a very long day and night! I think we went for dinner in the night market at some point, my memory of the evening is a little hazy, Tammy has some pictures of some cheeky street kids she befriended there, so I guess that's proof enough.
We spent most of the night in the aptly named "Angkor What?" bar, named after the famous "Angkor Wat" temple which is almost single handedly responsible for Siem Reaps enormous popularity as a holiday destination.
We spent most of the night in the aptly named "Angkor What?" bar, named after the famous "Angkor Wat" temple which is almost single handedly responsible for Siem Reaps enormous popularity as a holiday destination.
Tammy's new friends, Siem ReapAfter a severe hangover and a couple of days just resting and eating well we did what everyone comes to Siem Reap to do. We cut a deal with a tuk tuk driver to take us to the Angkor ruins the next morning for sunset and went home to bed early so as to wake up for 4am and get to get to Angkor Wat in time.
The temple complex of Angkor is utterly massive and in fact the temples of the ancient civilisation of Angkor can be found across almost all of north western Cambodia. In order to gain a perspective of its size, here is a link to it on Google maps;
The temple complex of Angkor is utterly massive and in fact the temples of the ancient civilisation of Angkor can be found across almost all of north western Cambodia. In order to gain a perspective of its size, here is a link to it on Google maps;
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?ll=13.424018,103.878479&spn=0.049173,0.070724&z=14
To enter Angkor you must buy either a 1, 3, or 7 day pass. But unless you are a serious fan of ancient Angkor architecture then like us the 1 day pass should suffice. Most tuk tuk drivers try to either sell you what they call the short trip or the long trip. We went for a slight hybrid and went for the middle trip, which he was cool with. But then if the price is right a tuk tuk drive will usually be cool with any deal.
Our tuk tuk driver asked us to call him Rambo, but I dont know why because he was a tiny guy and bore no resemblance, but still it was funny to find him asleep in his tuk tuk outside our guesthouse at 4.20 am and have to shout "Wake up Rambo!!".
The first temple we went to, like I mentioned above was Angkor Wat, which is the most famous of all the temples of Angkor. Built in the 12th century it was one of the last great temples built by the people of Angkor. It was originally used as a mausoleum and temple for the current king Suryavarman II. I can only imagine the amount of slaves it took to construct and how many of them died in the process but done the less, its absolutely amazing and in my opinion should be one of the 7 wonders of the world but for some reason its not.
Our tuk tuk driver asked us to call him Rambo, but I dont know why because he was a tiny guy and bore no resemblance, but still it was funny to find him asleep in his tuk tuk outside our guesthouse at 4.20 am and have to shout "Wake up Rambo!!".
The first temple we went to, like I mentioned above was Angkor Wat, which is the most famous of all the temples of Angkor. Built in the 12th century it was one of the last great temples built by the people of Angkor. It was originally used as a mausoleum and temple for the current king Suryavarman II. I can only imagine the amount of slaves it took to construct and how many of them died in the process but done the less, its absolutely amazing and in my opinion should be one of the 7 wonders of the world but for some reason its not.
Sunrise, Angkor WatThe sun rises directly behind the main temple in the center of the Angkor Wat complex and 100s of tourist descend upon it each morning to witness the magnificence of its silhouette against the sky on fire. A walkway leads to the temples entrance with a huge pool of water on either side. About 95% of the tourists flock like sheep to sit by the pool on the left hand side where chairs are provided, which I guess if you're older might be necessary.
But the other 5%, including ourselves sat by the pool on the right hand side, either in the grass or on one of the smaller temples in the complex that face the main building. As the sun came up, everyone went quiet and all that could be heard was the flash of cameras. Thankfully being on the right side we had the freedom to move around and see different angles and enjoy the experience without being caught in a massive crowd.
But the other 5%, including ourselves sat by the pool on the right hand side, either in the grass or on one of the smaller temples in the complex that face the main building. As the sun came up, everyone went quiet and all that could be heard was the flash of cameras. Thankfully being on the right side we had the freedom to move around and see different angles and enjoy the experience without being caught in a massive crowd.
It was a little crowded on the left hand side
Entering Angkor Wat all by ourselves
Young boy prepares shrine for the crowds, Angkor WatOnce the sun was up, said crowd retreated for breakfast for some reason, leaving the inner temple to be explored in peace by the few of us who seemed to have sense.
The only movement inside was children and monks preparing altars and shrines for worship and hopefully making a quick dollar off tired tourist, by selling them the promise of luck. Thankfully just as we decided to leave Angkor Wat and get our own breakfast the crowds and tour groups returned and brought with them horrible levels of chatter and noise.
The only movement inside was children and monks preparing altars and shrines for worship and hopefully making a quick dollar off tired tourist, by selling them the promise of luck. Thankfully just as we decided to leave Angkor Wat and get our own breakfast the crowds and tour groups returned and brought with them horrible levels of chatter and noise.
Inside Angkor Wat
Body of water reflects the sky, outside Angkor WatAfter our breakfast we took a short visit to the hill temple of Phnom Bakheng and were slightly underwhelmed by the amazing views of Angkor Wat that its famous for. But we had to take into consideration that it was a very misty morning, the temple was currently under reconstruction and that after witnessing the majesty of Ankgor Wat at sunrise and having had our chakras properly centered, it was doomed to pale in comparison really.
Phnom BakhengWe then moved onto the walled city of Angkor Thom and the mysterious Bayon temple that resides in its centre. From a distance the temple looks like a haphazard pile of rubble but once entered you realise that its a complex maze of hallways, tunnels and shrines. The temple has 54, 4 sided towers inside, with a mysterious calm smiling face on each side. The temple is almost pyramid in shape and as you reach the centre you rise up through its different levels and no matter what way you look, be it behind you, above you or through a window, through another window, there is always one of these faces watching you.
Bayon, Angkor ThomThe kids try to relate to you by asking you what country you're from and then start rolling off facts about your country in an attempt to impress you and hence sell you something. You'd be surprised how much they know about each country, but you can't forget that yes they are kids, but their still professionals at what they do.
We took our friend Vinny's advice and told each of them we were from Caspia, "The most beautiful island in the Caspian sea!" A place we have no clue about and thankfully they didn't either. They then tend to leave the weird Caspian's alone.
We then visited Preah Khan, just to the north of the Angkor Thom city. Similar to Angkor Wat it was built in the 12th century and served as the Kings residence while he waited for his masterpiece (Angkor Wat) to be finished. Peaceful and tranquil the temple is surrounded by dense foliage. At the south entrance of the temple there is two huge trees with exposed roots. The look to be fighting over the rights of an interior wall. This would sight would serve as a taster for the Ta Phrom, the famous jungle temple which we were to visit next.
Preah KhanWe moved on to Ta Phrom next, the famous jungle temple. Partly famous for its uniqueness among the Angkor ruins and partly due to its appearances in the Tomb Raider movies. The uniqueness I speak of, is the fact that unlike the rest of Angkor, where archeologists have slaved tirelessly for decades to not only rebuild the ruins to their former glory but also strive to rebuild them using the same methods the people of Angkor used to build them in the first place. Ta Phrom on the other hand has been left to the mercy of nature and has been literally left untouched since Europeans first rediscovered Angkor in the 19th century.
The temple has fallen into such disrepair that the forest strikes at its opportunity to occupy new territory. The result is a symbiotic relationship between creation for destruction.A truly humbling experience. The argument stands whether to destroy the roots to save the temple or allow nature to take its course, and watch the temple be slowly destroyed, because the trees are seen as just as interesting and important as the temple itself. After Ta Phrom we threw in the towel and called it a day, we had spent over 12 hours exploring Angkor and were literally all templed out. It would be a long while before either felt the urge to visit another.
The temple has fallen into such disrepair that the forest strikes at its opportunity to occupy new territory. The result is a symbiotic relationship between creation for destruction.A truly humbling experience. The argument stands whether to destroy the roots to save the temple or allow nature to take its course, and watch the temple be slowly destroyed, because the trees are seen as just as interesting and important as the temple itself. After Ta Phrom we threw in the towel and called it a day, we had spent over 12 hours exploring Angkor and were literally all templed out. It would be a long while before either felt the urge to visit another.
Ta PhromAfter Angkor was in the bag we had had our fill of Siem Reap. We had planned to travel to the capital of Phnom Penh by taking a boat down the Tonle Sap, which is a huge lake in the center of Cambodia, the largest in South East Asia as a matter of fact. But the distance from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by boat is substantial and then we heard that the trip to Battambang was not only shorter (still 6-7 hours long mind you) but also that the trip was far more scenic and picturesque.
So as you can imagine after following this blog and especially after reading this post, that the promise of a scenic and picturesque boat trip across a lake with loads of flooded forests and floating villages and then down a river teeming with life from fishing villages we jumped at the chance. We at first expected all the floating villages to be populated by very rural indigenous people. But were pleasantly surprised to see that the Khmer who lived on the lake were just the same as the Khmer who lived on land and in fact the boat we were on was simply like the local bus making its way from village to village picking up passengers as it went.
So as you can imagine after following this blog and especially after reading this post, that the promise of a scenic and picturesque boat trip across a lake with loads of flooded forests and floating villages and then down a river teeming with life from fishing villages we jumped at the chance. We at first expected all the floating villages to be populated by very rural indigenous people. But were pleasantly surprised to see that the Khmer who lived on the lake were just the same as the Khmer who lived on land and in fact the boat we were on was simply like the local bus making its way from village to village picking up passengers as it went.
Picking up passengers at the first floating village, Tonle SapLife on the river however is a very difficult way of life and with so much empty land in Cambodia its still a mysterious to us why these people choose such a difficult place to live. As the seasons change and the monsoon comes and goes the level of the water changes. So for us having been there near the tail end of the monsoon, the houses seemed to be actually floated when in fact they are actually more similar to bamboo skyscrapers, with each house standing on impossibly high stilts.
Horror stories of life on the river include freak down pours in the dead of night and whole houses being flooded and destroyed, and new born babies floating away in the darkness unable to swim and it to dark for them to be seen and resqued. Despite this constant threat people not only live here but they even keep pets here, and don't seem to have a care in the world.
Horror stories of life on the river include freak down pours in the dead of night and whole houses being flooded and destroyed, and new born babies floating away in the darkness unable to swim and it to dark for them to be seen and resqued. Despite this constant threat people not only live here but they even keep pets here, and don't seem to have a care in the world.
Routes between the different villages are vaguely marked out by flags attached to what to us looked like large bushes by the side of the road but were in fact the top of submerged trees. The sometimes narrow alleys they reserve for traffic become over grown with vegetation and our boat would need to cut its way through, stopping on the far side and reversing to untangle all the engines rotors.I'm not lying when I say that each time this happened it was a rather hairy experience, with black smoke bellowing from the engine and filling the cabin. Soon we passed a similar boat to ours and noticed that people were sitting on top of the boat with the luggage. We kicked ourselves for not having thought of this ourselves, but hell it wasn't raining so we wasted no more time and moved right up there. The 360 degree view made for a much better vantage point for photos and we both enjoyed sprawling out under the sun rather than being cramped downstairs with everyone else.
Cutting through the veg, Tonle Sap
On top of the boat, Tonle SapIt was amusing from up here to see the affect the waves left in the wake of our barge which was by far the largest boat out on the lake. The waves flowing backwards, causing people in smaller boats to balance themselves or fall out of their own boats.
Our new vantage point helped us see our surroundings better and the people in our surroundings see us much better. Which was great when we reached the centre of the lake were the people lived more so on house boats rather than stilted houses and maybe were less accustomed to visitors and every single one of them seemed to feel obligated to wave to us and greet us.
Our new vantage point helped us see our surroundings better and the people in our surroundings see us much better. Which was great when we reached the centre of the lake were the people lived more so on house boats rather than stilted houses and maybe were less accustomed to visitors and every single one of them seemed to feel obligated to wave to us and greet us.
Making waves, Tonle Sap
River boat houses, Tonle SapAs we neared closer to Battambang the lake gave way to a river and soon we were flanked on either side by fishing villages and the boat had to slow down to maneuver its way through the fisherman and fisherwomen and fisherkids without catching any of the fisherman's primitive nets which could be seen along the surface of the water by the lines of plastic bottles used to keep them afloat and hence kept possible to retrieve.
Small ferries were used to help people cross from one side of the river to the next due to the complete absence of bridges. You'd be amazed the amount of people and what they carry aboard these very simple wooden rafts and yet they do it with such ease.
Small ferries were used to help people cross from one side of the river to the next due to the complete absence of bridges. You'd be amazed the amount of people and what they carry aboard these very simple wooden rafts and yet they do it with such ease.
Fisherman, Fisherwomen and Fisherkids, Tonle Sap
River crossing ferry, Tonle SapOverall the most entertaining thing from on top of the boat and what seriously made the trip for us was the children.
Khmer people like the Laos and the Thai are a primarily Buddhist people and are in general mostly very calm and quiet people, unless their trying to sell you something of course. But the children, despite the harsh surrounding in which they have to live, have such amazing energy and spirit. You very seldom see them cry or scream like the way we expect children to behave in western society. As we floated down the rivers dozens of them came running out to greet us from every directions.
I've never taken so many photos in such a short time, so much so that I eventually just put the camera down because it was almost too easy to capture amazing shots.
Khmer people like the Laos and the Thai are a primarily Buddhist people and are in general mostly very calm and quiet people, unless their trying to sell you something of course. But the children, despite the harsh surrounding in which they have to live, have such amazing energy and spirit. You very seldom see them cry or scream like the way we expect children to behave in western society. As we floated down the rivers dozens of them came running out to greet us from every directions.
I've never taken so many photos in such a short time, so much so that I eventually just put the camera down because it was almost too easy to capture amazing shots.
Excited kids, Tonle SapWe arrived in Battambang and only planned to stay the one day as there wasn't so much to do there.
One day trip we wanted to do was to get a moto driver to take us to visit surrounding villages and caves and then have to take the "Bamboo Railway" back. A old disused railway track so warped its considered to dangerous for a normal passenger train to travel on, but that doesn't stop the locals attaching a simple bamboo pallet to wheels and slapping a motor engine on the back and chugging along at the speed of a roller coaster.
Unfortunately the edge of the typhoon that had recently hit the Philippines had made its way to Cambodia and we were treated to a day or two of storms so we just left for Phnom Penh and that story, will have to wait for our next update......
One day trip we wanted to do was to get a moto driver to take us to visit surrounding villages and caves and then have to take the "Bamboo Railway" back. A old disused railway track so warped its considered to dangerous for a normal passenger train to travel on, but that doesn't stop the locals attaching a simple bamboo pallet to wheels and slapping a motor engine on the back and chugging along at the speed of a roller coaster.
Unfortunately the edge of the typhoon that had recently hit the Philippines had made its way to Cambodia and we were treated to a day or two of storms so we just left for Phnom Penh and that story, will have to wait for our next update......
A Khmer.....
