Cambodia

We arrived in Cambodia one day before the river festival which is Cambodia's biggest festival. There were three days of boat races, people acting and singing and fireworks in the evenings. Phnom Penh, the capital, where it was taking place was absolutely packed. The roads nearest the river were closed off to vehicles and all day until late at night you could hardly move for people. There was such a nice atmosphere, everyone was so happy.
Whilst in Phnom Penh we visited Tuol Sleng genocide museum, which used to be a school but was then used as a prison during the Khmer Rouge. It was so sad seeing what went on during that time. So many people were killed, no matter what their age or sex. Only 7 people left that prison alive and thousands were sent there. We went to the killing fields near Phnom Penh where people mainly from S21 were taken to be killed. There was a huge display of hundreds and hundreds of skulls and you could see the mass graves, some that had been dug up and others which remain as they were. The Cambodian people are amazing, despite their awful and very recent past they are some of the nicest people I've ever met. Life must be such a struggle as they are so poor but they all seem so happy and relaxed, I don't think I've ever met such friendly people.
We've traveled north by bus to a place where you can see Irraddy dolphins in the Mekong River, there are less than 100 left in the world so it was pretty amazing seeing them. We then went further North to a place called Ratanakiri. We traveled there by taxi which was a rather interesting and very funny experience. On the way there, there were 7 of us, (in a normal sized car) and 8 on the way back. There were four of us in the back and the driver shared his seat with another passenger. On the way up a rather large man had fortunately bought 2 seats so had the front seat to himself but on the way back Cheryl and I had to share the front seat as 4 rather larger blokes had to squeeze into the back. Right from the start of our journey up the car didn't sound too healthy. It kept stalling and every time it did it had to be bump started. Not long after we'd set off we couldn't get it to start again so we all got out and waited on the side of the road for another taxi to come and rescue us. We were then towed back to where we started and finally set off again about 2 hours later than planned in a different car. We traveled down the 'new road' which wasn't yet finished. There were huge sections in the road that for some reason hadn't been filled with gravel, at times we had to wait whilst one of the sections was being filled. There were great holes in the road too with little more than a branch and a small wooded sign warning you of them. For most of the journey although a little cramped it was fine but nearing the end the air con broke. The problem was that you couldn't open the windows as it was so dusty outside that if you did you weren't able to breath so we all sat there boiling like never before until the driver couldn't take it any more and stopped and we all piled out into the 30 degrees heat that at that point seemed so cool! In ratanakiri we got a moto through little villages and up to some really pretty waterfalls. We spent an afternoon swimming in a volcanic lake which was the most stunning green colour.
After Ratanakiri we went right down to the south coast where we spent a few days by the beach. There was such a huge difference between where we were staying and the rest of cambodia. The beach was lined with bars and it just seemed like Thailand. The sea was so clear you could see your feet even when the water was up to your neck. There were loads of jelly fish which didn't sting (we touched one after being told it was safe and seeing someone else hold one). We went on a boat trip around some islands and did some snorkeling where you could see all sorts of coral and fish. On one of the days I rented a moto and went off exploring. It was amazing, I found completely deserted beaches and they didn't have jelly fish in the sea, villages where everyone smiled and waved and little children who showed me around a temple to see monkeys and stunning views which I wouldn't of otherwise seen.
The last place we went to was Siem Reap where the Angkor Wat Temples are. For two days we rented push bikes and cycled round and on one day we got a tuk tuk to the temples that are furthest away. The temples are spread out through the jungle and all really different to one another. They are awsome, one has huge faces carved all around it, some of them have huge trees growing out of them with massive tree roots growing over the walls, some are so big you can easily spend over an hour walking around them. You can climb to the top of some of the temples, up steps that are so steep they are almost vertical. They truly are spectacular.
All in all Cambodia really is a fantastic place. It even caters for those who like certain herbs, with restaurants that sell 'happy pizzas'!!! I was really quite sad to leave.