So we get to Cambodia and book into a nice hotel in Siam Reap where we plan on visiting Angkor Wat.
As we are out having something to eat we decide we will get up early and see Angkor Wat at the best time, which is sunrise meaning we need to be getting up at 5 am. At 3 am and being drunk we all came to the realisation this was not going to happen.
We eventually rocked up at Angkor Wat at 1:30 pm, it was red hot and very humid. Angkor Wat is a very cool place, it’s very impressive and all the detail and size of the place are impressive.
It took 37 years to build, 800,000 workers, and 200 elephants. We decided to get a guide to show us around, as otherwise, we would basically just be walking around clueless.
That old saying “you get what you pay for” is very true, especially when you try and get the cheapest guide you can. Our guide cost just $2 per person and we thought it was a bargain, he was very nice not the best guide.
We walked up the 250 metre entrance which knackered me out, to then realise that this was just the gate, and there was another long walk, which was probably only a few hundred metres but in 38-degree heat it felt like a mile.
We got to the main temple, and it was awesome and well worth the trek to get to it. This was one hell of a place.
Our guide took us to the main building and we saw the side of the wall had lots of engravings of people. He would now tell us the longest story I have ever heard. Every 20 metres he would stop, explain the story on the wall, then carry on. It felt like it went on forever.
When I was in the main men kept smiling at me. “Ohhhh strong man” and touching my arms. One even went to twist my nipple which was weird. It did not seem to happy to the others.
Our tour carried on to the main tower, which was pretty high. Joe was not allowed up as he had a vest on so he stayed at the bottom and waited for us. When we got back we could not see Joe.
We looked around but could not see him, we then walked the ridiculous distance back to the entrance and waited for about half an hour. He was nowhere to be seen. We then thought we should go back to see if he was where we had last seen him, but, he was not there. We then walked back to the entrance, absolutely dying and then we saw him walking casually with a coconut in his hand and some food. He seemed to find it funny how sweaty and exhausted we looked as he stood there drinking his coconut.
We then all decide enough is enough, they say to do all the temples of Angkor you need 3 days. We did it all in 3 hours. We got our tuk-tuk driver to just drive by, stop so we could take a few pics of the outside, and then jump back in. Job done!!
Siam Reap was fun, had some good nights out, and enjoyed Angkor Wat, we also visited the floating villages which was amazing to see how everyone live on the water.
We hired a boat with a driver, and on the way back the driver let us take turns driving the boat.
Our next stop was Phnom Penh, another bus journey, only 6 hours this time though so it was not as bad as the last one, you know when you are in full backpacking mode when a 6-hour journey “is not too bad”, we arrived at our Hostel, it is called Mad Monkey, it was a bit expensive at $7 a night but we were only there 2 nights.
We got our visas for Vietnam and then had an early night for an early rise for our day at the Killing Fields. As usual, this did not go to plan and we eventually left the hostel at 12:30 pm.
We decided to rent a tuk-tuk driver for the day, which meant he drove us around where we wanted to go, and waited for us outside restaurants as we ate, all for the grand total of $3 each!!
We head to the main killing field, where from 1975-1979 over 20,000 bodies were found at this place, there were 300 other killing fields with over 3 million people executed under Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge.
It was very upsetting. You can see bones coming up when it rains.
Halfway around there is a tree that they use to use to kill the children which was devastating. They would hit the children heads against the tree right in front of their mothers. Brain, blood, and hair were found on this tree when this field was first discovered. A very emotional place and worth the visit to Cambodia alone!
The upsetting thing about Cambodia is all the begging, it’s very sad. You are told to ignore it and to not give anything as it encourages parents to keep their children away from school so they can beg. But, it is impossible to ignore when a 5-year-old child is shouting “water water” through the fence, and he was holding a plastic bottle. Shaun poured some in and he ran off. Devastating.
We went to a club called Pontoon. The place was awesome, and the music was brilliant. Later in the night, I was getting tired so I decided to sit down, which was a bad idea!!
Within seconds a girl comes over to me and says “Ohhh why are you so handsome”, I just shrugged my shoulders, she repeated it and all I could do is say “Girlfriend”, I then pointed to my wedding finger as she did not understand what I had said, which of course had no ring on, which confused her even more. As this was happening, another girl sat behind me rubbing her back against mine. I was sandwiched. I got the hell out of there.
I headed back to the hostel. I decided I would surprise Holly with a phone call, it was 4:50 am, and I rang her up. It went something like this:
Me: “Hi, you OK”
Holly: “Hi, can you call me back in a few mins?”
The phone went dead and I then got a text through. “I am just watching Don’t tell the Bride, ring me when it’s finished”.
So there I was, sitting in the reception on my own, in complete darkness waiting until her program finished. It’s lovely to feel wanted and missed!
Once we got our visas we then book our bus to Sihanoukville, as this town looks like a nightmare to pronounce and none of us know how the hell you say it, which was pretty comical all of the different attempts, and at one point we just decided to call it Sluttsville.
I would say Cambodia is my favourite place I have ever been. I have been very fortunate to have seen lots of places but Cambodia is now my number one place. You won’t get fine dining or lovely clean streets but you will meet the nicest people ever, see some amazing things, and see a different way of life.
I ❤️ Cambodia!!!