March 2, 2017

Before we went to bed last night Ralf headed out to take some photos of the night life.  He spotted this Tuk Tuk that was wheelchair accessible.  We haven\’t really noticed a lot of accessibility in Vietnam or Cambodia. The curbs are very big and the ramps are not designed for a wheelchair.  Often the sidewalks are blocked with scooters or street stalls. South East Asia is not wheelchair friendly, it was a surprise to see this Tuk Tuk.

A really early start today, we had conflicting times to be at the boat terminal. All of the times on the internet said that the boat left at 7:00 a.m., the ticket had written in pen 7:30 a.m. We decided to err on the side of caution and be there for 6:45 a.m.

As we headed along the waterfront, we noticed a lot happening, there were morning joggers, yoga, jazzercise and Tai chi. I wish I had known about the Tai Chi I would have got up to take part.

We were early at the boat dock, we were first ones on the boat with the bikes tied to the back. At least they were not tied to the roof! The boat left a little late at 7:40 a.m. 

The boat was a bit of a rust bucket! I had read recently that the government was trying to get the Company to improve their safety.  There were life jackets on board – two life jackets for 40 passengers.  Although if you fell into the Ton Le River, I am not sure that you would survive – probably get typhoid or something.  Considering what gets pumped into it on a regular basis.

Ralf managed to get a few shots of the dock and the river as we left Phnom Penh.

The boat trip was about 7.5 hours, the boat had to stop a couple of times to clear the bilges and slow down a few times to slalom around the debris in the river.

I slept part of the way.

The river opened up on to Ton Le Lake and then we followed the river again into Siem Reap.  In one area, there were white flags showing the route.

The river was quite shallow in places, but the little river boats zoomed by us.  they reminded me of the scooters on the road – boat scooters.

When we were on the outskirts of Siem Reap ”Port” we spotted a large white building and hoped that was where we would be landing.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way. There were already boats tied up at that dock, our boat had to find another spot to dock. It was a bit of a trek up and down the stairs, first with the bikes and them with the panniers.

We headed out to find our guesthouse, which is about 1.5 kms outside of the downtown area of Siem Reap and about 13 kms from the dock.

The countryside around Siem Reap is very rural and poor. Tin and wooden shacks on stilts to protect them from the floods and the rainy season.

There was an area where they were growing lotus flowers. Apparently you can eat the pods, but I am not sure what bit you eat or how you eat it. We will have to find out before we leave Cambodia.

We found the guesthouse easily. A lovely big room, very clean, nice big bed with a fridge and TV. The internet is not very good and the water pressure in the shower is a little low. We had a quick shower and headed out for something to eat.

We found a Khmer restaurant that was busy with tour buses. We went in and caused a little bit of a stir with the servers, who always seem to panic a little if they don’t speak English. They sat us down and found a waiter who could speak English who served us with a smile. This restaurant was amazing while we sat and ordered our meal, the restaurant seated and served three bus loads. The tourists would come in from the bus, sit down – 9 to table, the food would be bought out immediately, two meat dishes, big bowl of rice, two vegetable dishes and lychees for dessert. Twenty minutes later they were gone, the table was cleared and reset. Thirty minutes maximum in and out!

 We headed back to the guesthouse, pleasantly full and I was asleep by 9:15.

March 1, 2017

 An early start today, the bus for our tour picked us up at just after 8:00 a.m.

A rather sobering day to day, we visited the Tuol Sleng Prison Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (the Killing Fields)!   If that doesn’t give you food for thought nothing will. The Tuol Sleng Prison prior to its use as prison used to be a high school.

Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge killed thousands of people in a very short four year reign. If they weren’t tortured and murdered at Tuol Sleng Prison Museum (or other prisons throughout Cambodia) then they died of starvation or disease in the countryside at labour camps.

We opted for an English speaking guide at the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum. Mrs Chey was nine years old and lived in Phnom Penh when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came into Phnom Penh, within a day the Khmer Rouge had evacuated everyone from the city, over 2 million people removed from their homes. They were told that they could return in a few days. Mrs Chey’s father was an officer in the army and they tortured and killed him. Her mother and sister were sent to a work camp in Krong Svay Rieng Province and they were able to escape to Vietnam. They lived in a refugee camp for two years. As soon as the Vietnamese Army conquered Pol Pot they were sent back to Cambodia. They had nothing to return to and very little to return with. Mrs Chey got quite emotional when she was telling us that no one has been tried for their crimes. Some of the high ranking officials at the time are still in the present day government. Pol Pot died from a heart attack in 1998. “No justice” she said “No justice”.

A Vietnamese journalist took photographs of the prison when it was liberated by the Vietnamese. There were fourteen prisoners who were killed prior to the liberation, their graves are in the grounds of the prison.

The schools classrooms were divided into prisoners cells by building walls within the classroom. The bigger cells were used as places of torture for the high ranking officials.

The victims were photographed.

The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is located about 17 kms outside of Phnom Penh. After the prisoners had been tortured and made to sign confessions at the Tuol Sleng Prison, they were transported to the killing grounds. It is estimated that there are over 300 killing fields in Cambodia. Some have been excavated and the bodies found have been reburied, others cannot be excavated due to the landmines that surround those areas.

The prisoners were killed during the night, they were bound and blindfolded and killed and then thrown into a pit. Women and children were also killed here – family members of the men who had been tortured.

This tree was called the killing tree and babies were thrown against it and then thrown into the pit, along with their mother and father.

The Stupa in the middle of the grounds is full of the skulls that were found at this site of mass graves. It appears to be a very gruesome way to display the remains. The government has decided that the Stupa is a memorial to all of the people that were found here.

They have had forensic scientists determine the age of the skull, and how the person was killed. Because these skulls were found in mass graves, they could not distinguish individual bodies. It is very difficult for families to find their own relatives in a situation like this so that they can bury them in a family plot. Although the excavation of these mass graves were done in 1980, bones and clothing are still be unearthed after the rainy season. The museum curators find these bones and relocate them. There is not much else they can do with the bone fragments and smaller bones that keep making there way to the surface.

Both Ralf and I were very quiet on the bus back to Phnom Penh. I don’t think either of us can really fathom how people can do this to their own kind. What makes a man or woman, brutally kill another person. One always, thinks that I would not do this, but does it become a case of self-preservation. If I don’t do this I will be killed? Therefore, I have to do this.

Mrs. Chey said that is why a lot of the guards and torturers were not tried in a court of law, they stated that they were under orders and could not go against the orders or they would be killed. She thinks they should have been tried and should be in prison for their crimes. not living a normal life in Phnom Penh or in the countryside.

The entry fee for both areas was very reasonable at $3.00 each. We paid $3.00 each for an audio tour of the killing fields and Ralf gave Mrs Chey $5.00, for her guided tour.

We spent a quiet and reflective afternoon in the hotel room.

Tomorrow we head up to Siem Reap a much more cheerful trip tomorrow and for the rest of our trip, no more war only peace.

February 28, 2017

 We had a nice lie-in this morning and had breakfast in the little café next door to the Guesthouse.

We went to the bank and got some more dollars to pay for the boat trip to Siem Reap. The ATM dispensed $100.00 bills, we went inside the bank to get smaller denominations. Our number to be served was 3002, the number displayed was 1004! Yikes this could be a long wait, but there were only six other people in the bank! Ralf’s comment “Banks, we are in control and we are going to make you wait to prove it”. Fortunately the numbering system was a little berserk, we were number three in line!

After the bank we headed to the ferry quay and bought our ticket for Siem Reap. It was already heating up, a high of 38 degrees today, we took a Tuk Tuk to the Royal Palace, which closes from 11:00 until 2:00, it was 11:05.

We walked to the Independence Monument along the river and through the parks. 

There are a lot of poor people in this city.  Some sleep on the streets and today we spotted a young boy showering in the garden sprinklers.

There is no more space for building in Phnom Penh, so they are making an island in the river and building skyscrapers and hotels. They are trying to recreate Montreal Island!

It was almost time for the Palace to reopen. I was a little disappointed in the Palace, half of the buildings were not accessible to the public and some of the buildings we could not take photographs. Ralf got a few sneaky shots, but was caught and told not to take photos. This was in the Blue Buddha Pagoda.

On the floor there are 300 silver tiles, there is one Buddha that weighs 4 kgs and is made out of sold gold and has diamonds encrusted in the statue.

I spoke to another tourist about the treasures, and he said that some of the silver ingots should be sold and used to help the poor children on the streets of Phnom Penh. We both agreed on the opulence and wealth contained in this building and how it could be better used. He then shrugged and said ”I guess these are National Treasures” I responded so are the children, he smiled and agreed with me.

Although the grounds were very nice and the buildings that we could see inside were lovely, it was rather an expensive visit ($20.00). Maybe they will use some of the money for the renovations and take down the scaffolding and do a bit of painting.

We headed back to our hotel and the friendly tuk tuk driver we spoke to yesterday started to shout at us for not being at his tuk tuk at 9:00. I was trying to explain that we had slept in and he started to get really aggressive. Calling us lying Canadians and we could fuck off. I was shocked, actually what shocked me even more was Ralf calling him out. He was ready to schmuck the tuk tuk driver. I have not seen Ralf so angry for a long time.

We relaxed for a while in the hotel and then headed out to Bethy’s flat for dinner. What a great evening. It was so nice to catch up with Bethy. She is finalizing her Phd Studies which involves working with pre-school children and dental health. Her final results came in during the evening she has 75% response rate for her data. Way to go Bethy, so proud that you have completed the work that you started.

We had quite the dinner party, two other Canadians, an Australian and two Kiwi’s and Ralf and I. Great conversation and lots of laughs. Thanks Bethy for another great evening. If you are ever in Canada and you need a place to stay, you know you will always be welcome.

February 27, 2017

 Another early start, on the road at 7:15. The weather was much cooler today with slightly overcast skies. If we are going to survive the heat in Cambodia, we have to get started early and finish early – 60 – 70 kms I think will be the maximum distance for us. Today’s high was 34 degrees, but with the overcast skies made the ride much more manageable.

There used to be a ferry that took you over the river at Neak Loeung, but with the assistance of the Japanese they built a bridge in 2015. Apparently, the ferry used to be quite the adventure especially in the wet season.

As I waited for Ralf to come over the bridge I noticed a food stand – could we have a second breakfast. No, I don’t think so, fried crayfish, bugs, crickets and spiders.

The road was much better today, possibly because the Japanese had a hand in building the bridges that crossed the small rivers. There were a lot of temples and interesting villages we passed through today. Almost every house has a shrine on the property.

We stopped every 10 kms to drink and also bought some iced tea again we hydrated well and by the time we got to the outskirts of Phnom Penh we were both feeling good, although I was feeling a little hungry. The temperature peaked at 34 but we were at the guesthouse in Phnom Penh by noon.

We found our guesthouse surprisingly easily. That is because Phnom Penh has a grid system and numbered streets. We knew our street number was 178, and all we had to do was follow the numbers down from 328 after we crossed the bridge. The only problem is that although the streets are well numbered the numbers for the houses do not necessarily follow sequentially. For example Street 178 with the cross street of Norodum Boulevard may have numbers 1-21, one would assume that the next block would be 23 – 33, no they might skip a block of numbers and be numbered 49-54, then the next block might go back to 11-31. It is very confusing to find the actual number of a house or building, but we kept heading towards the river and found number 33 – six blocks from where number 1 -11 was!

There is a minimart in the shop at the front of the guest house. We were told to bring our bikes in and we could bring them into the room, if they would fit. This room is a little small, so we have them locked outside our room.

After a lovely shower, we headed out to explore Phnom Penh. We managed to find out about a ferry to Siem Reap – it will cost $95.00 for two and two bikes, we will book that tomorrow. It is a six hour ferry trip and will save us three days of cycling.  Although we don\’t want to fall in the water – not with the colour of this water.

We also found a Gelato ice-cream place, OMG the gelato was good and not too expensive.  We may visit it again before we leave.

We explored Wat Phnom and Wat Oulanum.  Wat Phnom is located on the only \”hill\” in Phnom Penh.  There has been a temple there since 1306.

Wat Oulanum is a smaller temple, but is more decorative.

The strange thing is when you see monks with cell phones – it just seems odd to me.

As we left Wat Oulanum, a tuk tuk driver asked us where we would like to go.  He spoke good English and was very funny.  We might use him tomorrow to go to Bethy\’s place.

We stopped for a couple of beers to watch the world go by. We had a lovely dinner of pasta and now back in our room updating the blog and relaxing with a glass of Sauvignon for me and a shot of vodka for Ralf. A little extravagant, but we deserve it.

Tomorrow we are having dinner with Bethy. Bethy hosted us in New Zealand, she took us to see the penguins in Oamaru. Bethy is working as a Dentist here in Cambodia and studying for her Phd. We had contacted her to see if she could host us while we were in Phnom Penh, but she has other guests this week. It will be nice to catch up with her and get her insight into Cambodia.

February 26, 2017

We knew we had a long day today, as there didn’t appear to be any hotels between Bavet and Neak Loeung, other than at Sveng Rieng but that was only 41.5 kms from Bavet.

 I figured that the road was fairly flat, it would be an easy 105 kms. We had been doing longer distances in Vietnam and were feeling fit. I didn’t account for the different road conditions in Cambodia and the heat! I hadn’t taken into account the lack of the coastal breeze that we had in Vietnam and of course the wonderful tail winds we had experienced.

I had set the alarm for 6:00 and we were out of the hotel by 7:15 a.m., the earliest we have started riding since we started this trip. We had oatmeal (gruel) for breakfast and a coffee, we even sprinkled a package of coffee into the gruel to give it a little more taste!

As we left Bavet we noticed a lot of new factory buildings and a Job Centre, which was empty. The Manhattan Economic Centre was busy with motorbikes going in and out.

The road to Phnom Penh is the AH1 the same road as the AH1 in Vietnam with a lot of differences. The Cambodian AH1 is narrower only two lanes and a rough hard shoulder, chip and seal. The shoulder was paved, but the chip and seal finish is always hard on the butt, hands and shoulders. After Ho Chi Minh we were definitely inland and heading westwards, no more tail winds. The traffic is a lot lighter than in Vietnam, less population equates to less people on the road.

The road was dead straight, the scenery was a little boring, but because we are in a new country the housing and entrances to the villages/towns made it more interesting.

We spotted another touring cyclist (Italian) and he was struggling. He said he was exhausted, he had a broken spoke and was trying to get a lift into Phnom Penh. He had some water, but had not eaten and he was looking the worse for wear. From Bavet to Phnom Penh is 165 kms, he had booked into a hotel in Phnom Penh for the night so had to get there. He had withdrawn money from an ATM, but he said it only gave him one 100 dollar bill, and not smaller notes so that he could buy food. The small roadside stands accept Riel or small U.S. dollars – they struggle to change a $10.00 bill. I had a spare Cliff bar, which I gave him but we didn’t have enough small U.S dollars to help him out. We wished him well and carried on.

At different times today it was a tough ride for both Ralf and me.

At the 40 km mark I was getting very hot and tired! We had a bit of a head wind all day. Ralf took the lead at the 40 k break.

At the next stop, I mentioned to Ralf that if my small towel was handy I would soak it and use it to cool off. Bless him, his was handy and we asked the stall owner if we could soak the towel in the ice cooler. I put it over my head, it felt awesome, then I soaked it again and wrapped it around my neck, instant cooling.

We have been told not to have ice in our drinks in Cambodia. I think we will accept that advice after seeing the ice delivery from this truck.

We drank over 3.5 litres of water each today, which still wasn’t enough. The bad part though was finding food. We couldn’t find any Bahn Mi (bread) stands today. Our staple lunch break in Vietnam was bread with eggs. We wanted to buy some bananas but we cannot buy just four bananas, they only sell them by the huge bunch of about a dozen or more. We did buy two dragon fruit, from one stand, but she wasn\’t sure what to charge for two fruit.  We gave her a dollar and she was happy with that. We had our Cliff bars but it wasn’t enough. Ralf said he almost bonked at the 90 km mark, we had to stop to let him cool down and drink more electrolytes and eat.

We eventually came into Neak Loeung, hot and tired and ready for a good shower and an air conditioned room!

Once again Bookings.com let us down, we cycled up and down Street 11 and could not find the hotel. We asked a couple of young men at a shop to call the hotel for us, they said the phone was not in service. Thanks Bookings.com you suck!

We cycled back down to the main street and went into the first hotel we could find. It is a little tired – o.k. grubby. I picked the cleanest of the two rooms offered and we checked in. I quickly made us the noodles that we have for emergencies, Ralf was not feeling well, but he managed to eat and I forced him to do some stretches.

The shower was not hot, but that was o.k. as we needed to cool down. We don’t have internet. As Ralf was in the shower the heavens opened and it began to poor with rain. What were we going to do for dinner? Ralf had noticed people eating in the restaurant area of the hotel, but we weren’t sure if it was family, he asked if we could eat there tonight. We had an interesting meal of fried fish with green beans and rice. Ralf had ordered meatballs with noodles, but he got the same as me. The storm continued as we ate.

We also noticed while we were eating that this appears to be a local hotel for prostitutes. There were five young women waiting for clients, chatting to each other and playing cards.  We do stay at the most luxurious places.

We retired early and were asleep by 8:00p.m. I hope the rain stops by the time we leave tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a shorter ride 60 ish kms into Phnom Penh.