Cambodia - Pol Pot, the land of mines, the killing fields and that secret American War. It is a country full of beggars, cripples and homeless street-kids. This is a land full of tragic tales, and sadder then any other countries I have visited thanks to years of oppression and an evil regime known as the Khmer Rouge.

But it is also a country which is coming to grips with independence and the freedom from oppression. The people in Cambodia are strong willed and yearn for peace and freedom.

The wonders of Angkor...

Leaving Laos I caught Lao Airways (Great airline to fly with!) and flew into Siem Reap International Airport. On the way into Siem Reap I could see the amazing complex of Angkor. They appear one by one out of the forest, and through my pixie glass I saw Angkor Wat, the Bayan and the giant pyramid shaped Baphuon. What an awesome first impression of this country!!!

The history of this site, built between the 9th and 13th centuries at the height of Khmer civilization. Over 100 temples littered throughout the site, once dedicated to Hinduism. Coming across them I was totally awed-struck. This complex, dare I say it, is the most amazing human structure I have ever seen. I bought a 3-days pass to explore the complex. And spent a lot of time at my favorite temples, the Bayan. I am enchanted by those enigmatic faces which looks out in all four directions. Later I bumped into Sei, a Japanese backpacker whom I partied with in Ko Pha-Ngan. Together we hired a motorbike and headed out to Beng Mealea, another Angkor site 40km East of Siem Reap. It was a mission to get out there as the only route is both sandy and narrow. Thanks to Sei's superior motoring skill We got there at the end and was rewarded by this partially hidden compound, surrounded by thick forest and vegetation, as well as a few mines!

In the evening we headed back into town to check out Akira's landmine museum. Akira tells an incredible story of survival. He was just five years old when his parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. He was then force to leave his village to join the Khmer Rouge. Later he was captured by the Vietnamese army and was force to fight for them too. Since he was still young the Vietnamese used Akira as a scout and mine layer. When the UN step in to Cambodia he was employed to clear mines. With thousands of mines collected Aki started his own museum. Reading his story I was both sad and happy for him. And I highly recommend his museum to all travelers!

We felt like doing good afterwards, so we headed on to the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital to donate blood. It was the least we could do to help.

That night we headed on to Cambodia's famous pizza establishment for some "happy" pizza. Now I've never tried it before so I left Sei to do the ordering, he wanted ours (that's 1 large pizza each) to be very very very very very happy. And the waiter left us with that instruction crystal clear as when our pizza arrived it had the base, a thick layer of green followed by the cheese topping. I was stone before half my pizza was eaten, and talking sh*t with Sei, unfortunately I was so stone that I could not remember where I was staying, I could not walk straight as everything was a blur so there's Sei and I, sitting out at the bench waiting for the effects to pass through. We must've looked like idiots sitting there, or funny to others but this is not an experience I'd never like to repeat!!! Here's the original entry from my diary of that everning...

Diary entry 12.28pm Thu 5 Feb 2003 - Siem Reap -

Stone... So stone. Stoner then I have ever been. So stone, that I wasn't able to get home by myself. So stone, that I lead my friends the wrong way back. So stone, that Sei & I weren't even able to cross the road safely. That, yes - I was paranoid enough to warn Sei of our imminent danger. I was stone!!! And it has never happen so bad before. So stone was I that, even now... The next afternoon, am still fucked!

Last night, to celebrate our 3rd day at the Wat. Sei & I decided to get Happy Pizza. Now I have heard of these infamous pizzas prior to entering Cambodia so I waited for it to kick in in anticipation. Sei has already done it once and said the effects weren't strong. So we told the waiter we wanted ours to be very very very very very happy. OMG was I to know what would happen next. The "herbs" kicked in with a vengenge in less then an hour of consumption & I was feeling stuff, described in old Beatles songs. I was floating, sound was virtual, & coz of my glasses (I don't normally wear them) everything was magic-eye like. I lost total orientation, & if it wasn't for Sei's Scotish friends I would still be sitting at the park bench in front of Happy Pizza.

Tonle Sap Lake and Battambang town.

After Siem Reap I headed out to Cambodia's largest lake - the Tonle Sap. It is one of the biggest fresh water lake in the world and is richest in fish life. Many locals make their living on this lake, many also lives on house boats aka floating village style. After checking this lake out I caught a boat to Battambang.

Those innovative
bamboo trains.

Entering the capital...

Phnom Penh is another busy crowded S.E Asian city. The traffic is mad and getting onto a "moto" - ie a motorcycle taxi seems suicidal. Especially when my moto rider went against the traffic!!! Which lead me to think - Cambodians are crazy! Their truck drivers wear crash helmets, they sit 6 on a motorcycles along with 2 on the driver's seat of a car, I saw a guy with an IV drip hooked up to his right arm while ridding on the back of a motorbike. And they carry *everything* on their motorbike!!!

I caught a moto to visit the sobering S21, also known as the Tung Sleng Museum, this used to be a school before being converted to a prison by the Khmer Rouge. Within it's ground are rooms after rooms of torture chamber fill with photos of prisoners and the prison guards. I was disturb to see how young these guards are, most looked 14-16. This was followed by the killing fields at Choeung Ek. Where many of the bodies from the S21 was dumped. After this disturbing tour my moto guide wanted to take me to the near by shooting range... THE SHOOTING RANGE! What the hellw as he thinking?!?

I met some nice Khmers too, including two Angkor Beer employees. It seems like this country is sponsored by Angkor, just like Laos and Beer Lao. It was sweet though as I got to visit them, and was given a Angkor beer t-shirt to take home. The Angkor office is in the Embassy area, so I thought I'd pop in to the Thai Embassy to check out the mess. You see, the building got thrashed and burnt, thanks to the anti-Thai protest which swept through the country about 2 weeks before. This came about from some high level political gamble (IMHO) which got the locals to react accordingly. Many think this may be the work of it's prime minister Hun Sen and his cronies in this election year.

Kratie and the bone shattering ride to Banlung...

I left Phnom Penh and caught a boat up the Mekong river to visit the little town of Kratie, this is the place to go to catch sight of the rare freshwater Irrawaddy dolphins. From Kratie I headed inland into Ratanakiri province. The 8 hour journey to Banlung took me through the WORST stretch of road I have ever traveled upon. Our driver navigated the trail delicately, stopping often to scout out the terrain before grilling our Toyota pickup truck forward. And it still broke down twice! Once loosing it's axle. It was such a horrid journey that I actually considered flying out. Banlung, the capital of Ratanakiri province is both remote and peaceful. I spent my time biking around, visiting the surrounding area, including a little Chinese community out in Voen Sai, the gem-mining town of Bokheo and numerous waterfalls. I had another mini-bike crash, thanks to a snake encounter. The stupid snake got in my way!!!

Upon returning to Phnom Penh for the umpteen times, I headed South to visit Bokor National Park. Followed this by tasting some fabulous and cheap seafood at Kep, and seeing where all the Vietnamese prostitute hang out in Kampot. My Cambodian experience has been fabulous. It was time to say 'lear heouy' (goodbye), as Vietnam across the border beckons.

"Johm reab suor" to...
Here's a big hello to my fellow happy pizza sucker/fellow blood donor/landmine explorer Sei Torii (Japan) , Chris Beales (UK), Tey Sa Ven of Chong Khnies School (Siem Reap), Brian O'Reilly & Sarah (Ireland), Dean & Suzanne Wolf (California), Mr Leng of the Ratanar Hotel, Veasna - my guide in Banlung, & my friends at Angkor Beer Khim Narith & Men Seng Aong (Phnom Penh).