Khmer and say that!

Most of you will have got the distinct impression by now that we have not been overly impressed with Cambodia. Once we got to Phnom Penn, we wished we were back in Siam Reap, it was that bad. We were greeted by rain and rubbish and rats.

Somewhat unimpressed by the premier tourist attraction in PP

An elephant going for a stroll through the street in the rain. He's too big to be hassled by Tuk Tuk and moto drivers. Lucky him. Just imagine......

There are too many motos to comprehend. This photo doesn't do it justice as it was a holiday weekend and so quiet. Let's just say crossing the road is a mission.

Cambodia's answer to a bin.

This was an average street at the time we were there. Its nice to see someone has put their washing up to dry beside it.

Of course we did the obligatory visit to S-21, Tuol Sleng, whilst we were in Phnom Penh. We didn't take any pictures in there, though some weird people were. It seemed somewhat disrespectful to us. We didnt get who they were going to show them to, or why they needed a visual reminder of the harrowing things you see there. S-21 is an old school that was converted into an infamous ''re-education centre'' and by the Khmer Rouge. Thousands of men, women and children were tortured and killed there. As museum it is draining to visit, to say the least. The tiny wooden and brick cells still exist as they were then, with examples of the shackles used on each prisoner. There are thousands images of the inmates staring into the lens, and some pretty horrific photos of mutilated bodies. The Khmer Rouge kept very thorough records of their brutal regime. It is truly horrific to see pictures of women, men, children, even babies with a range of emotions, from utter fear or defiance, to hopelessness or emptiness in their eyes, as they know what is going to happen to them. The most distressing thing that we learnt was that the guards were often teenagers, as it they were easier to manipulate into doing this horrific job. The child guards were renowned as being the most sadistic

S21 is bad enough and something we already knew about. What I personally did not realise was that Cambodia as a whole nation were forced to live under horrific conditions for a very longtime by these people. Forced labour camps, no family groups allowed, no entertainment, no references to the past and their history allowed, regulation haircuts and clothing only. People literally starved as the rice they were forced to grow day in day out was exported instead of being used as food. If you can get hold of any books with stories of the very few people who survived this regime, there are some truly horrific but fascinating stories to read. The worst thing for me is that the Khmer Rouge were still recognised as the official government of Cambodia for a long time after they were thrown out of the main areas. The UN allowed this to happen despite the fact the people wanted justice against their torturers.

It went a little way to help us to understand why Cambodia is the way it is now. If you lost everything, then you would behave as the Cambodians so often do; a live for the day attitude, lazy and short term thinking, always wanting to make a quick buck and little more. If you have no old people left in your country, there is no one to set you an example. Everyone is so young and the country looks like a messy teenager's bedroom because of this. They drop litter at their feet wherever they are, even on the beach. It is so sad to see. Then of course, there are rats...say no more, but I need to get some professional help before we get to India.

We decided after 2 days of hiding an a hotel room (the torrential rain and strange eeriness in being in a massive city deserted for the holidays) that we would give the south coast a go and if we still didn't like Cambodia we would leave pronto for Vietnam. We headed to Kampot, a small town on the coast that is less touristy and consequently much nicer. In fact,we even liked it! It was relaxed and friendly, no one hassled us and we spent a day off on a motorbike exploring the beaches at Kep. A more relaxed feeling in Kampot town centre. Bicycles and Ox drawn carts.

Ed found this statue of the white horse utterly hilarious. It has a proper c*ck and balls. We drove round it 3 times while he creased up laughing. Boys.....

The beach was lovely and quiet, apart from the Cambodian families having picnics there and dropping rubbish at their feet and staring at us. Despite their lust for modern things they still have some very strong traditions, such as swimming fully clothed.

These ladies are catching crabs. We had a great seafood lunch at the side of the beach. Fresh fish and squid BBQ'd up. With rice, of course. Kampot is famous for it's pepper and so everything comes with a delicious pepper sauce.

Chilling out on the riverside in Kampot watching the sunsets. Yes more sunsets, I know.

Sadly the camera is playing up so we have no photos of the time we spent in Sihanouk ville, enjoying some more beach action and trying to keep our calm whilst being pestered by mobs of hawkers and beggars. It also means there is no record of the dodgy medieval mullet haircut Ed got either, maybe he sabotaged the camera himself.....