A few days ago marked our halfway point! Wooohooo. I can't believe we're already there; although, at the same time I feel like I've been travelling for ages...
Anyway, in Cambodia we spent 4 or 5 days in Phnom Penh and then moved up to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) and onto Battambang before crossing into Thailand. I mentioned the poverty in Cambodia in my last post--I think it was a lot more blatant there than the other places we've been. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked since the whole society was basically decimated through the overspill of the Vietnam war + the onslaught of the Khmer rouge regime. The place is full of contrast: immensely rich history of the Angkor (the temples were AMAZING), the nauseating story of the civil war, incredibly friendly and happy people, extreme poverty -it was actually overwhelming (if you can't tell by the mood of my last check in). We visited the killing fields and S-21 prison where over 20,000 people were brutally tortured and massacred under the Khmer Rouge. Contrary to the more reserved style of memorial we are used too, these places were fairly nauseating with pieces of human bone and clothing still marking the sites of mass graves and uncensored photographs of the regimes' victims. The Khmer Rouge targeted anyone who appeared/was rummored to educated in any way -and it only took place in the 70s.
On a more enjoyable note, we also visited the national museum and royal palace in Phnom Penh and a Silk farm later in Siem Reap. Angkor Wat was basically hours of exploring ruins and temples (think Tomb Raider) and they have DELICIOUS street food everywhere we went in Cambodia.
On our way out, back into Thailand, there was quite a bit of flooding . This led to a few long bus journeys, a stretch of 20 odd people crammed into one minibus (with luggage) and ultimately a random car with 6 people for the 2 hour drive to the border.
After revisiting Bangkok, we headed south to the islands on the Eastern Gulf. Its pretty stormy (so not as good as it sounds)...BUT we did have an awesome day of snorkelling on Koh Tao. I got a sun burn. I look like a lobster.
Moving on, we are now stranded on Koh Phangan. Yep, no boats. The waves are too big and all the ferries have been cancelled. I guess there are worse things than being stranded on a tropical island off the coast of Thailand -even if its raining :) I think it is safe to add this to the list of things that would never happen back in Canada.
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