Phnom Phem, Cambodia

Royal Palace

Phnom Phem is the capital of Cambodia.  The capital was moved to Phnom Phem when the military of Thailand were constantly attaching Seam Reap.  Thailand had superior weapons and the people of Seam Reap could not defend themselves. By moving the capital farther south the Thais could not reach them as easily.

Fried Crickets

After the Vietnam war, which they call the US war, the Kamenroush controlled Cambodia. Their power became so consuming that they told eveyone in Phnom Phem that they had to leave the city because the United States were going to bomb the city.  The mass exodus from the city forced everyone into the country side. Everyone become farmers and were forced to grow rice for export to China.  People were treated poorly and had little to eat during this time.  To survive people started to eat anything that had protein including bugs and spiders.  You can still find deep fried bugs, larva and spiders at some markets.

Fried Lavara

Fried Tarantula

Memorial that contains skulls and bones recovered from one excavation.

Visiting the Killing Fields  of Choeung Ek is a sobering experience if you take time to learn about the history of the region.











During the Khmer Rouge rule the leader Pol Pot became afraid of anyone that was educated.  The Khmer Rouge had workers identify if they were teachers or educated by promising them that they would be treated better.  This was not the case and they were taken  to S-21 prison which was the former Tuol Svay Prey High School. People were tortured until they confessed to being spies for the United States.  At that point people would disappear from the prisons.  They were taken to the area now known as the killing fields and executed. The bodies were left in open pits and covered with the chemical DDT. Most of the 17,000 people taken to S-21 were killed.

Open Pit Area located in the Killing Fields

Thousands of women, children and men were killed because they were educated, wore glasses or someone in the  family was educated or a teacher.  Remains for most of those killed have not been excavated as they can not be identified because there is no remaining DNA to cross reference.

Bracelets for Remembering the Dead

This was a very dark time in Cambodia's history.

AMA Waterways - Cruising From Siem Reap, Cambodia to Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam

Cruising the Tonie and Mekong Rivers

A cruise is a great way to travel.  You only have to unpack once and you get to see a variety of villages and towns along the river. AMA does a wonderful job  of  meeting travelers needs providing a great selection of tours and sight while traveling from Seam Reap to Ho Chin Ming City (Saigon). What did surprise me was that we did not always travel on the Mekong and that there was a fair amount of land travel by bus to get to the ship on Tonie River.

Kampong Chhnang Floating Village

The floating village allows people to own a house and not pay taxes.  It is the land that people have to pay taxes.

 Life on the river.

Fishing

Fish Farm

Koh Chen

Copper Stamping that will become silver plate.

This is a small village that produces copper and silver objects.

This lady stamps patterns on to a large copper vessel.

Silver Plate

Once the embellishing is complete the copper vessels are dipped into a chemical to produce the silver plate.

Ondong - Vipassana Dhura (Buddhist Monastery)

Nuns preparing to give the monks offer

Kampong Tralach

Ox Cart Ride

Ox  Carts were the traditional form of transportation and are still used by farmers.  We had the opportunity to travel by cart for 25 minutes through the country side.

Oxen

Royal Palace

Phnom Penh

Is the capital of Cambodia since 1866.We had  a tour of the Royal Palace.  Phnom Penh is located on the banks of the Mekong, Tonie Sap and Bassac River.

Memorial in the Killing Fields

Killing Fields - Burial Pits not Excavated

Former School used by the  Khmer Rouge as a detention center. 

S-21 detention center - Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide. The Khmer Rouge with Pol Pot regime from 1975 to 1979.

Leaving Phnom Penh

Boarder and Immigration Stop

Here is were we waited to

Boarder Crossing

cross the boarder from Cambodia to Vietnam on the Mekong River.

The whole process is very slow as each passenger and staffs passports have to be checked for VISA's.

Tan Chau

Tan Chau is a small Mekong Delta town untouched by tourism.  We traveled through the streets on a Xe Loi (bicycle rickshaw). to a silk and rattan mat workshop.

Rickshaw Ride 

Rattan Mat Weaving

Silk Factory - Jacquard Loom

Sa Dec

Market

Here we had the opportunity to visit a farmers market where you could purchase produce, a variety of fish and meat as well as rice and other foods.

Market

Market

Australian Bridge

This bridge was a gift to Vietnam to help rebuild the country after the American War as the Vietnamese refer to the war.

Sunset on the Mekong

Seam Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat at Sunset

Angkor Archaeological Park

You may not be familiar with the city of Seam Reap because it is Angkor Wat that is frequently posted on travel information sites. Seam Reap is the city located close to Angkor Wat.  Angkor Archaeological Park stretches over four hundred square kilometer and includes a variety of sites to visit . This area became the capital of the Khmer Empire in the early ninth century and was the major power in southeast Asia which later became Cambodia.  The first city had a defensive mote, brick and stone temple, with a wooden palace.  All the wooden structures are long gone but the stone structures still create an impressive site.

Angkor Wat

We visited Angkor Wat (city temple) at sunrise, which is a good time to walk around before it becomes too hot.  This is not a great time to take a picture of Angkor Wat with its five spires as it it difficult to know in advance if it will be cloudy. There are also a lot of tour groups that arrive at this time. Angkor Wat was built by the Khmer Empire and is surrounded by a moat.

Entrance Naga to Angkor Wat

Climbing to the top of Angkor Wat

Angkor Tom

Another site is Angkor Tom (great city).  The center of Angkor Tom is Bayon Buddhist Temple with 216 faces watching pilgrims. Bayon is the center of Angkor Tom.

Withing Angkor Tom you will find the columns that was the Royal Palace and the Terrace of the Elephants.

Terrace of the Elephants

Ta Prohm

This site reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the trees growing in the ruins. At some time the ruins will no longer be visible.


These site reminds us the power of the jungle to take over and reclaim the land.

Banteay Srei

This was a Hindu Temple which was carved from a pinkish stone and has the finest stone carvings.  Banteay Srei means Citadel of the Women.

We visited these ruins just before it was closing as the sun was going down. This increased the pinkish effect of the stone.

Couple having pictures taken prior to their wedding at Angkor Wat