Woke up at 5.20am to catch the bus to PP. I hadn’t slept
that well as it was weird to be back in a hostel again. The bus journey and crossing the border was
pretty painless (apart from being ripped off by $25 for processing charges…. Couldn’t
argue as I was on my own, grrr), and I arrived into PP around 1.30pm. Met a nice young couple from Yorkshire (David
and Freya) on the bus and we went to the hotel together in a Tuk Tuk. The hostel was really nice, with friendly
staff and dark rooms (good night’s sleep!). Had a fairly relaxed rest of the
day. Met a nice girl from Mexico at the
hostel (can’t remember her name) and we decided to take advantage of the happy
hour/s drinks offers, $2 cocktails thank you! We had some food and chatted
about our travels. I was back on my backpacking trip!
Next morning I met David and Freya as we had booked a Tuk Tuk
to take us to some of the sights in PP.
The Mexican girl and an Aussie couple (Rachel and Dean) had also booked
a Tuk Tuk so we went together. In the
morning we went to the Killing Fields. I don’t think I was in the right frame
of mind to go here, after saying bye to Anthony just 2 days earlier. Also I do tend to live in a rose tinted
glasses view of the world, so what I learned with me that day will stay with me
for life. I don’t want to go too much
into the detail as I don’t want to relive the experience, but it was just
horrific and even more horrendous is that it happened in my life time. The Killing
Fields memorial was very well thought through, with audio headphones so you
could listen to stories about what happened.
After lunch we then went to Tuol Slegn Museum (S21 Prison). This was also just awful, with some graphic
pictures that even now 2 months later, are hard to erase from my mind. We paid for a guide and he was so knowledgeable
about the history, having worked there for 30 years. Then we met one of the only 7 survivors. It was hard to hold back the tears. 3 million Cambodians died out of a population
of 8m, killed by their own people. It’s
just awful. I did read a book a few
weeks later which I bought in Cambodia called ‘First they killed my father’. Really gripping book but again, it just made
me feel pretty sad that things like this go on in this world and not even that
long ago.
That evening I was feeling pretty low. All of us felt the same. So we met at the bar for happy hour drinks to
cheer ourselves up. Then we headed to a
pizza place where the guys had a ‘happy’ pizza.
Watching them getting stoned cheered me up a bit. Lots of giggles!
The next couple of days in PP were spent sightseeing and doing
a bit of shopping in the markets. Went
to the Russian and Central market. The
Russian market was ace! Really busy with
lots of little nooks and crannies, and bargains to be had. They sell off all the clothes that are made in
Cambodia that perhaps have the wrong label, or don’t meet the retailer’s
standards. Got a Zara & H&M
jumper for £3-£4 each! And some nice
bikinis for £3 each. Bargain! I visited a small cinema which was cool,
situated above a bar owned by an English guy.
There were mattresses in the front you could chill on (I opted for a
seat otherwise I would have fallen asleep!).
I had a popcorn and coke combo and it was only a few quid for the
lot. Love Cambodia for its cheapness!
The film I watched was called Boyhood. Really enjoyed it.
I also met up with Andy Mccallum and his wife and son. I’d not see Andy since 2003 when we spent NYE
together in Thailand with Hazel (that was a good night!). He hadn’t changed a bit and it was great to
see a friendly face J. I spent 4 nights in PP and by the end, I was
ready to leave. The Tuk Tuk drivers
hassle you soooooooooooooooo much here.
You can actually buy a t-shirt in the market which says ‘No Tuk Tuk
Today or Tomorrow’! There is a lot of
poverty here too, rubbish lying in the street and people begging for money.
Definitely the poorest country I’ve been to so far. Next stop, the beach!
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