Cambodia

The Mahout Memoirs

MONTH: December 2008
28.12.2008

COUNTRIES: Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam

SIGHTS: Sentosa Island – Luge, 4 D Cinema, Red Dot Museum, Asian Civ Museum, The Khmer Temples – including Romulus, Wat, Thom and Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider Temple), Tonle Sap Lake boat cruise and homestay, S21 - Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, National Musuem (Phnom Penh), War Museum (HCMC), Mekong Delta, Chi Chi Tunnels Tiger Falls – Dalat and Hoi An Old Town.
Wildlife: Crocs, Catfish, Monkies, Pythons, Rats and lots of birds.

TOP MOMENTS:
1. Boat trip in the Battenbang bird santary and climbing the 15 metre high viewing platform. Loads of birds including Asian Fish Eagle, Black Spotted Peligan, Egerts Cormorants.
2. Easy rider motorcycle tour from Dalat in the central highlands to Nga Trang on the beach.
3. Elephant ride in Lata lake.
4. Shooting AK47 – Chris Only
5. Price a round of 11 draft beers at Bai Hoi came to 55 dong = 1.80 pound

LOWEST MOMENTS:
1. Rain on Christmas day.
2. See the evil things that happen in torture camps (Khmer Rouge) and in the Vietnam War (or the American War as they call it here).
3. Eaten alive on lake boat homestay – Lil had 19 bites in the space as big as your palm and 29 in total.

SCARIEST MOMENTS:
1. Underground in the Viet Con tunnels – Lil only
2. Crossing the insane traffic in HCMC – just following a local to stay alive.

MOST USUAL FOODS:

Flame roasted Frog.
Roasted silk worm
Cockles
Chicken head and neck
Raw sugar cane

MOSTLY MISSING:
Hot shower
Normal toilet

MOSTLY HAD FILL OF:
Hawking and spitting – grim.

QUOTES:
‘Hey lady you wanna buy water...... hey lady you wanna buy baby’ – Cambodian lady outside Angkor Wat holding baby. (still not really sure how much she was joking).

‘Study is not important. Whats important is work and revolution’ - Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge.
'Its better to arrest ten people by mistake than to let one guilt person be free’- Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge.

‘Photo on passport here, you very handsome man.... today you not look so good’ – brutally honest reception girl to Tom (old ferndale house mate) first thing in the morning.

‘We are going to bomb them back into the Stone age’ – Curtis Lemay, Commander US Air Force, 1965.

‘I fall asleep in my Tuk Tuk, my boss have to wake me up’ – Driver an hour late to collect us at airport.

FISH CAUGHT: 14 including a large / tasty bream (Lil) / 2 small ones (Chris)

MOSI BITES: Lil = 30-40. Chris = 5-10.

TAN: Same same, no different.

NEXT ON THE AGENDA: Laos and Thailand