On Sunday 18th February, we took the public bus early in the morning over to Cambodia, which was a pleasant experience. They gave us food and showed us a DVD, although the subtitles were half in English and half in Spanish, so watching it was abandoned. We paid an extra US$4 bribe fee in addition to the US$20 visa fee, so that our passports would be processed quickly. (According to a survey conducted by Transparency International, a Berlin based anti-corruption watchdog, nearly three-quarters of Cambodians reported paying a bribe to receive a public service in the past year and more than half were pessimistic that endemic corruption would lessen in the near future).
The Cambodian border guards operate on a system of trust, as you hand in your passports but they do not check whether they belong to you. We then boarded a bus to have lunch at a cafe on the border and an hour later our passports were returned to us by the hostess of the bus!
The driving is not as crazy in Cambodia as it is in Vietnam and there aren't as many motorcycles trying to mow you down. Cambodia has suffered a bloody history over the last century. In 1866, it was colonized by the French and then in 1942 by the Japanese who defeated the French who left to fight in Europe. in 1945, the Japanese were forced to retreat from Cambodia when the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1946, the French returned to Cambodia to rule again. Subsequent years saw the Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh fight the French in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In 1953, Prince Sihanouk introduced civil service for all Khmer students and by 1954, Cambodia declared independence. The Viet Minh were, however, still prevalent in Cambodia.
Dap Chhoun, the leader of the Cambodian army, was determined to overthrow King Sihanouk but failed. The King instead granted Dap Chhoun power over Siem Riep, Kampong Thom and Battambang province. For the next 10 years, Cambodia remained relatively peaceful under King Sihanouk's reign. In 1969, the US began annti-communist bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos, alongside the war with Vietnam. In 1970, General Lon Nol, leader of the Cambodian army, held a successful military coup against the King, who then retreated to China. From there, Sihanouk urged the Cambodian people to fight Lon Nol's army with the support of the Viet Kong and Chinese troops. Lon Nol, however, had the support of allies from Thailand, South Vietnam and the USA and by 1973, he had defeated the Viet Kong.
In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, comprising mainly jungle rebels, were becoming stronger and wanted to gain power over Cambodia. Fighting continued between the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol's armies until the US and the South Vietnamese and the Thais pulled out of Cambodia in 1975, whereupon Lon Nol's army fell to the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, victoriously marching through the streets and promising peace for Cambodia. Peace was short lived, as over the next 4 years, the Cambodians would suffer under Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, and his brutal social restructuring programme. He hoped to create an agrarian system which had everybody working in the fields. The Khmer Rouge took a census of every citizen's job, family and possessions. The calendar year was turned back to "Year Zero". Educated people were considered to be the enemy and were mercilessly tortured and killed in the numerous killing fields around Cambodia. The Cambodian Army were forced to hand over their weapons and possessions with the promise of a new way of life. Instead, they were herded into trucks, taken into the jungle and brutally murdered. It is estimated that between 1975 and 1979, over 3 million people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
Our first stop in Cambodia was Phnom Penh, the capital city. According to legend, the city was founded when an old woman named Penh found several Buddha images on the banks of the Mekong River and decided to place them on a nearby hill. This hill would later become the location of Wat Phnom. The city became the capital of Cambodia in the 1430s, when the capital was moved from Angkor to increase trade opportunities and put some distance from the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand). During the 16th century, Phnom Penh's access to trade made it a regional power but then its location became vulnerable from the Thais and Vietnam, until the French took over in 1863. The city stands at the confluence of the Tonle Sap, Tonle Bassac and Mekong Rivers.
In the evening we took a cyclo tour around the city (see photos), where we saw the Royal Palace (built in 1866), the Independence Monument (built in 1954 to celebrate Cambodia's independence from French rule and which now serves as a monument to Cambodia's war veterans). It was Richard's birthday (one of the guys on our tour) and we had a great meal in a restaurant. I really like the Cambodian curries - they taste much better than Thai curries. Afterwards we headed to a karaoke bar, where we hired a private room for a few hours and sang to our heart's content. I am quite tuneless at the best of times but after a couple of hours I must have sounded like a cat being strangled, but no one seemed to mind, as there were worse than me!
The Cambodian border guards operate on a system of trust, as you hand in your passports but they do not check whether they belong to you. We then boarded a bus to have lunch at a cafe on the border and an hour later our passports were returned to us by the hostess of the bus!
The driving is not as crazy in Cambodia as it is in Vietnam and there aren't as many motorcycles trying to mow you down. Cambodia has suffered a bloody history over the last century. In 1866, it was colonized by the French and then in 1942 by the Japanese who defeated the French who left to fight in Europe. in 1945, the Japanese were forced to retreat from Cambodia when the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1946, the French returned to Cambodia to rule again. Subsequent years saw the Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh fight the French in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In 1953, Prince Sihanouk introduced civil service for all Khmer students and by 1954, Cambodia declared independence. The Viet Minh were, however, still prevalent in Cambodia.
Dap Chhoun, the leader of the Cambodian army, was determined to overthrow King Sihanouk but failed. The King instead granted Dap Chhoun power over Siem Riep, Kampong Thom and Battambang province. For the next 10 years, Cambodia remained relatively peaceful under King Sihanouk's reign. In 1969, the US began annti-communist bombing raids in Cambodia and Laos, alongside the war with Vietnam. In 1970, General Lon Nol, leader of the Cambodian army, held a successful military coup against the King, who then retreated to China. From there, Sihanouk urged the Cambodian people to fight Lon Nol's army with the support of the Viet Kong and Chinese troops. Lon Nol, however, had the support of allies from Thailand, South Vietnam and the USA and by 1973, he had defeated the Viet Kong.
In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge, comprising mainly jungle rebels, were becoming stronger and wanted to gain power over Cambodia. Fighting continued between the Khmer Rouge and Lon Nol's armies until the US and the South Vietnamese and the Thais pulled out of Cambodia in 1975, whereupon Lon Nol's army fell to the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge took Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975, victoriously marching through the streets and promising peace for Cambodia. Peace was short lived, as over the next 4 years, the Cambodians would suffer under Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, and his brutal social restructuring programme. He hoped to create an agrarian system which had everybody working in the fields. The Khmer Rouge took a census of every citizen's job, family and possessions. The calendar year was turned back to "Year Zero". Educated people were considered to be the enemy and were mercilessly tortured and killed in the numerous killing fields around Cambodia. The Cambodian Army were forced to hand over their weapons and possessions with the promise of a new way of life. Instead, they were herded into trucks, taken into the jungle and brutally murdered. It is estimated that between 1975 and 1979, over 3 million people died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge.
Our first stop in Cambodia was Phnom Penh, the capital city. According to legend, the city was founded when an old woman named Penh found several Buddha images on the banks of the Mekong River and decided to place them on a nearby hill. This hill would later become the location of Wat Phnom. The city became the capital of Cambodia in the 1430s, when the capital was moved from Angkor to increase trade opportunities and put some distance from the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand). During the 16th century, Phnom Penh's access to trade made it a regional power but then its location became vulnerable from the Thais and Vietnam, until the French took over in 1863. The city stands at the confluence of the Tonle Sap, Tonle Bassac and Mekong Rivers.
In the evening we took a cyclo tour around the city (see photos), where we saw the Royal Palace (built in 1866), the Independence Monument (built in 1954 to celebrate Cambodia's independence from French rule and which now serves as a monument to Cambodia's war veterans). It was Richard's birthday (one of the guys on our tour) and we had a great meal in a restaurant. I really like the Cambodian curries - they taste much better than Thai curries. Afterwards we headed to a karaoke bar, where we hired a private room for a few hours and sang to our heart's content. I am quite tuneless at the best of times but after a couple of hours I must have sounded like a cat being strangled, but no one seemed to mind, as there were worse than me!
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