Journey into Cambodia ... continued

Well I'm feeling a bit better today ... had a good sleep last night, fever has gone right down, and my stomach has settled as well!! Hopefully I will be back to 100% tomorrow.

So, I left off with my stay in Phnom Phen. The one night I stayed there was great! I sat down at the hotel for a bite and chatted with a couple of the Cambodians that worked there - what amazing people! Beers were only 50 cents, so I happily bought a couple for my new friends. We chatted alot about Cambodia, how poor it is, and how corrupt the government is here as well. It's really a shame, but the government of Cambodia literally spends NO money on its people. If you come from a poor family (which most are), there is no chance that your child will be educated, because each family is responsible for paying for education. Regardless of how terrible the governing system is here, the people we have met are extremely friendly and absolutely love to laugh with us.

One of the attractions around Phnom Phen is the "Killing Fields of Cheung Ek". It was here where the Khmer Rouge Regime conducted its genocide the Cambodian people. This was the biggest massacre attempt in history - worse than Hitler's time - as a total of 1.7 million lives were taken!! It was quite depressing to learn about this horrible occurrence and literally see the skulls and bones of the victims. Positioned around the killing fields are signs that explain the story (I will post pictures as soon as I can). It was a 30 minute scooter ride to get to the killing feilds (no helmets of course), and it was a great way to see a good chunk of Phnom Pen.

That afternoon I caught a bus from Phnom Pen into Sihanoukville to finally meet up with my friends! It has been great to catch up with an awesome group of guys, and we have very much enjoyed our time here. Sihanoukville is essentially THE place to be for backpackers, so we have spent lots of our time at the beach, in the bars, and sailing around to the many islands around here with fellow travellers.

The plan from here is as follows:
My buddy Greg and I are leaving Sihanoukville in 2 days time (17th) to head up to Siem Reap, Cambodia to check out the Angkor Wat temple. His other two friends, Ryan and Adam, are flying home shortly. 1 day at the temples is supposed to be plenty, so we will catch a bus from Siem Reap into Bangkok on the 19th. From here we will take a bus directly north into Loas and spend some time here - probably about 1 week. There are 2 main attractions in Laos, including floating down a river and stopping at several bars along the way, as well as a jungle treck. After that, we will be heading back into Thailand to spend new years, hopefully with Jarrett and Holly! Should be interesting ...

I will do my best to keep everyone updated as where we are and what we are up to.

Take care