It's famous, it's vast, it's crowded, it's Angkor Wat

One of the most famous tourist sights in the world, and one on many people's Bucket List, is Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, located just outside Siem Reap. The town itself is basically a dusty gateway to the various temples and visitor numbers are counted in the hundreds of thousands so it is always busy no matter the time of year. The preferred time to be at Angkor Wat is sunrise or sunset so who was I to disagree?

The early start was made more acceptable by enjoying a couple of glasses of champagne, a suitably appropriate way to greet the sunrise at such an iconic site!

Thousands of others were there as well:

So I decided to escape to the rear of the site to explore in peace:

That's more like it!

Whole areas to myself with no huge tour groups and not a Bunny Ears pose in sight!

It was great fun scrambling up and down the various towers alone, felling like the intrepid explorers of bygone eras:

And finding deserted corridors:

Giving me space to admire the carvings:

There were the inevitable Buddha shrines:

Which of course were not in the original building as it was a Hindu temple long before it was turned into a Buddhist one.

It is vast:

Photos of individual areas give no impression of the sheer size of the site.

Time to be a typical tourist:

But as soon as the crowds start building up the magic of Angkor Wat diminishes and it is time to move on to the next 'must see', taking a few shots of the exit and the moat on my way out:

Together with a photo of my favourite mode of transport:

I would love to say that I was bowled over by Angkor Wat which many speak of in hushed reverential tones but for me it was too big, too busy, and lacked the precision of detail that other temples in the region display. A couple of those I considered stand out temples are featured in my next blog.

Cambodia's dark and tragic past

As a visitor to this fascinating country you have a responsibility to investigate Cambodia's past as well as admire its stunning palaces and temples. It is important to try to understand what the people suffered so that their tragedy is neither forgotten nor repeated.

Tuol Sleng used to be a high school before it was turned into the detention and interrogation centre known as the feared S-21 prison. Of the 20,000 prisoners imprisoned there during the time of the Khmer Rouge only 7 survived. The numbers involved in the mass extermination of the Cambodian people during the reign of terror under Pol Pot are so horrific as to be barely believable: of the population of 6 million people 2 million died, a mind blowing one third of the entire population. I only quote these figures to impress on you all the sheer scale of the annihilation of the innocent Cambodians at the hands of a few psychopathic fellow countrymen.

The outside of the building hides its grim secrets well:

Inside you can see how the classrooms were subdivided into small cells:

Everywhere you look you see the signs spelling out the rules of behaviour expected of prisoners:

(as though the poor wretches had any choice in the matter)

And this is one example of how they were treated:

Man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds at times.

Several rooms were devoted to row upon row upon row of the photos of prisoners taken at the time of their arrest. There were also photos of how many of those same prisoners looked after their interrogation but this was all too distressing for me to chronicle so I hope you will forgive me this lack of courage.

On the right: Duch, the chief of S-21, the others were those leaders of Democratic Kampuchea who were found so were able to be put on trial:

Large posters depicting how life was in those days:

The memorial erected in recognition of those who died:

Along with a roll call:

I had the honour of meeting one of the very few survivors, he managed to avoid torture and death by being a talented artist who painted an incredibly realistic portrait of Pol Pot which so pleased the man that the artist was spared the fate of nearly all of the other prisoners:

His lack of bitterness and hopes for the future stability of his beloved country was humbling.

Then a few miles from this house of horrors lie The Killing Fields, made famous by David Puttnam's Oscar winning film of the same name. It was to here that many of the prisoners of S-21 were transported for their final days on earth once there was no more space for bodies in or near the prison grounds. Due first of all to the scarcity of, then the high cost of, ammunition prisoners were battered to death with whatever implements were to hand. Walking through the grounds of The Kilłing Fields it is impossible for the mind of a normal human being to comprehend such utter barbarity despite having the facts and figures in front of you and seeing with your own eyes the records of evidence.

The museum:

The Memorial to those who died:

A sobering and distressing day, what more can I say?

Phnom Penh Cambodia: chilling history but now focusing on the future

The public bus journey between Saigon and Phnom Pehn is not one to be undertaken lightly - or ever again! The roads are shocking, the dust is choking and the driver's obsession for sounding the horn knows no bounds. But eventually you and your eardrums reach the border, it's an impressive crossing:

Formalities are swiftly sorted out and visas obtained, then a few more bumpy dusty hours on the road including a fairly primitive ferry for a river crossing:

It makes the Greek ferries look like luxury liners.

There is a new bridge to replace this but it is not opening for another week or two:

Then finally I arrive in Phnom Penh, what a relief!

First step: grab a cyclo (ignoring the temptation of selfies!):

Then on to the Independence Monument:

Then another monument but I never did work out who it honoured despite it being so much more attractive than Independence Monument, I think it might have been the last king.

And the park leading from the monuments to the river:

A Buddhist temple, what a surprise:

And the Royal Palace complex:

The empty roads leading to the palace show how little traffic is allowed up this road:

And the Royal Family's private temple of worship:

On the green in front of the palace there is a very large display in honour of the King:

This is particularly eye catching at night:

As is the palace itself:

It is not known who will succeed the present king as he is not married and has no children ( nudge nudge wink wink, the rumour is that he's not a fan of the ladies).

The palace complex has some wonderful buildings:

And some jaw dropping displays of wealth none of which sadly you are allowed to photograph.

The National Museum is not only fascinating but is housed in a magnificent building:

A monument to Lady Penh:

Which is situated by Wat Phnom, classed as the central point of Phnom Penh:

An evening trip on the river is a fun way to spend a few hours:

I thought the building in the centre of the above photo was yet another temple but in fact it's a luxury hotel. And in the other bank you find:

Not quite the same level of luxury! And despite the obvious poverty you will always find Buddha:

But the skyline is wonderful at night as you don't see the depressing bits:

Despite the fact that monks are supposed to be untouchable and dignified I saw a boatload of them having a wonderful time with loud music, beers on board and cameras taking shots of the girls on the boat I was on, good luck to the monks, it's a pretty solitary life at times so why shouldn't they let their hair down every so often ( ok they all have shaved heads but you know what I mean!)

A day exploring Cambodia's dark history was scheduled the next day so I was grateful for the levity of the evening. But it is impressive how Phnom Penh has shaken off its terrible recent history and is building for the future.