{"id":2508,"date":"2012-12-13T02:35:29","date_gmt":"2012-12-13T09:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejohnsonsjournal.com\/?p=2508"},"modified":"2012-12-13T02:43:24","modified_gmt":"2012-12-13T09:43:24","slug":"into-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejohnsonsjournal.com\/?p=2508","title":{"rendered":"Into Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"

We left Vietnam by bus to Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. \u00c2\u00a0It was a long 6-hour bus ride including a ferry crossing on the Mekong, but mostly pleasant as the bus company assisted us with the 2 border crossings (exit in Vietnam and then about 1 km away the entry to Cambodia).<\/p>\n

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We took a Tuk-Tuk from the bus station to our hotel.<\/p><\/div>\n

We arrived to our boutique hotel, which was a little oasis in a busy, dusty city. \u00c2\u00a0We were surprised by the amount of very trendy boutique hotels and\u00c2\u00a0restaurants\u00c2\u00a0in the city,\u00c2\u00a0especially\u00c2\u00a0because it didn’t seem like Vietnam had any.<\/p>\n

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The furniture in our room was cast concrete and was kinda\u00c2\u00a0simplist-chic.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Scott lazing in the pool.<\/p><\/div>\n

We soon got into the habit of waking up with the locals (as you can hear animals, motorbike and all kind of noise at about 6:30 in the morning), go for a swim, have a lazy breakfast by the pool, then head out to see some of the sites, then back to the pool in the afternoon, before heading out to a nice\u00c2\u00a0restaurant\u00c2\u00a0for dinner.<\/p>\n

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There are quite a few Monks around the city. \u00c2\u00a0And some monuments too. \u00c2\u00a0And some sunsets too.<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of the sights around the city focused on the truly\u00c2\u00a0fascinating\u00c2\u00a0and heartbreaking history of the Cambodian people and the Khmer Rouge. \u00c2\u00a0One day we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us out of the city to see the\u00c2\u00a0Killing\u00c2\u00a0Fields\u00c2\u00a0and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which was a former school turned Khmer Rouge prison.<\/p>\n

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At the prison, they installed barbed wire netting so that desperate prisoners would not commit suicide by jumping off upper level balconies.<\/p><\/div>\n

Between 1975 and 1979,\u00c2\u00a0over 2 million Cambodians were\u00c2\u00a0violently\u00c2\u00a0killed by the Khmer Rouge, including\u00c2\u00a0innocent\u00c2\u00a0men, women, and children. \u00c2\u00a0 The Killing Feilds outside of Phnom Penh is just one of many such sites, but houses the largest memorial to the\u00c2\u00a0tragedy. \u00c2\u00a0It was both\u00c2\u00a0informative\u00c2\u00a0and very tragic to visit the memorial.<\/p>\n

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Some of the victims of the Khmer Rouge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Another day we spent touring the Silver Pagoda and Royal Palace. \u00c2\u00a0Unfortunately we could not go into the Palace, with the recent passing of the former King.<\/p>\n

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I’ve always loved the architecture of SE Asian Wats.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The intricacy and detail of the carvings are just fantastic.<\/p><\/div>\n

We also were impressed with the amount of international and national programs to support young and poor families and as a tourist you can make a\u00c2\u00a0difference\u00c2\u00a0by dining at one of the many training\u00c2\u00a0restaurants, buying local fair-trade handmade products, taking tours with local sustainable companies, as well as, volunteering. \u00c2\u00a0As we\u00c2\u00a0immediately\u00c2\u00a0saw, Cambodia is a very poor nation and many families are still struggling against poverty. \u00c2\u00a0 In Phnom Penh we found a lot of great places to support including:<\/p>\n