I'M BACK! (Cambodia)

Well I highly doubt anyone reads my blog (except you Ian! Thanks for the support!) so I don't really feel that bad about not writing in here at all. When I sit down to do a blog post it on average takes me about four hours. So I usually only do it when its a crappy rainy day, when I'm tired, and when I get free inter-webs with an actual computer from my hostel/hotel. Since my Vietnam post I really haven't had all those stars align and thus explains my lack there of blog posts.

I have recently realized my posts are as much for me as they are for you fine felines so I have decided to ameliorate this whole process by not including any more pictures because there all on my facebook and that's usually what takes me the longest to do. So I should be cranking out a ton more posts in the coming weeks! LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

Cambodia

One interesting anecdote that took place before I started out on this grand journey was that up until about eight months ago I knew literally NOTHING about Cambodia and I actually thought it was a country in Africa! Isn't that fun!!!!

Now however, I have learned a lot about the countries unfortunate and recent history. I took it upon myself to learn about the genocide that completely decimated the country for three years! From 1975 to 1977 an estimated THREE MILLION men, women, and children where viciously murdered for no other reason than Pol Pot and the khmer rouge were afraid of losing power. I learned about the extremely corrupt government that has led to the economic disparity that is so blatantly prevalent in the larger cities. The rich are VERY RICH and the poor are VERY POOR. History is low hanging fruit in Cambodia and I would suggest anyone going to South East Asia to stop, reflect, and sample it.

Don't think that Cambodia is all depressing and morose stories though. There are some highlights that most people experience that are sad (S-21 and the killing fields in Phnom Phen) but there are a lot of fun and positive aspects of Cambodia for any traveler to experience. I personally really enjoyed Cambodia! It was definitely the cheapest country to travel in and for a frugal gentleman like myself I loved it!!! On a good day in Sinookeville I was spending around $8 a day! $2 for a bed in an awesome dorm, three $1 meals from street vendors, and $3 goes a long way when beer is .50 cents!

Phenom Pen

I entered Cambodia from Saigon and bused into Phenom Pen. I stayed at Mad Monkey which I would recommend to anyone and everyone! It is owned by a group of Brits that have worked hard to bring something almost impossible to find in South East Asia to Phenom Pen and that is...... Customer Service! The dorm rooms are very clean, moderately priced (high for Cambodia), it is centrally located, and can be a party hostel if utilized in the right way! I was told by a friend to stay at Top Banana (which is three blocks away from Mad Monkey) when I got to Phnom Pen but luckily for me it was full. Why I liked Mad Monkey so much was because Tom, one of the co-owners, and all the staff go out of their way to make sure your stay is the best possible! Most people have a drink in the restaurant then go on the pub crawl (which was so much fun) or head over to Top Banana and party there for a bit and then everyone heads to Love Bar for some more dranks or right to the club Pontune! I had some GREAT nights out in Phenom Pen and it's nice to unwind a bit after hearing about the sad history of Cambodia.

Activities in Phnom Pen

Which brings me to the main attractions of Phnom Pen The Killing Fields and S-21. Most tuk tuk drivers include these two stops and a firing range in an all day tour package that only costs a few dollars if you have two or three people. I was really excited to shoot a sniper rifle but most tuk tuk drivers take you to the firing range after the killing fields, which is a terrible line up because the last thing I wanted to do was shoot a gun after I had been to the killing fields. So if your keen on getting your hands on a bullet shooter tell the tuk tuk driver to take you there first or just do it another time there are a lot of opportunities when backpack SEA.

Shinookeville

I then bused to shinookeville! Every country in South East Asia has a party city. For Vietnam it was Nhan Trang, for Laos it is Vang Veing, and for Cambodia it's Shinookeville! This place really is a party haven! I would recommend staying at the party beach first off (Serendipity) . Monkey republic offers dorm beds for I think $2 and it is a wicked hostel to party and hangout in. It is a stones throw way from the party beach and all the bars and if u turn left out of Monkey Republic and take your first right at the round about you will hit a ton of food vendors where you can get some great meals for .50 cents to a dollar!

Drinking and partying is just as cheap as eating in Shinookeville! Literally! All day promotors are handing out flyers to bars. TAKE THEM ALL! Each bar has one hour in which they give out either a free drink or bucket!!! You can go out and have an insane night and only spend 2 or 3 dollars! The most I spent in one night on alcohol was $4 dollars and that night I organized a beer pong tourney, I taught all the promotors how to play dodge beer, I got offered a job at Dolphin Bar, and then blacked out and woke up on a random bungalow deck throw up everywhere and with a massive scar across my face (don't worry ladies it's gone). So I think the moral of the story is don't spend more then $3 on a night out in Shinookeville!

That was the worst morning of my life because I had to grab all my things at 8am and jump on a boat with my friends so we could go to bamboo island, which was a two hour choppy boat ride away!!!!

Now you can all see why so many people love shinookeville! There is a little movie theatre you should defs check out after a night of hard drinking! You rent a room and then request basically any movie and watch it on a projector screen. Most people just hangout on the beach all day and then party hard at night.

Once you are sick (pun intended) of participating in this fantastically fun life style I would highly suggest moving to Otres Beach or stranding yourself on one of the basically deserted paradise islands just off the coast of shinookeville. The beach at Otres is WAY nicer than the party beach and it's a lot more chill! I never made it but my friends said "Wish You Were Here" hostel was great!

I went to Bamboo Islsnd for four days and loved it. I cleaned the beach for beers, sat in a hammock and red for hours, and practice my fire stick skills! It was soooo nice!

Siem Reap

I had an amazing time in Siem Reap I tried to make it there for my friend Gabe's birthday but I unfortunately missed it by 16 hours. This is a real shame because the events that transpired on his birthday night out is without a doubt the funniest and most unfortunate story I have had the pleasure of being told on this trip. I don't have the heart to type it all out here so you will have to buy me a beer and try and get it out of me.

I stayed at Garden Village and it's sister hotel Bliss Villa which is just one block away. I loved Garden Village and would highly suggest it to anyone that wants to make new friends, be close to the heart of bar street, or have a good time. The dorm beds there are SUPER basic and consist of a mat on the floor and a mosquito net Haha. But you can get a single room for four dollars. They have a GREAT rooftop bar which sells .50 cent beers and it is an amazing place to meet people! There is a mini soccer field right next to it and they offer yoga classes for free each day! The musseli fruit and yogurt, the pizzas, and there take away sandwiches are all great! Bliss Villa is much nicer but a bit more expensive. Stay there if they have room then just walk over and hangout at Garden Village.

There is a good deal of thinks to do while in Siem Reap. The Temples of Ankor Wat is on the top of everyone's list but I'll get to that soon enough. I had some hilarious nights pre-drinking at the rooftop bar of GV then walking over to bar street and going to "Temple" and "Ankor What"! There both great bar/clubs! There are really good street meet stalls just down the road from them as well! There is an crocodile farm just outside the city which makes for a pretty great day trip! I lost all my photos of this place and my first two weeks of Loas so you can't really check it out on my FB but it consists of holding baby crocs, seeing all sizes of crocs, and of course feeding them! What you feed them is up to you haha. I really enjoyed just walking around down town Siem Reap there are so many markets and things to see.

Now what you have all been waiting for! The Temples of Ankor Wat! I had a few new friends that wanted me to give them some suggestions on how to do Ankor Wat. So here is a quick guide on how I did it.

"Ok so rent a bike for a dollar and bike 8km to the ticket office which is
on the right of the hwy on the way to Angkor Wat. Do this at I think 4:15
and buy a 1 day ticket. U can then go into the temple at 4:30 for 2 hours
the night before ur 1 day ticket starts. I went and did Ankor Wat for two hours the night before then biked home. Then wake up super early the next day and leave ur hostel at like 4:30am and bike to Ta Prom (garden village has a free nice map of all the temples so even if ur not staying there just go grab on). If your staying at Garden Village (Bliss village right beside them is way nicer if you have another person with you) then make sure to order 2 or 3 o there "take away" sandwiches cus u get super hungry going around looking at the most amazing ruins u will ever see [;)] . They give you little maps of the whole area as well make sure u take one to orientate yourself! Make sure for the second day u rent a mountain bike for $2 for the second day because u end up biking about 36km if u see all the main temples. So ya do Ta prom (which is where tomb raider was filmed)
for sunrise! No one is there! Then bike over to koa Ta I think it's called
it's the pyramid one this is in between Ta prom and Ankor thom. Make sure
u climb to the top! Then go through victory gate and do Ankor thom stop at elephant terrace and do the big palace then head left and do bayon (which is the one with all the faces) then go back to Ankor Wat and go to the temple cus then u can actually go up to the top part (u can't at night). U
can stop at a few smaller ones on the way but these are the main ones.
Bring a ton of water and ur own lunch. If u don't want to bike all day
rent a moto to stay with u all day for $5. If u have any questions let me
know."

I honestly think the one day is enough for anyone not EXTREMELY interested in history or temples and can sack up and push it for one day. I got some great exercise and was blown away by the architecture and the AMAZING details of everywhere you looked in any of the temples. I never felt rushed. By seeing these temples you can really see the contrast of Cambodia's transition of power through the ages. Hundreds of years ago Cambodia was the super power of south east asia and now you see a country just trying to stay on its feet! It really is amazing to think and learn about the countries history!

After I did the backpacker thing I was lucky enough to volunteer at the Savong School and Orphanage for a week and a half. This was an amazing experience and I would have love to stayed there longer but I decided I wanted to do the famed Gibbon Experience in Loas and I had other time constraints.

I spent the first couple days just helping out at the orphanage. I helped build a garage and shaded area where the kids could play when it was too hot but I really utilized my potential when teaching the kids new games to play haha. They went absolutely nuts over my favourite game splat.

I also taught english for a week. Now I know what some of you are thinking. "How the hell can you teach English when you can't read or spell?". It's a valid point for sure but it went great! I was told I would have a graduated student training to become a teacher in the class room to help translate for me and that I would have a text book to teach out of. But I unfortunately got none of these things haha. I was thrown in the room with twenty 12 to 16 year olds and told to "teach English" haha. The first hour was definately a struggle but then I was on a roll and had a great time with the kids! My time with the kids was extremely rewarding and fun. I think everyone should volunteer while backpacking. I hope to do some more before I head home.

That's all I got! If you want to see some of my photos from Cambodia go and check them out on my Facebook page. I hope this was some what useful or enjoyable.