Travelling around Cambodia on a motorbike for near on three weeks was an adventure in itself… eating some seriously crazy food, added yet another dimension to our adventure! We love to travel, we love to eat, and we love to try different foods! We didn’t get to try all the different foods that we wanted to, while in Cambodia, but the following five, I think, are the craziest we did eat. I’ll start with my favourite!
Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (The killing Fields) – Pol Pot’s slaughter of millions of innocent people. Visit – pay your respects at this historic site of tragedy.
Sobering, confronting and depressing, are only a few words that come to mind when experiencing the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Horrific, evil, heinous, nauseating, unspeakable and harrowing are just some that can be used to describe what went on there between 1975 and 1979; a 3 year, 8 month, and 20 day period in Cambodia’s history that decimated the population. Before Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge were driven out of Cambodia by their own defectors and the Vietnamese Army, Pol Pot’s regime had killed an approximately 2 – 3,000000 people… more than 25% of the Cambodian population.
Are you travelling on a budget? Always wanted to do a cooking class? Me too! I have always wanted to learn to cook food from a different country, in that country, by a native of that country… know what I mean? I don’t want to learn to cook Khmer food in Australia by a New Zealander for example. I’m a good cook, and I cook a huge variety of food. Thai, Indonesian, Italian, French and good old Aussie roo on the BBQ, to name but a few. BUT this was my chance to learn to cook Khmer food from a Khmer chef! FOR ONLY USD$10!!!! It was cheap enough that Dwayne also chose to do it with me. And let me tell you it is a lot of fun doing it as a couple.
Angkor Archaeological Park is an astonishing place full of ancient temples. The 400 square kilometre archaeological park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The park is home to literally dozens of ancient temples in varied condition from complete ruin to well conserved. We visited many of them during our stay in Siem Reap. Four of the temples stood out, each in their own unique way. Angkor Wat is immense, Bayon is known for it’s carved faces, Ta Prohm is only semi cleared of the jungle that encroached it, and Banteay Srei is small, intricate and beautiful…
This picturesque gem, south of Phuket, held us captivated for the duration of our stay. What began as a one night stopover ended up being a five night stay. The crystal clear water, with its myriad of aquatic life, so enticed us that, between lazing in the hammock and barbecuing on the beach, we spent the majority of our time snorkelling through the coral gardens. The sea life was extraordinary. We saw a shark, sea snake, moray eels, large titan triggerfish, angelfish, pufferfish, moorish idols, large parrotfish, clownfish and so much more…
In part two of Cruising Phuket we explored the hongs of Phang Nga Bay. Now in part three we head south in search of crystal clear water, and snorkelling opportunities, before hitting Patong for some nightlife!… How does an inconvenient birthday celebration effect our joyous time?
Elephant Tourism – Make an informed decision before you ride an elephant. There is a disturbing history of abuse that the elephant endured.
One of the most stunning features of the Phang Nga Bay area is, undoubtedly, the limestone karsts which jut dramatically from the emerald green sea. The karsts give the area its complicated and mystical beauty. These karsts are often covered or partially covered with lush vegetation, and the bases of these karsts are honeycombed with astonishing caves and aquatic grottos known as hongs in Thai. Many hongs can be explored via kayak or canoe, and some, at low tide, can be traversed on foot. To my mind they are a must see. They are mystical, beautiful and wondrous…
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