So we ace’d getting up at 4am this morning, ace’d finding our tuktuk ride to the airport, ace’d catching the flight and then the local bus to our hostel….. Then epically failed at the rest of the day.
We got the number 3 bus to the waterside and found our hostel no problem. The room is….ok. similar to Bangkok but then again a capital city which is filthy so we can’t expect too much. Instead of having a power nap we were super organised and decided to head straight to the Vietnam embassy to get our visa for entry into the next stop for us. We planned it on the map, of course in two separate ways, I claimed that my way was the most straightforward….it really wasn’t. After walking a good 8km David said ‘imagine this place is shut on a Saturday’ I hadn’t even clocked it was a Saturday! No less we got there and it’s shut on the weekends- we plan to fly on Monday but can’t without a visa!!!!! Nightmare. There was an internet café next door so we went in to refuel and apply for a fast track evisa…..70dollars later. Next to book the flight which were reasonable at first glance but as confirming the booking the flight increased by 50dollars each.
We decided to think about it and head to the teul sleung genocide museum. Which was about 3km away.
The museum was incredible! People are evil! To think all of that torture and dehumanisation happened only 40years ago is hard to comprehend. The former school was changed into a high security prison and the things that went on in there were digusting. With it still so recent there was still some blood on the tiled floors, original torture weapons, metal beds, shackles and make-shift cells. The photos that they display don’t hide the state of the prisoners and the torture they went through up to three times a day. We didn’t take any photos today because it just didn’t seem appropriate. We did the audio tour and on leaving 2 of only 7 survivors from the prison were doing book signings. Over 20000 people went through that prison in 3 years and only 7 survived, there were well over 100 of these prisons throughout Cambodia! How those survivors can step a foot back into that prison I don’t know! We would be interested to hear things from their perspective though.
On the way back we stopped for a drink and started to plan ho chi Minh, our next stop. We went back for a shower. On the way back David stepped on a loose paving block which sprayed black water into his sock, he was traumatised and actually threw the socks away refusing to wash them because they were going to stink out his bag!!!! Safe to say we won’t be wearing flipflops in this city!
Before tea we checked out some of the bars that are recommended in our book. On the walk to the basaac lane area there were beautiful street side boulevards with pristine gardens, pedestrian areas with exercise classes going on, picnics and kids playing football. How do They care so much about the gardens yet everywhere else is filthy and neglected!? When walking through the gardens that’s when I realised we had both forgotten to use bug spray- another fail of the day 🤦. The city is actually prettier at night! In one bar we got talking to a guy from Chicago who was heading home tomorrow after travelling.
We then went to basaac lane which was just a mock up of western streets with some mimicy pubs etc
Had a beer in one of them but decided to eat somewhere a bit more local. BBQ restaurant s seem to be most popular but with both of us not eating meat (apparently David’s ham and cheese toastie at lunch doesn’t count) these were useless to us. We had veggie green curry in the end. Finally we went to a final pub with WiFi to try to sort out getting to vietnam, and just to add salt in the wound the baggage was added on at very end of the increasing price to total 300dollars!!!! Disaster!!! We had used this website and this airline to get to phnom penh and not encountered this, must be because it’s an international flight and not domestic. We looked for travel alternatives and the bus seems most reasonable, although 6hours, it’s only 12 dollars. Further more the visa is only valid for air entry only. So guess where we’re going back to on Monday morning, the embassy for a new visa by land! Hopefully in time to leave on Monday or else were here for another few days…. Early rise this morning and eventful day, bed time for us!
South East Asia 2019 