Phnom Penh, Cambodia - history lesson of Cambodia!

Phnom Penh was a culture shock and a strong history lesson rolled into one.

This built up city of Cambodia is bathed in the blood of its past and has always had its struggled throughout its existence.

The constant changing monarchy and religion finally took its toll on the country in 1975 as the king desperately tried to get his country back. He looked for a solution and like so many developing countries at this time in history, they turned to communism. 

As the king was in exile he left his country in the hands of a local educated man, Pol Pot to get his kingdom back in shape. This man Pol Pot managed like so many other dictators to pray on the weak and poor by giving them hope. 

Pol Pot - the dictator.

People being made to work all day with no food, if they didn't comply they were taken prisoner. 

But by the afternoon of his first day in power he had shut the banking system down, closed all schools and hospitals and started rounding up all educated and foreign members of the public sending them to S21. S21 is a converted school which was now being used as a concentration camp to torture false confessions out of the people and then ship them off blind-folded to the most infamous place in Cambodia - "The Killing Fields". 

The rooms that the prisoners were tortured in

The prison in itself was a depressing but real reminder of the horrors that occurred during this time. 

There are only 2 survivors out of 7 alive today and we met one if them - Mr Chum Mey. He explained that he is nearly deaf from electrocution to his ears. He was constantly tortured if he moved as the chains would make a noise a give him away. If they didn't comply with the guards in any way his toe nails were pulled out, his fingers were broken or he was beaten repeatedly. There was little to no food given to them and he resorted to eating bugs that came into his cell. This also got him beaten if he got caught! He managed to escape as the war ended but  his wife and children were tortured and killed there. For him to come back everyday and relive his past must be torture. To meet this man was so inspirational but also very sad and was too much for Steffie who got upset. 

The cell that prisoners lived in. 

Tortured prisoners found dead at the end if the regime. 

Prisoners had their photo taken when arriving. This lady and her baby did not survive. 

So many people died in "The Killing Fields" that even today, after strong rainfall you can still see bones, rags of clothes and tooth fragments in the mud. 

Seeing all of the areas in "The Killing Fields" where people had been buried in mass graves, mostly naked and headless was disturbing. There is one particular tree that was used only for killing babies, bracelets and candles have been placed there in remembrance to these innocent little babes. 

The tree.

One of the mass graves. 

This tree was used to hang a speaker and to play loud music whilst the prisoners where being killed. This way the locals couldn't hear them scream. 

The sad sight of the hundreds of skulls that we're dug up. 

An estimated 3 million people where killed during this era with another 3 million still missing, all killed by children as young as 10. 

Pol Pot and his regime wiped out half the population and today you rarely see a person over the age of 40. 

Vietnam put a stop the the regime 5 years later but unfortunately like many genocides in our past, this went mainly undiscovered by the western world until 1997. By the time of the war crime trials in the early 2000's all of the people responsible where either dead or in exile. 

Unfortunately the government today is still the same as it was back then and a lot of the war criminals got away with their crimes. 

As Cambodia had full scale economic  collapse, they finally opened its doors to tourism to try and stay afloat. But with the combination of foreigners and a poverty stricken nation, along came the sex industry. We saw this first hand and we would say this has affected us the most on this tour.

Cambodia is filled with old, fat, ugly western men praying on the young and vulnerable. Parading their exploits around as if they have no shame. You can buy the company of a little girl for as little as $100 a night. This is why charities like "New Hope" are so valued in these devoping countries. 

Phnom Penh was a fascinating and thought provoking city and we are leaving this place more educated and culturally aware of the difficulties developing countries have. 

Next stop the beach! Sihanoukville!

Siem Reap, Cambodia - full of culture, history and poverty.

This was the first stop of our 3rd tour and all I can say is this was by far the best tour we have done. It was well organised and our tour leader Rod (the gayest man we have ever met!) was simply AMAZING. Our whole group were lovely and all of us got on like a house on fire! And once again Ollie was outnumbered and surrounded by women - the only other guy on the trip was Ryan - a fun loving ozzy guy. 

At first sight Siem Reap seems like a quiet, poverty stricken city. With children selling their souvenirs and going through bins to make money for their families, when really they should be at school. 

Cambodia's tragic past has scarred the country ever since and they can't seem to get out of poverty thanks to Pol Potts. The dictator that killed over 4 million of the population - especially intellectuals, in less than 4 years. This barbaric act plunged the country into poverty and people have struggled ever since. The poorest families earn just $25 a month which isn't enough to feed them let alone pay for anything else. 

On our first day we went to help out at the charity "New Hope" that gives free schooling, counselling and food to the poorest families. 

Walking into the classroom with 20 Khmer children was surreal. They range from 13-18. Some adults even attend these classes and everyone that is there want to be there to learn and better their own lives. We got to join in with the class, teaching a bit of English and playing some games, we also got to exchange stories about our families and careers. The amazing thing was that all of the children had bit hopes and dreams and wanted to achieve a lot in their lives by becoming lawyers, doctors and nurses - this was inspiring. 

The charity has nearly 1000 students that attend the school and are looking to expand even more. They also have a surgery for people that need it and social workers to make sure the children aren't sent out to work on the streets. The best way to keep the children in school and to give them a goal to work to, is to ignore them and not buy anything from them on the street - which believe me is a lot harder than it seems. When their adorable little faces are looking up and begging to sell their postcards, it is heart wrenching to say no! 

The charity is a non profit organisation and relies on people donating and "sponsoring" families. All of this money goes directly to the families for food and other stuff. They also rely on volunteers to help with teaching, in the surgery and with the social work. Check the website out at www.newhopecambodia.com

Helping out at the charity was the best feeling ever and when we are home an earning money we hope to donate to this worth while charity.

Ollie and Amy munching on crickets! Yuk!

On our second day we were up bright and early (4.30am!) to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat the most famous temple in Cambodia. Getting up so early was fully worth the unique and beautiful sight of the sunrise behind this majestic temple. We got to explore a lot of the temple and the surrounding grounds. 

Sunrise at Angkor Wat!

I wanted to take these gorgeous Cambodian children home!!! 

After a quick breakfast we continued on to the other temples surrounding Angkor Wat including the place where part of the "Lara Croft - Tomb Raider" film was set. It is a beautiful and ancient as in the film as this is one of the only temples where the trees have been left to their own devices - growing up and through the temple itself. 

"Lara Croft" set!! 

Our afternoon was my favourite part of Siem Reap - we went to the Tonie Sap lake to see the floating villages. 

All of the houses are either built on very long stilts or actually float along the river and into the lake. Nearly 2000 people live on this lake. They go about their daily business selling goods to each other on their boats, having a wash in the lake and kids jumping in and out of boats and running around semi naked on their floating houses. Every house we passed the children would wave frantically and shout "hello" - so adorable! Our boat was actually driven by a 10 year old boy for most of the trip and he was better than most adults!! 

Whilst we were on the boat, it proceeded to rain torrentially but in true British spirits we didn't complain (after all we are used to it) and just laughed our way through. We were rewarded with the most stunning sunset I have ever seen. Pink, blue and orange skies teamed with swirly clouds but also a gigantic rain cloud in the distance. 

After the downpour it was so peaceful and picturesque that we all felt a bit overwhelmed and agreed we had never seen anything so beautiful. 

Our stunning sunset at Tonie Sap Lake

Our day was finished off perfectly by having a lovely group meal scouring the markets and getting very drunk in one of the bars in "pub street". Sneakily once we got back to the hotel Ollie, Ryan, Rod (our group leader) Amy, Tash and myself (the last ones standing  of the evening) stripped down to our underwear and jumped into the pool - the perfect ending to the perfect day! 

Our next stop - the capital of the country Phnom Penh! 

Beijing - China's smoggy capital!

During our visit to Beijing we had the opportunity to visit some spectacular places. 

As we ended our first tour (the Trans Mongolian Railway) we came to Beijing. Through the mountains in the north the elaborate train line snakes through 80 tunnels and finally arrives in the centre of the city. The deep gorges and random paddy fields were a welcome sight after the desolate and baron Gobi desert. 

We spent our first night at the local night markets trying scorpions, spiders, starfish and sheep testicles! Random was an understatement where this food was concerned! Here we said our final goodbyes to our fellow Trans Mongolian Railway travellers as everyone was going in their own directions.

Our last night before our flight to Hong Kong was spent enjoyably with Mei and Ros. We sampled our first authentic Chinese meal which gave us an insight into what was to come on our "Dragon Tour" around China.  

Back at home we all talk about where our favourite chinese restaurant is and boast about its authenticity. We are all so wrong!!

As we sat down we are bizarrely given 4 different menus. Each one gaining in price and weirdness. By the time we got to the final menu it was just pictures of different fish, shellfish and some livestock - all of which were in tanks in the lobby waiting to be hand picked and chowed down on! 

On this note we played safe and ordered "sweet and sour chicken". When it came, we realised we had been a bit naive! We actually had a plate of chicken heads, feet and claws and that wobbly bit on the top of its head. Not the chicken breast that we were hoping for! 

This type of food we later came to realise, is what authentic Chinese food is.

Dishes like fish head soup, fried assorted pork organs, deep fried chicken feet, fried dog noodles and pig trotters. And these we're just a few of the random and mainly disgusting dishes that we came across!

Fast forward three weeks and we were back to this bustling city with a whole new bunch of people in tow. 

Our first stop was the Great Wall of China. This place is as, if not more beautiful and tranquil than we ever could have imagined. 

Our tour guide "Noodle" (yes that really was his name!!) took us up to a deserted section of the wall at a place called Badaling. 

The climb up was by far the hardest walk we have done so far (and possibly ever!) but when we reached the 4th tower and experienced the sunset it was all worth it. The sunset was lovely and very surreal to watch it on top of a 2000 year old monument. After a bit of "prison posing" and "ninja stances" we headed back in the dusk.

The sign on the Great Wall of China - clearly Chinese people don't know where to poop or not!! Haha! 

We also visited Tianamen Square. Which is  so heavily guarded with cameras and microphones that it actually felt claustrophobic. 

We counted 6 cameras, 1 microphone and a laser pointer on every lamp post, each 6 metres away from one another. 

It is so severely monitored that our guide wasn't allowed to mention anything about the 1989 student riots because he would get into trouble with the undercover agents that are watching and listening to everyone, everywhere! 

We had gotten to experience the true meaning of living in a communist state (the next day a car blew up at Tianamen Square - killing 2 tourists and the occupants of the car!)

As the dragon tour was drawing to a close we had a farewell meal of peking duck - a feast banquet of food and drink that only cost us £3 each. 

We gave our final hugs and kisses the next morning and then the few of us that were departing jumped on the bullet train back to Hong Kong. 

We travelled the entire length of China in 8 hours (without cigarette breaks) travelling at average speeds of 300km an hour!

The next day we left China for good and said hello to the city of Bangkok, Thailand!

Shaolin - the home of Buddhist Monks and Kung Fu!

Shaolin for us was one of our favourite places! 

We first visited an orphanage where the boys practised acrobatics and martial arts 12 hours a day, 6 days a week! Many people think that this is called "Kung Fu", but the definition of Kung Fu is actually to practise something - anything, to perfection. Ollie's Kung Fu could be his hairdressing as mine could be beauty therapy.  

For the orphans this was to continuously practise the acrobatics and martial arts - all of them knowing that they would never reach perfection. 

The boys ranged in age and technicality, so when they put on a show for us it was brilliant. The little ones that were from the age of 8 we're so cute but like lethal little demons with their backflips and martial arts. The other boys ranging from 11 to 16 were  beyond amazing using every different weapon imaginable. 

After the show we had a chance to try out some of the moves and weapons out selves, with "master" teaching everyone the basics and the kids joining in. 

The next day we headed to the main attraction of Shaolin - the Shaolin Monastery! Where the Buddhist monks dwell and thousands of boys are students - again practising their "Kung Fu". 

The Shaolin Monastery is a very prestigious school to be sent to in China and many parents will do anything and pay a lot of money to say that their kids go there. 

At the top of an enormous mountain in the grounds is the big golden Buddha, this is the same mountain where the Dalai Lama meditated for 9 years, thousands of years ago to gain peoples trust in the "new Buddhism". 

And oh yes, we hiked up every step to the top of the mountain! And damn it was hard. 3/4 of the way up there is a nun who has been meditating for 4 years in a cave and you can go in and be blessed by her.

When you reach the summit, you can pray for loved ones or make a wish by writing onto a beautiful red ribbon and tying it to an ancient tree - we decided that this was for us, so we wished for all of our friends, family and loved ones to be blessed with health, happiness and love! 

The view at the top of this mountain was amazing - fairly clear and ever so peaceful! To be surrounded by mountains, sky and clean air was magical! 

We really enjoyed learning a bit about Buddhism and being surrounded by happy and very friendly monks. 

Off we went on the night train back to Beijing! Another busy, bustling, smoggy city!! 

Xian - the first capital of China.

During the ming dynasty this was the first place where all of the Chinese Territories were united. 

A citidel by appearance, high walls and fortifications stretch 14 kilometres around the city centre. These walls are now just a tourist attraction and have been completely rebuilt. Regardless of this, they made an impressive first impression as we cycled along them at sunset.

This city in our opinion has the least western tourists, but with our guides we enjoyed some amazing food in the most questionable looking restaurants we have ever seen. Eating in dirty hallways and flicking fag butts onto the floor was a very surreal experience. 

Before the meal we had the opportunity to help give out food to the many homeless people of Xian. Tony, the founder of the charity has had his battles in the 9 years he's been doing it, not because there aren't many people that need the help - but because the chinese will not address the issue and more so try to suppress it.

Our main attraction was going to see the Terracotta Warriors. More than 7000 life size terracotta army men dating back over 2000 years. Found accidently by a farmer digging a well, most of the pieces are still undiscovered due to the Chinese thinking that the tombs are cursed. Quite a few of these terracotta men are broken and in pieces from where the tombs had been raided hundreds of years before. This made the tour a little disappointing but even so we still enjoyed it. 

Our final activity was an exciting visit (all 30 of the group) to the famous Chinese phenomenon - KTV! For those of you who don't know what this is (as we didn't before we came to china!) it is Chinese karaoke. Karaoke in England is seen as an odd thing - usually hosted in small local pubs, but in china it is beyond huge! 

As we entered the private VIP booth that hosted a huge 50 inch TV, a mass of mirrors and comfy sofas we all cringed a little. We then got invited to go shopping for our alcohol, just like in a supermarket - vodka, rice wine and Chinese brandy all by the bottle for around £20 each. Needless to say we continued the night drinking profusely and  singing our hearts out to Lady Gaga, Rhianna and Queen. 

The bus journey and Oliver's severe hangover was not welcome the next morning as we travelled along some very high and scary mountain roads to our next destination - a "farm" in the mountains, an hour out of Xian. 

I say farm in a loose term as it was more of a damp and cold concrete building with a lot of bugs and some very uncomfortable wooden beds - a sheet of cardboard for a mattress!?! The toilets here were typical Chinese toilets - squat with no door and 2 holes next to each other! Random as hell! 

Even so we made the best of it and enjoyed some home cooked food and a little bonfire before heading off to bed. 

We got up at 5am to make our way to the next and most exciting place yet - Shaolin! The home of Kung Fu and Buddhist monks. 

Cheng Du - Pandas, Pretty Women and Spicy Sichuan!

Cheng Du is known throughout China for having the most beautiful women and spiciest food! The locals claim that spicy food is good for the skin, and that is why their women are the most beautiful!! 

We only stayed in Cheng Du for 1 night at a hostel called "Mr Panda" guesthouse. A clean, cheap hostel with a crazy owner who brewed his own rice wine and is far too kind - giving it out to everyone! 

That evening we went to the most famous Sichuan Hotpot restaurant in the city.

These fondue style hotpot's sit in the centre of the table and can only be described as a "chilli and peppercorn boiling lava pots" where you throw uncooked pieces of uncooked meat and veg into it. 

Most of our group found this dish far too spicy and stuck to the non-spicy bit in the middle. But Ollie being a crazy "chilli head" loved all of it even though his face went numb and his head looked like it was melting.

The main reason for visiting Cheng Du was to visit the ever elusive, cute, cuddly but shy PANDA'S!

The next morning we got to the breeding centre nice an early and were the first tourists to see the 12 new baby panda's at 9am! Tiny and fluffy they resembled the teddy panda that we got for our lovely little Tilly perfectly and we just wanted to pick them up and take them home! (Jay and Em - the panda will be sent when we get to Sydney!)

All of the bigger pandas (the adolescents) were a lot more fun - running around making high pitched squealing noises! Getting themselves all excited! 

The adult pandas were a lot more docile, most of them having a snooze in the trees or munching away on bamboo! 

We also got to see lots of Red Panda's - very close up as you walk through their enclosure. They literally walk next to you, occasionally looking up with an expression saying "who the hell are you and why are you in my house?!?" This made me giggle a lot and again want to pick them up and give them a squish! 

It is very sad to think that there are so few of these majestic animals in the wild still, but the breeding centre are doing an amazing job at looking after them and keeping them happy. Their breeding program is also working very well and you can see how much care goes into looking after all of the animals! 

We jumped on the night train ready for the 15hr journey to Xian - the first capital of China!