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Showing posts from July, 2014

Cambodia - Kampot

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After the adventuring in Siem Reap and the sadness and madness in Phnom Penh, Kampot was exactly the tranquility we needed before heading across to Vietnam.  A tiny river village, its crumbling architecture, statued roundabouts and relaxed feel make it a very quaint place to visit.  The "old bridge", shut to all traffic but scooters.  Rusting away and covered in holes After another ridiculous bus journey (we need to get better at booking our transfers) we arrived in the town.  Swallows screech overhead reminding me of the south of France.  The sound sounded weird though, like it was being piped from speakers, but it turns out that they breed swallows in the derelict rooftop buildings which made the sound echo.  The spit that swallows use to build their nests is a popular ingredient for soups and drinks throughout Asia and usually procured via a man climbing up a cliff face to retrieve the nests.  This is a much safer and more efficient way of obtaining their s

Cambodia - Phnom Penh

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Due to the bus taking a lot longer than anticipated, we arrived in Phnom Penh (hereafter PP) late, hungry and tired. PP is a bit crazy.  It is a hive of activity and a mish mash of crumbling buildings, wide roads filled with pot holes, perfect flyovers, street stalls and a few out of place sky scrapers.  It looks like and is a city being rebuilt, it's in metamorphosis.  Every time you cross the road its a bit of an ordeal.  There are no real rules of the road, drivers just go whatever direction they choose with a lot of hooting and braking.  There is an attempt at driving on the left but it's rarely stuck to by scooters and bicycles.  Everyone appears to have right of way, it's a game of chicken as to who stops last/who's larger. We did a laundry run then went out into the city to find a tourist place to do our visas. This sorted, we ended up at a restaurant called Beirut, a Lebanese restaurant recommended by Amy's sister.  I had a beef "keppe" whi