Lovely Cambodia
Bye bye Vietnam. Hello Cambodia.
Me and my sister crossed the border by Ha Thien. The most southern border close to the sea. We figured that rainy weather doesn't stop at the border and it continued to follow us on our tour. Altought the procedure was a bit weird, we had our laugh with Bina and Christian. Two germans we met while crossing over. Especially the health check was completely absurd. Well. We all were healthy and could cross over.
The transport situation seemed to be the same as in Vietnam. Insane what these guys manage to put on their motorbikes.
We took a minivan over to Kep. The closest town to the border. Where we went down to the famous Crab market. Interesting to see how these people store their crabs. They put them in a cage and put them back in to the sea until someone wants to buy them.
Altough the sky was full of clouds, the sun managed to penetrate through them and left us with a beautiful shimmery evening light that we could enjoy at the sailing club.
The next day we were heading over to Rabbit Island.
Yes, we asked ourselfs too why it's called that way regarding the fact that there were no rabbits. Apparently, they made some chemical tests on that island. After that they introduced rabbits to the island to check if it's inhabitable again... Well.. they are no more rabbits.. And people still live there.. doesn't make much sense.. but yeah. It's what they say.
The people there grow some kind of seaweed that they farm, then dry and yeah, eat.
We moved on to Kampot. A bigger village, where we took a bungalow at a lazy riverside hostel, where we met Bart, Ioury and Taka. Hope i spelled that right.. sorry if i didn't. :)
The township itself was quite mediocre but had some interesting features.
Such as the funny remorks and a durian round-a-bout.. yes. Durian. The most ugly fruit in the world.
Anyway. Togther with Andrea, Jessica and Arch we went up to Bokor Hill Station to see the abandoned casino. And much more :) We rented some scooters and off we went.
We stopped at a temple in the clouds. That was quite an experience.
And here you go: The casino. From the movie 'City of Ghosts'. Where the Khmer Rouge had a base during their bloody 4 year reign.
Some abandoned villas further back were an interesting playground.
Especially this part felt like 'Alice in Wonderland'.
And the orange moss didn't help to make it look less fancy.
Quite pretty. Altough the history of this place isn't. The spookyness of the Bokor Church helped to put it in the right light.
The next day we went on to Sihanoukville, where we took a boat over to Koh Rong. And island off the coast, that shouldn't be as developed and touristy as it's mainland counterpart. And it wasn't. But perfect for strolling around and a lot of relaxation time. Although the weather was obviously the same as on the mainland. Just a bit earlier.
Right on the first day we did a boat-tour over to Koh Rong Samloem. Where we went snorkeling and swimming in luminescent plankton at night. This is just a reference picture down here. I don't know how they managed to get in on camera. I tried as hard as i could. But couldn't get it on it. Well.. It wasn't as bright as on the picture, and it was green. And yeah. Not on the beach. But out in the water.. I guess that guy must've cheated a lot to make it look like that.. Anyway. It was absolutely great. 30 minutes of pure happiness.. Ask Emily and Collin. Or Oscar. They would tell you the same. :)
Amazing. And our little bungalow on that islands without 24 hours electricity, internet and the lack of any roads, made this stay even better.
We loved it. Get some more impression of the island.
I really liked this building site on the way to the other side of the island.
Long Beach
And our favourite: 4k beach
Everything had to end. As well as our stay on Koh Rong. We took a boat back to Sihanoukville, where we spent another night. From there we took a night bus over to Siem Reap. To see the famous temples of Angkor Wat. And our cousins, Gela and Anita. Nice family reunion. Since the early bird catches the worm, we had to get up quite early to get the best out of these temples. Tadaaaaa: Angkor Wat
Well.. Others had the same idea. Can't really blame them.
After seeing that first temple we toured around to see more of the area:
Angkor Thom South Gate
Bayon Temple with its many faces
Baphuon Temple with the Gateway to Heaven. At least i call it that way.
Tha Phrom, where they shot parts of 'Tomb Raider'
And that one.. Well. I forgot the name...
On the way back we came across a death procession. Quite interesting. And soo many people. Must've been a nice guy..
In the evening we went to 'Phare, The Cambodian Circus'. A mix between theatre and circus, that was a fun night out.
That guy would be an amazing surfer i guess!
The next day the four of us took scooters and drove over to the 'Beng Mealea Temple'. That one was really nice! A ruin that wasn't ruined! It was great! Luckily they didn't try to restore it so far. Just built some wooden pathways. And for a little tip, one of the security guards gave us a private tour. Really cool. Enjoy.
I really enjoyed that temple! As well as the country. By far the country with the friendliest people in SouthEastAsia so far. Lovely..