We were up early today for the first time in a bunch of days. I was just starting to get use to sleeping in until 8ish. It was quite the scene for the locals of Chau Doc to see our entourage rolling through the streets loaded with multiple Americans and large bags piled on to of sit-lows. I love this picture. I shows us on our way to the boat. You can see our bags and Marie's dad with his arm around Sarah.
Angkor Wat is our end goal. I have a list of archeological/historic sites I would like to visit at some point in my life. The Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Machu Pichu in Peru, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Petra in Jordan and a few others. I have already checked the Great Pyramid off the list although we will return to Egypt this spring to show the kids. So now I can check another off the list.
As we headed up the Mekong river and left Vietnam we hit the rice fields of Cambodia. It is hard to zip past these fields and not think about what went on here back in the 1970's. The Khmer Rouge took over this country and under the watchful eye of their leader Pol Pot they began their quest to create a completely agrarian society. All people living in the cities were moved to work camps in the country where they were then worked day and night until death. They called them The Killing Fields. That along with the execution of all upper class and intellectuals accounted for over 2.2 million deaths of the total 6 million people living in Cambodia at that time.
Our boat trip this day put is in Phnom Penh for the evening after a 5 hour boat ride. We would have another 6 hours up the river tomorrow. Phonm Penh is not very nice although they are currently trying to fix it up. Cambodia is poor and this place is really poor. We are staying at a little hotel on the river. It is nice but the city is a little shady. We found a nice bistro at which to eat and actually had a cheeseburger and fries. First one in awhile. Johann and I were able to use the free wifi there so we could drink beer and update our blogs. Here we are:
We toured the royal palace and then ate dinner. I think we were all anxious to get to bed and move on from this place. I would have liked to have had the chance to go see the monument to the victims of The Killing Fields be we didn't have time. Early to bed and off tomorrow for a long ride to the middle of Cambodia.
Sarah of course found a place to buy something. She has turned into quite the shopper. She makes her grandmother and mom proud. Here are the kids at the Royal Palace. It was nice but once again there was an air to this place that just made me want to get out of here.
So I am not one to end on a down note. All this Killing Fields stuff is a little heavy. If you know me I am a guy who likes a good time. Find a silver lining in a cloud and so forth. So here ya go. As we were leaving dinner in Phnom Penh I saw this billboard across the street and had to have my picture taken. As most of you know I love beer. Moving to a dry country was a real stretch for me. I really don't miss it that much in Saudi. However when I leave Saudi and get the chance to have a few I usually put the pedal to the metal and too much is never enough. In Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia my favorite flavors are Singh Ha, Angkor Beer and Tiger Beer in no particular order. You can buy them anywhere. Tiger is the most readily available. When I saw this billboard I had to take a pic. Life IS good on top. And at this point in our journey I feel pretty damn good!!
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