Phnom Penh

In Phnom Penh, we stayed there in a guesthouse we had found on hostelworld.com, which had a good rating. Arriving there (with a tuk-tuk that wasn’t really capable of carrying us and the backpacks = 10km/h = passed by pedestrians) we found out, that it actually had a different name. The owner just had changed it to get a new start and made some reviews on his own (we think) to get a good rating result...(the place was not too bad and the included breakfast was great.)

So we stayed there in a dorm with 8 beds, occupied by very interesting people...one was deaf-mute, ca. 60 years old and professionally equipped with his own super-oxygen-anti-snoring-device (yes dad...he had his own Lucy). Because the plug didn’t really fit into the electric box...the device went off 1-2 times a night and started beeping (I didn’t care because I used ear plugs, but Malte did :)).

For the second night a wired old American guy came in the dorm...who introduced himself shortly after arrival by laying down in the bed naked (towel covered), next to Malte...for his joy. So Malte got the chance to see a white chubby butt from close distance...:)

For sightseeing we went to the main palace, by the museum and saw the Killing Fields and S-21prison, which show the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge. The killed nearly two million people in 3 years using there bare hands...

After recovering from the impressions we got, we went to some bars at the riverside...and had some drinks. Later that night we took a tuk-tuk and checked the best clubs in PP...our favorite one (Club White) was closed: The owner had danced naked and stoned with his wife on the dance floor....and somehow the police didn’t like it. The second club (Darlin Darlin) was in a Casino...there was a Chinese band covering chart songs, a Asian guy puking into a ice bucket and a wired crowd...so we just had one drink and hit the next and last club.

Before that we had a bad conscious because the drinks we had in Darlin Darlin were so expensive (6$), so we used our secret weapon: Jakob and 10$ close to a roulette table (this has worked in Greece already). After 10 min we had 50$ and went to the Heart Of Darkness (the last club)...in a good mood.

We had some more drinks and a good time in the club...with tourists and locals. Especially the noodle soup at 5am was great:). Back home we took a moto (Jakob and I shared one...the driver was just 1.55 and maybe 40 kg...so we were a bit afraid of falling back).

The next morning/afternoon we made our way to Sihanoukville for some beaches.

Siem Reap

Arriving in Cambodia one thing has to be noted. It is really easy to get the visa...and just 20 $. So don’t invest to much time in getting one before (like Jakob did...trying two times the online system, including the payment. When showing it to the border guys...the price was still 20$:)).

People in Cambodia are quite poor...and u have a lot of children (it was/is school holiday there !shit!), begging and trying to sell u stuff. They can really be annoying...when they come in a group and follow u like a herd of zombies. We also bought drinks and stuff from them, but tried to pick some nice children who where to so aggressively chasing us.

The countryside is very nice. Everything is fresh, green, wet (they have a huge lake on which u can travel as well...we didn’t) and flat. Rice fields all over the country.

Our first stop was in Siem Reap. From the border u get here by taxi (12$,there is no public transport). In Siem Reap there is not much to do except the Angkor temples and the fishing villages. We did both and got our own tuk-tuk driver for 13 $ a day. Due to road conditions we just visited the fishing village close by. It is nice to visit, but people there are very poor and the water was quite low (high tide is in October...and it didn’t rain so much in the wet season this year, till now) . The tour is also not very cheap (20$ per person), but it was interesting even though and not as touristy as described in the Lonely Planet.

In the afternoon we got ur tickets to the Angkor Temples (if u by them the afternoon before...u get the afternoon free entry and don’t have to wait in lines the next morning). After climbing on of the temples that was supposed to be the best for watching the sunset...we saw some clouds and went home, when it got dark. The next morning, we got up at 4 am and went for the sunset at Angkor Wat...clouds again.

But nonetheless. The site is amazing and the temples are really nice to visit...we stayed nearly 10 hours in the area, and did some crazy climbing to get to the top of the highest temple (50m)...it has very very narrow and steep steps:).

Except sightseeing u can also enjoy ur holiday at night in Siem Reap. Even though it is very touristy u can get a beer for 0.5 USD and one hour massage for 7$ (we did both...the massage is better than the beer!:)).

Just getting back to the beer again...the biggest brands in the countries we traveled are Tiger (Thai), Angkor (Cambodian) and Saigon (Vietnam). My favorite is Tiger...but the are all ok, not as bad as Heineken :). And not to forget food...in all countries we traveled so far u can have a decent Asian meal for 1-3$, including some very good seafood. Malte doesn’t mind what kind of food...there must just be enough chili sauce on the table :).

After Siem Reap we made our way to Phnom Penh.

Bangkok

BK added some new experience to my trip. It also changed the way of traveling because from now on I was member of a boy group :), as Jakob and Malte arrived on the night of the 2nd of August.

But before that, I had to get to BK first, which was quite stressful. After hurrying from Langkawi to Krabi in one day and arriving just in time at the airport to get my plane, I checked in to the hostel late. It was on Khao San road, full of bars, shops and food stands and tourists, the heart of backpacker BK.

Except from some really nice shops for t-shirts & faked sunglasses and cheap bars Khao San road has not really much to offer. Walking along the road, there are some basic rules u should follow. Never look at local people selling stuff and don’t answer question about where u are from, etc....otherwise u just loose ur time getting out of it. Concerning the people who try to sell u something (Bus tickets, shirts, taxi trips...), there is one big difference to Malaysia. In BK they smile a lot...but everybody tries to scam u!

By accident we also took a tuk-tuk tour (use taxis if u can and insist on using the taximeter!). We just wanted to go home...there was no taxi...the tuk-tuk driver made us a very cheap price and said he would stop at 2 attractions nearby. When he then tried to get us into a tailor shops (those tailor guys are the most annoying selling people in BK), we just got off (close to ur hostel) without paying anything and took the next cab (start price 1 USD...and after 30 min driving u get close to 2 USD :)) home. So a free small city tour...but also one negative effect. We lost time and had to postpone our visit to the palace to the next morning (after clubbing).

Concerning the sightseeing we did the usual stuff in one day...made a small boot tour, visited the most impressive temples and the palace the next morning.

Because we had two nights in BK...we went out twice clubbing. The first night we visited a not so fancy club with mostly locals...at the beginning. To the end it became more like a meat market...the gazelles (hookers) dancing and some drunken lions (tourists) checking out the pray. It was a bit annoying but funny to watch from the distance with a cold drink. Even though we left quite early.

The second day was totally different. We went to bed supper club...probably the best club in BK (there are some very cool bars and lounges in that area as well). Everything is kept in white...good music, an amazing sound system and nice people. U actually can meet locals here who don’t try to sell u something (just normal people who enjoy partying). We had a very good time there...and will come back on the 27th to party out of my birthday.

After the second night...and not enough sleep...we made our way to the Cambodian border.

Pics

I hope this link does work. As I finally arrived in Bangkok I managed to upload some pics...


@mom & dad: I am a very careful scooter driver :)