The Adventures of Temple and KG: Cambodia

We sadly said goodbye to Nepal and hopped on our AirAsia flight to Cambodia - a total bargain at only $100 each (plus $350 for bags and seat selection).

After pining for some warmer weather in Nepal, the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' comes to mind. We hopped off the plane in Siem Reap into 42 degree heat and 70 percent humidity. Tom was at risk of spontaneous combustion any time after 10am.

On the flight to Siem Reap, we discovered from the in-flight magazine that we were flying in just in time for Cambodia's New Years holiday. It was predicted that over 1 million Cambodians would be descending on Siem Reap to celebrate for five days. Some basic research before we arrived probably would have told us this before we booked our flights so we could have planned around it, but alas we were already on the way so we would have no choice but to join in. There was plenty of eating, drinking, water guns and baby powder. Yes, baby powder. You were at risk of attack any time after 7pm and it ended up all over you face, clothes and hair - we looked ridiculous but smelled lovely!

Enjoying some barbecued frog and pork ribs at Khmer New Year celebrations.

Thankfully the Angkor temples were still open during the festivities. These were the main reason for our visit to Siem Reap, and they didn't disappoint. We spent three days visiting the different sites by tuk tuk and they were incredible - we will let the photos speak for themselves. The heat was ridiculous though, and usually by 11am we were back at the hostel sheltering under the air conditioning.

Quick singlet stain check at Angkor. Conclusion: stained AF.

Going to be honest - can't remember the name of this one but it was very impressive!

Angkor Wat at sunrise.

The 'Tomb Raider' temple

From Siem Reap we headed to the small riverside town of Battambang. It's a pretty sleepy spot so we joined a day tour to visit a few sights outside of town. We jumped on the heinously overpriced Bamboo Train, which is literally a few bamboo slats on wheels powered by a lawnmower motor which takes you to a souvenir market and back again. Then it was time to taste some local Cambodian wine - I would liken it to watery tawny port. Or cat piss. Either way, it was an experience. We had a reprieve from the heat with a floating lunch stopover at a water hole where we had a swim and some fresh grilled fish. We finished off with a visit to the Bat Cave. No shirtless Christian Bale in sight unfortunately, but there were a shit tonne of bats.

Hi tech Bamboo Train in Battambang

Enjoying a glass of Cambodian wine....

.....or not.

Floating lunch and swim at a water hole outside Battambang

Bats. Lots of bats.

Next we headed to Phnom Penh for a grim visit to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng prison (also known as S-21). It is estimated that a quarter of Cambodia's population was killed by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge during the 1970s, and these were two sites where some of the worst atrocities occurred. Our visit to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng was not one we enjoyed and it was upsetting, but we felt it was important that we learned about what had happened here. It was almost unbelievable that something this horrific happened within living memory of many Cambodians, and yet they were some of the kindest people we have met on our travels.

After a couple of sombre days in Phnom Penh, we caught the bus to the riverside town of Kampot. Here we stayed in a great guesthouse run by two British expats where we could have a few beers and a bit of banter. They also came to our rescue when our shitty scooter Shaneequa popped BOTH tires on the way up Bokor Mountain. We soon had a replacement scooter (Sonya) and were back our way, enjoying the slightly cooler temperatures and checking out the old ruined French buildings. For some reason, the Chinese have been allowed to build an ungodly casino at the top of the mountain, which is a delightful urine-yellow colour and ruins a bit of the scenery. Nevertheless, there is some great scenery in Kampot and the river is beautiful. We spent an afternoon by the river at Arcadia hostel enjoying a pleasant rope swing - and a not so pleasant 'blob flight'. If you missed seeing me launched off the blob and landing ungracefully you can see it here.

"Shaneequa - it's over between us" - stranded halfway up Bokor Mountain.

Creepy abandoned casino on Bokor Mountain

Tom sussing out whether the rope swing is built for the husky gent

Next we were off to the beachside holiday spot of Kep. We booked into our 'treat' resort - which cost us a whopping USD$17 per night. We spent the next couple of days lounging by the pool, visiting the beach (albeit briefly lest Tom burst into flames in the sunlight), sipping cocktails and eating seafood. Yeah I know, it's a hard life.