Cambodia

Cambodia

Monday, April 2
Depart Copenhagen with Thai Airways TG0951 pm. 14.30 to Bangkok and on to Phnom Penh.

Tuesday, April 3
Arrival schedule to Phnom Penh airport, where we were greeted by Ratha, Rathas daughter of two years and Rathas mother. Ratha arranged for taxi transport to our hotel Kmer Royal Hotel. We found summer clothes out and with Ratha as guide, we got our first impressions of Phnom Penh and a little of its history. Pol Pot's horrific regime was illustrated in a very harsh way, we visited Tocul Sleng Museum, where Pol Pot converted a school for torture and execution place. Nearly two million people, both children and adults, died in his reign. The next visit was to a large indoor market, the Russian market, where you can buy everything tingel-odds and ends. The tour ended with pagoda Wat Phrom middle of town. It was planned that we would see the Royal Palace, but in today's large South Asian summit, so the palace and the streets there was blocked off! We hope for better luck tomorrow.

Rathas daughter

Toul Sleng prison

Toul Sleng prison

Famous artist

Wat Nom

Munk

Children have received sweaters from Denmark

Wednesday, April 4
Today we have been in the country with Ratha and her family. We went by minibus to a pagoda area near the village, where Ratha has lived as a child. We visited a monk in his house and handed out blankets to the village women after a list that the monk had made. For the children were given second-hand clothes, which we had brought from home. The family had brought lunch which we ate in Rathas childhood home, a farm which is now mostly used as a vacation for the whole family. There was a huge tiled terrace and a garden with lots of fruit trees, including mango, but also some that we do not know and could not get an English name. On the return trip, we visited Rathas home in Phnom Penh. It is a house with six apartments, where the mother lives in one, and sons and daughters with their spouses in the other. So a kind of family collective. We saw at least only one kitchen. By country trip we managed to get to visit the Royal Palace from 1866. Fortunately, for there are many beautiful buildings and a beautiful ceremony room, which might have been used yesterday to the Southeast Asian kings and presidents. The day ended with dinner with Rathas family and selected by Ratha. She had chosen a restaurant on 16th floor of the Mekong River View Tower. Very fine, with good food and entertainment for young singers. The special evening was transported to the restaurant. We were picked up by the family in a pickup, and we three pensioners were offered a place on the platform, but was covered by a rug! It was the first time for us all to be run to fine dining in a "grisebil"! Hennings old familiar Rathas brother Sambath was with this dinner. Sambaths future wife was also involved. She is a tailor.

Ratha

Handicapping girl in the village

Royal Palace

Royal Palace

Clothes extradition

Child has been provided with clothing

Special Drive to a nice dinner

Sambath and his future wife

Thursday, April 5
Scheduled departure by express bus from Phnom Pehn to Siem Reap at. seven in the morning. Due to road works took the whole trip seven hours against the normal five hours. We arrived, however, to Mandalay Inn and were accommodated. Chhiev met us, and we all took a tuk tuk out to see the sunset over Angkor Wat. We climbed a small mountain and put us in line to reach the temple area. The same idea had been around. 2000 other people got, and then only 300 people at a time could be allowed to come in, we had to face the fact that it was not our day. We could only take with our tuk tuk back to Siem Reap and comfort us with a good dinner.

Friday, April 6
Kl. five we drove from Mandalay Inn to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat at. six. There were light clouds and the sun rose and colored clouds beautifully red. We enjoyed the scenery a good time and then found a place to eat breakfast. So began Chhievs tour. First we drove to the royal city of Angkor Thom with the fine temples. We went through the gateway to Angkor Thom and received reports on the mighty city that had been there once. Some historical thing: Here in Angkor lived over 1 million people for 1000 years ago; for comparison lived in Paris, 20,000; size as the Imperial Palace Bejing. It's been just as many stones as the Cheops pyramid. Residential houses were built of wood and had long since gone to. There remains the temples, built of sandstone. Bajon temple is one of them, known as the temple with its many faces. The Royal Palace is very dilapidated, but we saw the palace swimming pools, a large women and small men. Then we came to the area where elephants lived, and where the king could be elephants fighting. Here are at least 35 degrees in the shade, so we are grateful every time we find it. Before lunch we spent some time at Ta Phrom temple, where the large trees in the jungle has grown up and stick together on the buildings. After lunch we came to the most famous temple of Angkor Wat. It is also the largest. Everywhere there is sand stones decorated with reliefs, which tell about the great battle that has stood between the communities, but also for the general daily life. Before we completely melted away, we found our tuk tuk and went back to the hotel and a little rest. We ate dinner with our guide Chhiev, his daughter around. seven years and Sophal, which must come with us to Vietnam. She is 30 years and are allowed to fly for the first time tomorrow.

Ta Phrom with the big trees

Saturday, April 7
With a tuk tuk to Killing Fields temple to commemorate the victims of Pol Pot's regime. It kept skulls and bone fragments that are found in the nearby jungle. It is a former military area, which now houses a boarding school and housing for students and monks. The day also saw visits to Henning's friends Chhievs wife and mother-Chhievs home, where we became acquainted with his sideline: the breeding of crocodiles, and finally Sophals home. Sophal come with us to Vietnam on a week's vacation. Sophal is 31 years old and she is now abroad, fly, drive train and swim in the ocean. All this for the first time, so she is very excited. The flight takes less than an hour, and at the airport we were picked up by Haang and her husband Skip, who drove straight to our hotel for accommodation.