🇰🇭/🇹🇭/🇸🇬 Mini-Sabbatical Part 5: Final Stretch from Cambodia to Singapore

This is part of the mini-sabbatical series. Read more here.

Bus across the Cambodian border #

Picking up where we left off in Saigon, are you still with me? I’m on a Giant Ibis bus bound for Phnom Penh in Cambodia, a gentle ~7 hour trip across the border and through basically nothing else of note.

My seat-neighbour for this trip is a nice lady from Scotland who has chosen to structure her life around travel. Gardening in the UK summer months and exploring for the rest of the year, she’s in her mid fifties and sounds like she has no intention of slowing down!

What surprised me is just how much less developed Cambodia felt than Vietnam, with dirt roads being the norm, and the border itself being a strange mix of undeveloped wasteland, and golden casinos. Once you start to near the capital, Phnom Penh, you can see where the money has gone.

Out of absolutely nowhere springs palatial buildings, and seemingly unnecessary skyscrapers.

Phnom Penh #

The city has an inauthentic feel to it, it really doesn’t fit in with the rest of the country. The wealth divide is crystal clear as Rolls Royces mix in the traffic with Tuk Tuks. The currency is apparently a locals joke, as I attempt to pay for my dinner with my hard found Riels, and the cashier sighs, pulls out a calculator and types 8 * 4015 to give me a rough amount for Cambodian Riels.

Apparently Dollars are the currency of choice for many here.

To get around, you’ll be using Grab again, but Grab Bikes are out, with Grab Tuk Tuks taking their place.

The night market looked like the place to be, but I was staying a bit further out in the “westerners section” and just wanted to relax at the hostel for a bit.

On a walk around town in the evening, I overheard some American ex-pats catching up and talking about an impending stock market crash. Hilariously, a few weeks prior while I was in China my coworkers texted me to say my company had just announced a large round of layoffs. I texted back with “cant be bothered to check my email, can someone just text me if I’ve been fired k thx x”, no economic shocks are going to ruin these vibes.

The town is surrounded by armed guards and has a chronic lack of pedestrian walking signals. Not knowing the jaywalking rules in this country, it takes me forever to get back to the hostel.

Tuol Sleng / S-21 #

I’m only in Phnom Penh for 24 hours, so before my next bus at midday, I’m in a Tuk Tuk to visit Security Prison 21.

This place is a solid contender for Most Shocking Museum I’ve Visited, right alongside the Vietnam War Remnants Museum.

I had just about had time to research about the Khmer Rouge on the bus through Cambodia, and it shocked me. If you don’t know, the Khmer Rouge (Communist Party of Kampuchea) came to power in the late 1970’s at the same time that communism was making it’s way through South East Asia.

I still know little about this period of history, but aside from America’s intervention in Vietnam, communism made huge waves throughout Asia, with the only notable survivor from this being the “communist” PRC, who had a similarly devastating cultural revolution before deciding that a good old fashioned capitalist dictatorship works best for them.

The Khmer Rouge however defied all logic and entered into a campaign of totalitarian repression, and ultimately, genocide. To put it simply, the Khmer Rouge destroyed almost all of the country’s infrastructure (schools, roads, railways), and killed roughly 25% of the total Cambodian population, specifically minority groups and those with enough intelligence to pose a threat to politicians.

All told, this set the country back from its peers by decades, with the country still struggling to rebuild to this day.

Focusing on Tuol Sleng, the former school became a prison/centre for torture, from which only 0.03% of prisoners ever left alive.

Much of it has been left untouched, with beds placed in the same position as they were found, minus any human remains.

Photos of inmates, stories of couples who had been split up and separately executed for no reason, this would shock anyone to the core.

On the way out, there were some elderly people sitting behind a booth. The signs said they had been former prisoners (or guards, I can’t recall), and that they were there to spread the story of their survival to future generations. They may even be Chum Mey or Bou Meng from this BBC article, but I couldn’t talk to them, I didn’t know what to say.

I left, slightly disturbed, but peaceful in the knowledge that at least information about this horrific regime is being spread. History is most likely to repeat itself, when people do not know it happened before.

Siem Reap #

Another bus, another city, I’m getting the hang of this.

I arrive in Siem Reap, dump my bags at the hostel, book a couple activities for the next few days and go for a walk around town to understand what this place has to offer.

Thanks to the lack of good transport in Cambodia, your only real option is to get Buses around, with the downside that by the time you reach anywhere, the chances are that it is now too dark to enjoy.

But Siem Reap, a town where over 50% of the locals are employed in the tourism industry, has enough to offer the weary traveller. Each South East Asian tourist town has the same staples: Markets, Pubs, Restaurants, with typically the same stuff. However they also each reserve a slight speciality.

For Siem Reap this appeared to be Fish Tanks to eat the dead skin off of your feet. I did not partake.

Temples #

The next day, I had hired a bike to explore the nearby remnants of Angkor, littered with temples and indications of a long extinct civilisation.

Since by now you will be used to the prices of everything in Cambodia being fairly cheap (I think a day’s bike rental was $10, and that was on the expensive side), you might get a shock to discover a 3 day pass just to enter the old city of Angkor is $62. Still, it is easily one of the best things to visit in Cambodia, so suck it up and pay.

Angkor is fantastically impressive, with the grand structures and reservoirs even visible from space (not that I could test it, but the map seemed to confirm).

Once upon a time this place had been one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of up to a million people back when London was still a small town.

Cycling through the complex, you could hardly tell. Not only are the distances between each temple vast (the total journey was almost 40km), between them you would have no idea you are in such a prestigious location.

Out of seemingly nowhere however, will rise up a series of awe inspiring stone facades.

The face towers of the Bayon, the serenity of Angkor Wat, and -of course- the “tomb raider” temple of Ta Phrom are all sights to behold.

Or at least it was until the rain started, and continue to soak me and all of my belongings for the rest of the day. My notebook never truly recovered, so that put an end to a bit of my journalling!

The next day I took part in a very touristic sunrise tour of Angkor Wat. I had avoided the majority of this particular temple the day before as I knew I would be visiting again, but in hindsight I didn’t miss much, with most of the tour being spent waiting for the sun to raise behind the temple. It was very pretty, and I was particularly interested in the temple’s wall carvings, but for such a peaceful location, the number of tourists did start to detract from the experience.

If you are going yourself, I would recommend going at midday or early afternoon to avoid this tourist trap.

Markets #

Making it back to the hostel, I realised I had not bought any gifts yet from my travels for the family.

Luckily Siem Reap has a perfectly suitable “old market” in the middle of town, which is fairly average as far as south east asian markets go, but has everything you could expect. A couple “hippie trousers”, lip balms and trinkets later, I decide that’s enough haggling for today so settle down.

Bangkok #

I cheated a bit here, and got my first flight of the trip since Hong Kong. It just didn’t make much sense to spend so much time on another bus, when the flight was a fraction of the time, and only a little bit more expensive. I also got to see one of Cambodia’s newest airports! A vast terminal that had only opened a few weeks prior, I was almost alone in the place, with barely one or two corner shops to keep me busy while I sat around for my departure.

Anyway, I made it to Bangkok and to the Jam Hostel (next to infamous “Mad Monkey”), and to be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Unlike the rest of the trip, I had poor expectations of Bangkok, as being effectively just a Red Light district for 18 year olds on their first trip outside of the western world, where beer and drugs could be found, cheaply.

To a certain extent, Khao San Road was a bit like that, but I think the last few months being in Asia had reset my expectations a bit, to the point where I really wasn’t that shocked by anything.

On the plus side, staying in one of the more popular hostels did mean that I got to tag along for some great day tours, and meet some fun people for a few days.

Floating Markets #

The next morning, I gathered in the common area to a group of backpackers sitting around making smalltalk. Joining in, I discover everyone is heading to a nearby “floating market”.

Not having had enough of markets just yet (and not knowing that this was a thing to see in Bangkok, I sign myself up).

The markets themselves are much the same as everywhere else (that is, great for food and small trinkets), but with the key distinction of river boats travelling around and through the maze of canals that make up urban Bangkok.

The small cafes and roasted insects were fun to see and taste, but I was primarily focused on these boats. They all consisted of roughly the same wooden hull, but whilst half were paddle powered, the other half were petrol powered. It seemed as though the locals had ripped the engine out of an old toyota truck, cleaned it up a bit (they were spotless), and strapped it to the back.

Some of them had bright purple air intakes and polished chrome exhaust manifolds, and wouldn’t have looked too far out of place from a Fast and Furious floating spinoff.

Muay Thai #

“You see Muay Thai, you see Thailand” I remember a tannoy speaker blaring out while I sat on a beach in Phuket with my friend a few months ago. My friend was a huge fan of martial arts, whereas I had more or less lost interest after giving up on karate lessons after my 12th birthday.

This night in Bangkok promised another adventure, as the entire hostel was invited to a free Muay Thai event. I had assumed we would be going to the “Muay Thai Street” signposted a few hundred metres from the hostel, but after an hour on a bus it seemed this wouldn’t be the case.

Still, on arrival we found this to be a bit more than a barn yard brawl as some had expected. We were in a fully fledged arena, complete with presenters and live TV streaming!

The fights were fairly tame most of the night, with the odd “oohhh shiii” thrown in as one of the opponents roundhouse kicks the other’s jaw. Still not quite to my liking, and I fear for the participants long term health, but it was a hell of a better adrenaline rush than any tennis match!

More temples #

The next day, I broke away from the pack of backpackers to see how far I could walk in a single day explore the rest of Bangkok.

Of course, it had to be The Grand Palace and The Golden Mount.

The Grand Palace was quite interesting. Coming from my own monarchist country, I was surprised to see that the royal family of Thailand seems to actually have a presence. You’ll see large photos of the king of Thailand on public roads and buildings, but no clear sign of what he contributes to the country.

Whilst it was a nice place to visit, unfortunately if the Grand Palace is all the Thai Monarchy has to show for itself, I’d probably vote them out. Oh, wait…

Anyway, cris-crossing my way over to the Golden Mount I pass by another monument: The Reclining Buddha.

If I’m being honest, this one was a bit of a mistake - I had meant to go see the “Golden Buddha”, a $370 million solid 18k gold statue of the famous figure. I ended up seeing a very large “golden” buddha, but this one was about the size of a building and laying down on his side. Still, it was fun to see!

I had timed my visit to the Golden Mount with the sunset. A great idea, I had thought, if only everyone else hadn’t had the same idea. A queue to the top awaited me, but the wait was worth it, with a particularly golden mount thanks to the dusk.

On your way up and down are a series of bells to ring, I’m still not sure what they are for, but I assume a healthy blend of religious practice and tourist entertainment, and I’m all for it.

Paying it Forward #

At the base of the Golden Mount, I was looking for somewhere to eat for my last night in Bangkok. “Thipsamai” had been recommended to me as “the best Thai food I have ever had” from another backpacker. Alas, the queue stretched around the block, so I quickly gave up and shuffled into a quieter restaurant down a side alley.

Luckily this place had a great balcony with views of the golden mount, and I was alone! After a bit of time journalling, a British couple turned up to also admire the view, I ordered a beer and a Pad Kra Pao.

They ordered a couple of glasses of wine, and said they had followed me in to this deserted restaurant and upstairs because I looked like I “knew what I was doing”, I wish!

Turns out they were out on their first long trip together after semi-retiring that year. They had each independently travelled to Thailand backpacking 30 years prior, and wanted the rush of an adventure again, we “cheers”’d to that.

I shared some stories from my past few months of travels, some of which I recorded in this blog. I just remember thinking how nice it is to connect to quickly with strangers, feeling so similar, despite our differences. You just don’t get that kind of interaction back home!

They left a bit before me as I had food to finish, when I went to pay the server said I owed nothing. “The couple paid for you”. I never got a chance to say thanks, so consider this my pledge to pay it forward!

Koh Samui #

My final stopover before heading back home, is a 5 day stint on the island of Koh Samui, where I had hoped to relax, get sunburnt and maybe try out some scuba diving.

Well, maybe not! I forgot to check the weather beforehand, but suffice to say that November is peak monsoon season in Koh Samui, and no ferries were operating for scuba diving trips.

Still, I took the time to decompress, go for some short hikes, read my books and be a bit of a hermit for the last few days of my trip. I even managed to get a little bit of sunburn!

Singapore; Farewell #

My last 24 hours in Singapore. I couldn’t believe how time had flown! If you have been reading these blogs, I’m sure you could! (I could have made these shorter, I’m sorry).

I don’t think there is any one thing in particular that I have learnt from this, but I’m grateful for having had these experiences.

I’m grateful that I got to meet my girlfriend’s family, that I got to meet some amazing people backpacking, and that I got to relive an experience from my favourite TV show. I’m grateful that I continue to get to experience a more vivid life than I could previously afford, and that it feels like an option that remains open to me in the future, should I want it.

For now though, I must head back to London. I met up with some coworkers, including ones who acted as my replacement in the company’s rotation scheme (they say they have had a predictably chaotic time). For a moment I forgot that I am still employed, and have to go back to work in only 2 days time. The thought unnerves me slightly, but I’m happy to return with a renewed clarity.

For my last 5 hours, I visited 5 different Muji shops chasing a particular shirt to buy my Dad (and a final Acai bowl for me!), then I head for Changi International Airport.

But I’ll be back; there is more to see!

As I publish this, I’m washing my clothes in preparation for another flight to China in a few days time. So, Asia hasn’t seen the last of me yet!