Our bus dropped us off near the waterfront in Phnom Penh and we opted for a windowless room in order to stay near the heart of things. This actually worked out to be not quite as bad as it sounds, as this city is noisy 24 hours a day and without an external wall we could sleep soundly.
Our first mission was to get our visas for India so we made our way to the Indian High Commission with our passports, photos, cash and filled in forms. Fortunately we had filled out everything correctly and the miserable man behind the counter was made even more miserable as he couldn't take any joy from telling us we had done it wrong. The whole process took 6 working days so we used that time to venture out of Phnom Penh and explore the surrounding area.
One morning we visited a rifle range to try out some of the hardware used during most conflicts in the area. The AK-47 is still in use today all over the world. I purchased 25 rounds firing it on automatic and single shot. It is such a light, simple weapon and accurate. Kate's pose with the rifle is a classic. I tried to get her to pose in the nude because you can't beat naked women holding guns...or maybe that's just me.
Next on the agenda was to visit the Killing Fields and to try and understand the true horror that the Cambodia people suffered. The most recent addition to the area is a stupor filled with skulls and clothes of the executed. It felt a bit wrong to be taking photographs but managed to capture it from afar including some of the mass graves in the foreground. One thing that comes apparent as you wander around is that there are still bones and scraps of clothing still buried in the ground. Quite a sombre afternoon.
When in Phnom Penh one thing that should be experienced is a fish massage. It is twenty minutes of sheer hell for anyone who doesn't like their feet to be tickled. Fortunately I quite enjoy it however there was one quite large fish in the tank whose mouth and teeth were a little too large for my liking.
The rest of the time in Cambodia's capital was spent shopping and enjoying the numerous markets. The central market pictured below was massive even though a majority of it was closed for repair.
As we had to wait six days for our visas we decided to head out of the city and visit some surrounding towns and beach.
Our first mission was to get our visas for India so we made our way to the Indian High Commission with our passports, photos, cash and filled in forms. Fortunately we had filled out everything correctly and the miserable man behind the counter was made even more miserable as he couldn't take any joy from telling us we had done it wrong. The whole process took 6 working days so we used that time to venture out of Phnom Penh and explore the surrounding area.
One morning we visited a rifle range to try out some of the hardware used during most conflicts in the area. The AK-47 is still in use today all over the world. I purchased 25 rounds firing it on automatic and single shot. It is such a light, simple weapon and accurate. Kate's pose with the rifle is a classic. I tried to get her to pose in the nude because you can't beat naked women holding guns...or maybe that's just me.
Next on the agenda was to visit the Killing Fields and to try and understand the true horror that the Cambodia people suffered. The most recent addition to the area is a stupor filled with skulls and clothes of the executed. It felt a bit wrong to be taking photographs but managed to capture it from afar including some of the mass graves in the foreground. One thing that comes apparent as you wander around is that there are still bones and scraps of clothing still buried in the ground. Quite a sombre afternoon.
When in Phnom Penh one thing that should be experienced is a fish massage. It is twenty minutes of sheer hell for anyone who doesn't like their feet to be tickled. Fortunately I quite enjoy it however there was one quite large fish in the tank whose mouth and teeth were a little too large for my liking.
The rest of the time in Cambodia's capital was spent shopping and enjoying the numerous markets. The central market pictured below was massive even though a majority of it was closed for repair.
As we had to wait six days for our visas we decided to head out of the city and visit some surrounding towns and beach.
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