Pursat and Phnom Penh

We took an early bus to Pursat, a small city on the western side of Lake Tonle Sap. We wanted to see a smaller town before heading to Phnom Penh. The bus stopped on the side of a highway, a friendly English-speaking monk told us this was our stop, and out the door we were greeted by none other than moto drivers, always eager to take the tourists somewhere. We chose a hotel - two beds, wi-fi, no hot water (who'd want that anyway in this heat), and no air-con (I'd rather my temperature stay constant all the time anyway and fans work wonders to cool the air) for $6/night, so $3 each. After checking in, we agreed to hire the motorbike drivers to take us out for the afternoon. First stop was Kompong Luong, a fishing village IN the lake. Floating houses rise and fall with the seasonal fluctuation in water level (quite dramatic). All transport is by boat and we hired one to take us out for an hour. Shops, residences, gas stations, you name it all afloat in the population: 10,000 town. It gave us a scare when a storm rolled in and high winds threatened to topple the small boat. The boys took the roof off so it wouldn't take flight and we made it safely to the mainland before the worst of it hit, but only after stopping several times to take tangled fishing nets, plastic bags, and other debris out of our propeller.

The motorbike ride itself was a thrill, zipping down the highway and squeezing in between trucks, bicycles, carts, etc. After a series of dirt roads into the depths of the countryside, we arrived at the bamboo train "station" - a few houses near a track and what appeared to be two pallets resting on an overgrown siding. I was expecting we'd wait for a train to arrive but instead, a few men began moving the pallets which were the train, to the active track. A bamboo platform resting on two axles & wheels, some rubber straps to hold it all together, and a small engine set in a notch on the platform and it was all aboard! Highball! The motorbikes were loaded on, a straw mat was set for our comfort, and few kids came out of the woodwork like they tend to do here and hopped on. We zipped down the track a mere 8 inches or so above the ground. What a rush! It only went 30-35 mph but the rickety, warped track with oversized gaps at the joints and the nearness to the ground, especially over bridges, made it the joyride you've always dreamed of. Twice, we met others on the single track line and us being the lightest of the loads both times, we had to disassemble our train and let the others pass, then reassemble again on the other side. It was once a passenger rail line but after going defunct, is now used for reliable transportation by anyone who puts together some rolling stock.

Phnom Penh did not get good reviews by anyone we talked to thus far, but it turned out to be a very pleasant city. It was not as crowded and traffic-ridden as I had imagined and not filled with trash. After our morning bus ride from Pursat, we found a guest house and then headed to the Tuol Sleng Museum, a high school turned prison during the Pol Pot regime. It had face photos of each prisoner to enter as well as disturbing torture photos and some of the implements in the rooms. There were no survivors of the S21 prison, but stories were told on plaques by survivors of the regime and some who had worked at the prison. It really becomes hard to believe when you remember how recent this was and anyone just slightly older than me lived through the agricultural work camps, forced relocations, near starvation, and separation from family.

After the museum, we strolled around the city and found an interesting array of jazzercize classes in the central park. Groups of 50+ danced/areobicked in sync with each other and the upbeat music throughout the park. We watched smiling for quite a while. In the evening, we met up again with Sarah & Justin for a delightful last hoorah dinner of sour soup and Amok - traditional Khmer fish curry served in a banana leaf - delightful! We then went for a drink at the Foreign Correspondents Club - an upscale establishment where I sipped one of the best sangrias I've ever had - full of lime and pineapples along with the red wine. We sat on a terrace looking out over the river and recalling the past day's adventures in Cambodia.

(haven't yet downloaded photos from Phnom Penh, will do soon)