Southern Cambodia - Phnom Penh / Kep / Kampot

Bienvenue au Cambodge, pays réputé pour sa population attachante et son histoire fascinante ! Pour diverses raisons administratives, nous débutons la visite du pays par sa capitale, Phnom Penh. Le trafic y est très dense et le cycliste a bien du mal a se sentir en sécurité et à y trouver sa place. A chaque carrefour, c’est la loi du plus fort, le premier qui ose passer… passe ! Nous nous faufilerons quand même à plusieurs reprises entre les tuk-tuk et les cyclopousses pour jeter un œil au marché central et sur les rives du Tonle Sap.

Welcome to Cambodia, also known as “the land of smiles”. Arriving in Phnom Penh, the capital city, we certainly did not feel that way. Compared to Laos, we were suddenly confronted with a lot of traffic and we were constantly being hassled by tuk-tuks offering us their service. Everything seemed to be very expensive and we felt that everybody was trying to rip us off, probably because there seemed to be tourists all over the place. Food wasn’t that delicious and the portions generally small for two cyclists.

But we soon got into the swing of things and started to like the city. Even crossing the busy roads on a bicycle became easier each day. Visiting some of the countless markets we got a feeling for the prices and found some local delicacies at the “Central market”. Although attempted, we gave the fried tarantulas a miss.The “Russian market” is great for clothes and souvenirs shopping. Once again I couldn’t resist the silky scarves and added a few more to my recently purchased colorful collection.

 

 

La visite du centre « S-21 » nous plonge directement dans l’un des plus périodes les plus atroces du pays, celle des Khmers rouge, entre 1975 et 1979. Cette école primaire a été transformée en prison ou plusieurs dizaine de milliers de prisonniers y ont été systématiquement numérotés, photographiés puis interrogés avant d’être envoyés à la mort. La balançoire utilisée comme engin de torture ou les classes subdivisées en minuscule cellule individuelle laissent sans voix.

Visiting the Tuol Sleng Museum we came face to face with the Khmer Rouges, the depressing history of Cambodia. Once a centre of learning, the High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s regime (1975-1979) and transformed into a high security prison (S-21), the largest incarceration centre in the country. The classrooms were turned into torture chambers and into tiny individual cells; some of the blood stains on the floor are still visible today. The Khmer Rouge leaders kept photographed records of all their prisoners, some of which were on display. The disturbing images were still haunting me long after we had left.

 

Nous nous empressons alors de rejoindre la côte sud du pays pour y trouver un peu de fraicheur. Le trajet est malheureusement peu intéressant et devient même vite monotone. Les routes, totalement planes, sont bordées de rizières asséchées à cette saison. Et le manque de végétation rend la chaleur étouffante, le thermomètre affichant généralement 35 degrés avant midi. Bien heureusement, on peut se désaltérer régulièrement avec un très rafraîchissant jus de canne à sucre, pressé un peu partout au bord des routes.

Nous atteignons avec soulagement la petite ville côtière de Kep. Si la plage n’invite pas vraiment à la baignade, la spécialité du coin, le crabe au poivre vert, est un vrai régal. Les hommes vont pêcher les crustacés la journée pendant que les femmes se battent au marché le matin pour vendre leurs plus belles pinces. Un vrai spectacle !

Leaving Phnom Penh we had some long cycling days ahead of us to get the coastal area in the south. Although the country is mainly pancake flat, riding isn’t that easy as it is very hot and the distances are very long (about 115km a day). Thankfully the local sugar cane juice served with ice is sold everywhere along the street and gave us a nice break from the heat. With the exception of some stretches, the roads are fairly pleasant to ride, but unfortunately the scenery is very repetitive.

Kep has been our first beach destination on our trip. Although the beach itself is not really worth mentioning, the seafood was exceptional and already made it worth the visit! The specialty in the area is crab with a sauce of green peppercorns. While the men go fishing during the day, the women battle over selling their goods at the daily crab market, a spectacle nice to watch.

 

Kampot est la première ville où nous trouvons enfin un peu de quiétude, à l’image de ses marées salines, grandes et calmes étendues d’eau de mer rejetant le sel après évaporation. Un peu plus loin, sur le vieux pont métallique les enfants lâchent un instant leur canne a pêche pour venir s’amuser devant notre objectif. Nous leur faisons en échange un tour de taxi-vélo à travers la ville.

Le marché central de la ville est lui très vivant et coloré. Les poissons les plus audacieux tentent parfois une ultime fugue en sautant des bassines. Les pyramides de fruits colorent les allées tandis que les canards, pattes liées, se débattent à coté de leurs confrères déjà déplumés.

The following day we rode the short distance to Kampot with a nice Suisse couple we had met at our guesthouse. Located along a river, Kampot is a charming little town with a lot of flair with its remaining French architecture. The four of us visited the salt flats near the city in the afternoon and treated ourselves to some more delicious seafood in the evening. Something I could definitely get used to!

In Kampot Olivier and I decided it was finally time to spend some time by ourselves in order to keep sane. In the morning I took some time visiting the HUGE local market and the city centre. In the afternoon I discovered some small villages along the river in the surrounding area.