day 66......... from koh ker to beng mealea

raiding the ancient city of koh ker (10th century)

a place where strangler figs now rule the day. removal of these 500 year old trees is next to impossible the temple of beng mealea (12th century), also locked nature's grip, is especially beautiful

so long as you must mind the locals

day 59 .... killing fields

from 1975-79 the khmer rouge ruled cambodia through terror and genocide. the scars of this insanity are anything but forgotten

killing fields memorial... one of many throughout the country

within lies the piled remains of the thousands

each removed from the shallow graves just outside

at S21 (a high school turned prison) the pictures of those detained, tortured, and killed
are made public.

prior to execution each person was photographed and required to write their own biography.

crude holding cells replaced desks.
classroom walls torn open for detainment

day 58 ........ around phnom penh

tuking it around town

past the victory monument

through the imperial palace

and "stopping" for occasional intersections

at the center town we came across the old market building. sort of a golden domed zigurat

within you'll find shoes for your feet

things that used to have feet, flippers, or fins

and others with six to eight feet

day 57... upriver to cambodia

boats, boats, and more boats

even the houses are boats

such is life in the floating village

where baths, dishes, and laundry are all done
on your doorstep

and dinner is caught under your floorboards

heck some people never leave for land

while others go only to sell their goods

meanwhile we make pace for cambodia

and all our friends come out to wish us farewell.
goodbye vietnam

hello cambodia.
please enter customs afloat

after LOTS of paperwork we're shuffled off to passport control

where passports are CAREFULLY scanned by 5 men with a playstation2.
fingerprints and retinal scans be damned

3 rubber stamps down

and 6 more hours to go

yet the monotony could not bring down our chain smoking captain

international ferry stop... somewhere in cambodia