This thing is just going and going. So many people have asked me what I will do next, and to be honest I am not too sure! But, it's going to have to be good!
I am off to the Charity this afternoon to work out the "angle" (oo-er) of the story that we put to the press on this one. I guess it would help the cause all the more if I had something else in mind to do too.
Answers on a postcard.....
Friday, 6 February 2009
Sunday, 1 February 2009
What Clairey Ate Next...
Snake wine.
Cricket.
Tarantula.
Almost a Chicken Foot, but almost doesnt count!
It aint over til its over.
Well, I made it! Sitting in Singapore airport at the mo. only another 4 hours til the flight home.
Amazing trip. Loved every minute!
Will update later - but I am safe and sound!! C xxx
Amazing trip. Loved every minute!
Will update later - but I am safe and sound!! C xxx
Killing fields, day 3.
I am jumping ahead writing this up, but have just left this site and while it is fresh in my mind I wanted to get this down.
Before we went to the Killing Fields we went to S21, the prison in Phom Penh. One of twenty high schools I believe that was turned into a prison by Pol Pot and his army. I find it fitting that he used schools as a weapon against the people considering his hatred for intellectuals. In fact I am certtain he would have had that in his mind at the time.
Over 3 floors he house men, women and children. Kept like animals and tortured before they were sent to the Killing Fields, where it wasnt a certain death but guaranteed.
Twenty thousand people were held and passed through S21. Seven survived. They survived because they serves a purpose. They could use their skills to assist (mechanic, truck driver) or to aid propganda (and artist and sculptor were alst amongst those saved, the artiset later returned to paint images of what the reality of S21 was. We saw these too. I am not sure the image of a soldier throwing a child into the air for another soldier to shoot, like a clay pigeon, will leave my mind) We saw the intrustments of torture, we saw the cells that were consturcted to hold prisoners in tiny confined spaces alone (ground floor had many rooms cordoned off in this manner – prisoners chained like animals in tiny brick cells) we also saw the rooms where 14 prisoners were found after torture and killed before the cowards who perpetrated these crimes ran off into hiding. These where the only victims left on the premises. They are buried outside.
We left here and went to the killing fields. Hard ro descrbe what its like to actually be there. Mass graves everywhere, graves that the victims dug themselves, before being beaten (not shot, a bullet on one person was a waste of money) to death or near death, as long as they fell into the hole that was the general rule it would seem. All the bodies then mounded up, before chemicals thrown on them to ensure they were dead before the hole was filled in. It was traumatic walking along the path and seeing the bones beneath our feet as they slowly worked up through the soil. More upsetting was the clothing, which too was emerging from the ground. It was everywhere.
The worst thing? The pit for women and children where about 100 bodies were found. The suspicions were that these people had been sexually abused, this has been confirmed as the truth by the 1 bastard that is alive and capable of standing trial, Duich (sp?)who is now going through trial. Next to this pit was a tree. This tree was used by the executeoners to kill the children. They were beaten to death off this tree,
That was were it was too much for me.
Tally, our guide through this is 39. She lived through these atrocities, as have many people in Cambodia today. She told us some stories, stories I will tell in real life. I dont think its appropriate to tell her story on this.
Tough day.
x
Before we went to the Killing Fields we went to S21, the prison in Phom Penh. One of twenty high schools I believe that was turned into a prison by Pol Pot and his army. I find it fitting that he used schools as a weapon against the people considering his hatred for intellectuals. In fact I am certtain he would have had that in his mind at the time.
Over 3 floors he house men, women and children. Kept like animals and tortured before they were sent to the Killing Fields, where it wasnt a certain death but guaranteed.
Twenty thousand people were held and passed through S21. Seven survived. They survived because they serves a purpose. They could use their skills to assist (mechanic, truck driver) or to aid propganda (and artist and sculptor were alst amongst those saved, the artiset later returned to paint images of what the reality of S21 was. We saw these too. I am not sure the image of a soldier throwing a child into the air for another soldier to shoot, like a clay pigeon, will leave my mind) We saw the intrustments of torture, we saw the cells that were consturcted to hold prisoners in tiny confined spaces alone (ground floor had many rooms cordoned off in this manner – prisoners chained like animals in tiny brick cells) we also saw the rooms where 14 prisoners were found after torture and killed before the cowards who perpetrated these crimes ran off into hiding. These where the only victims left on the premises. They are buried outside.
We left here and went to the killing fields. Hard ro descrbe what its like to actually be there. Mass graves everywhere, graves that the victims dug themselves, before being beaten (not shot, a bullet on one person was a waste of money) to death or near death, as long as they fell into the hole that was the general rule it would seem. All the bodies then mounded up, before chemicals thrown on them to ensure they were dead before the hole was filled in. It was traumatic walking along the path and seeing the bones beneath our feet as they slowly worked up through the soil. More upsetting was the clothing, which too was emerging from the ground. It was everywhere.
The worst thing? The pit for women and children where about 100 bodies were found. The suspicions were that these people had been sexually abused, this has been confirmed as the truth by the 1 bastard that is alive and capable of standing trial, Duich (sp?)who is now going through trial. Next to this pit was a tree. This tree was used by the executeoners to kill the children. They were beaten to death off this tree,
That was were it was too much for me.
Tally, our guide through this is 39. She lived through these atrocities, as have many people in Cambodia today. She told us some stories, stories I will tell in real life. I dont think its appropriate to tell her story on this.
Tough day.
x
Day 2 – Tra Menh to Can Tor.
The 90k day.
Brilliant sunshine greeted us hen e aoke and it as H O T.
Straight on the bikes at 7.30 and e kept on pedalling until 6.30. What an amazing day.
Again more of the local Mekong Vilages. Once again we had to work though the bridges and winding roads. Loads of concentration required for this as before, only this time was made a little harder as later in the day the men who had been celebrating the New Year have to return home to their wives. Drunk does not cover it! Rice wine is v potent, adn these men had been drinking for hours. It was ropey enough when the scooters etc were flying past us sober...but with drink drivers... good lord!
Nerves were slighlty higher as this had been a v long day. First of all a pile up had been caused by a nervey cyclist stopping suddenly at the sight of a scooter coming towards her. The guys behind her whad no indication that she was stopping, hit her bike, went over hand bars and came to a gentle stop with the assistance of his chin. A slice of the knee, elbow and wrist and after some patching up we were on our way again. During the time we were waiting for the first aid to be carried nout wer did see a 2 other accidents, this time it was scooters coming off the paths! Great. (although it was good to see that the locals struggled too and it wasnt just us novices!)
Brilliant sunshine greeted us hen e aoke and it as H O T.
Straight on the bikes at 7.30 and e kept on pedalling until 6.30. What an amazing day.
Again more of the local Mekong Vilages. Once again we had to work though the bridges and winding roads. Loads of concentration required for this as before, only this time was made a little harder as later in the day the men who had been celebrating the New Year have to return home to their wives. Drunk does not cover it! Rice wine is v potent, adn these men had been drinking for hours. It was ropey enough when the scooters etc were flying past us sober...but with drink drivers... good lord!
Nerves were slighlty higher as this had been a v long day. First of all a pile up had been caused by a nervey cyclist stopping suddenly at the sight of a scooter coming towards her. The guys behind her whad no indication that she was stopping, hit her bike, went over hand bars and came to a gentle stop with the assistance of his chin. A slice of the knee, elbow and wrist and after some patching up we were on our way again. During the time we were waiting for the first aid to be carried nout wer did see a 2 other accidents, this time it was scooters coming off the paths! Great. (although it was good to see that the locals struggled too and it wasnt just us novices!)
Day 1 – Ho chi Minh to Tra Menh
Day 1 of cycling, a little 40 km jaunt takung us out of saigon to Tra Menh. Thankfully as e ere not yet used to how traffic worked on the roads of Vietnam (and righlty so as it really is anything goes based on a hierarchy of vechicle sizes. Lorries and buses give wa y to cars, cars to mopeds and motorbikes, M&Ms to bikes, and bikes pedestrians. Although at first it seems is it jsut everyman for hmself!
So, off we set, through the traffic, getting our firdt experience of Vietnamese traffic. Total buzz. Was scarey but so exciting to finally be cycling in Nam! We hit the main roads to start with before turning off into the villages of the Mekong Delta.
Cycling through this area was kinda like cycling through a theme park to start with, albeit we were the novelty. (crazy white folks!) The villages are designed for people on foot, on bikes and mopeds. The paths are about a metre and a half wide, jsut wide enough for overtaking, or passing. And litterlly just ide enough, most of the time you are looking at a drop into the Mekong or a paddy field if you come off, great when you can see a motorbike hurtling towards you.
The majority of day one was spent weaving along these pathsm before hitting the main road again and getting to the ferry to make the first of out many crossings on the Mekong. All in all the day as pretty uneventful, a hairy patch when hile crossing one of the many narro bridges my foot got caught in my cleet...normally not an issue, keep on trucking right?? Eh no, this bridge was – like the paths – v narrow, say a metre and a half ide, ith no edges. You come of this bridge you are drinkng the toxic cocktail of the Mekong. Yummers. Thankfully I recovered, but good lord that as a panic I could have done ithout. I chose not to ear my cycling shoes the next day.
We arrived at Tra Menh at about half 3, a little dissappointing as e onlyh covered 40km that day – I as ready to keep going. And ith it being Lunar Ne Year e ere a little disappointed to find that town was pretty much shut as this is v much afamily affair. So, e convinced the hotel to allo us a crate of beer so e coulf chill out before heading to a local restaurent. It as brilllaint, proper vietnamese food. Local place, nothing fancy, nothing esternised. Loved it all. (NB: please see blog comment re. Chicken foot)
E had earlier in the evening scored an invite to a disco – Ne Year after all. So, hen in Rome/the back rads of the Mekong Delta.....
A fe ords:
Disco
Dance Off
Running Man
OH YES I DID!! HA!
E brought day 1 to a close ith a rendition of Auld Lang Syne in the lift back to our rooms.
E never made it to midnight. A long day ahead of us after all.
So, off we set, through the traffic, getting our firdt experience of Vietnamese traffic. Total buzz. Was scarey but so exciting to finally be cycling in Nam! We hit the main roads to start with before turning off into the villages of the Mekong Delta.
Cycling through this area was kinda like cycling through a theme park to start with, albeit we were the novelty. (crazy white folks!) The villages are designed for people on foot, on bikes and mopeds. The paths are about a metre and a half wide, jsut wide enough for overtaking, or passing. And litterlly just ide enough, most of the time you are looking at a drop into the Mekong or a paddy field if you come off, great when you can see a motorbike hurtling towards you.
The majority of day one was spent weaving along these pathsm before hitting the main road again and getting to the ferry to make the first of out many crossings on the Mekong. All in all the day as pretty uneventful, a hairy patch when hile crossing one of the many narro bridges my foot got caught in my cleet...normally not an issue, keep on trucking right?? Eh no, this bridge was – like the paths – v narrow, say a metre and a half ide, ith no edges. You come of this bridge you are drinkng the toxic cocktail of the Mekong. Yummers. Thankfully I recovered, but good lord that as a panic I could have done ithout. I chose not to ear my cycling shoes the next day.
We arrived at Tra Menh at about half 3, a little dissappointing as e onlyh covered 40km that day – I as ready to keep going. And ith it being Lunar Ne Year e ere a little disappointed to find that town was pretty much shut as this is v much afamily affair. So, e convinced the hotel to allo us a crate of beer so e coulf chill out before heading to a local restaurent. It as brilllaint, proper vietnamese food. Local place, nothing fancy, nothing esternised. Loved it all. (NB: please see blog comment re. Chicken foot)
E had earlier in the evening scored an invite to a disco – Ne Year after all. So, hen in Rome/the back rads of the Mekong Delta.....
A fe ords:
Disco
Dance Off
Running Man
OH YES I DID!! HA!
E brought day 1 to a close ith a rendition of Auld Lang Syne in the lift back to our rooms.
E never made it to midnight. A long day ahead of us after all.
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