Odyssey Overland 2011 London to Australia: Moving times

PLEASE BE WARNED, harrowing history in S. E. Asia but as they say you can only reach the dawn through the dark of night, and maybe dawn has now arrived here.

The only thing we have learned from history, is that we have learned nothing. When will we learn?

How do. In our quest to see as much as possible the big blue machine moves ever onwards. There were calls for an extended stay at the Junglebeach, oh if we had the time, but if we are to see everything we must keep moving and so it was that we had a delightful 45 seater bus to Saigon. Saigon, what a contrast to the beach, a real “big smoke”. We stayed bang in the centre so it was walking distance to the Notradame cathedral, old post office and the very sobering museum chronicling the Vietnam War.

Notre Dame, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

War Remnants Museum

Classic coach comfort

Sure it was a little biased but who can blame them. I think the general resulting group feel was what a shame and waste of life war really is. How can humans be so horrible to each other? Each side justifies what it is doing and by so doing seems to lose any sense of reality or justice. But it was not all doom and gloom, Saigon really is on a fast paced high and was good fun for a few days of decadence, it was also from here that the guys popped out to the Mekong Delta. From there it was once more another day another country as we took the very comfortable cross border bus into Cambodia.

Family on the Mekong Delta

Rice being transported

Emily the snake charmer

Sylvia and Russell

Riding the canals of An Binh Island, alongside the Mekong Delta

Sylvia trying her hand at rowing

Floating market, Mekong Delta

Lucy the snake charmer

Rowing on the river, Mekong Delta

Relaxing on the delta

We had no sooner blinked than we were through what is to date our easiest border by far and into Phnom Penh, a place that immediately endeared itself to us, small, less crowded and with a steady pace it looked like our place, and so it has turned out to be.

National Museum, Phnom Penh

However our first port of call was the very harrowing S 21 and associated killing fields. By far the saddest place most of us have ever seen, and hopefully ever will. S 21 was a school that was for a few years in the 70’s converted into one of the worst torture centres of the crazy period of Pol Pot. I will say no more than to reflect on how sad it is to think of a place once filled with joy at learning and screams of children’s joy then suddenly turned into a place filled with screams of pain as those that were educated being tortured...how depressing and warped is that?

One of the three remaining survivors of S-21. Lest we forget.

Surreal. The Killing Fields memorial, such peace in a place that held such tragedy

Terrible sadness at S-21

The starkest of memorials. But will we listen?

The truth, worse than any fantasy or movie, a real death camp. And it was active in our lifetimes.

Awful truth, school becomes torture centre

The numbers of those that passed through here and the other similar places in Cambodia are mind boggling, 2 million out of a 7 million population were killed, and this happened with clubs and batons out at the killing fields...truly a terrible testament to man’s darker side.

May their souls rest in peace, and may those left behind find a way forward....and I can happily report that is what they seem to be doing. The people are very friendly and despite the past we have had a very pleasant present here, testament to the strength of the human spirit perhaps.

So we are here one more day before heading off to Siem Reap and the magnificent Angkor Wat, the 8^th wonder of the world. My concern at the moment is the Thai visas, the combination of a new Ambassador and new rules are being a pain...how does one explain that yes most tourists do have flight tickets out but we do not as we are driving and have in fact driven all the way from London as we head overland to Singapore!
However as I have learned many times in life, I should not be fearful of the outcome of something yet to happen, as what will be will be, and worrying about it will fix nothing, but calm acceptance will help me sort out what needs to be when it needs to be. Wait and see what happens then act as best I can, it is after all only a visa! I guess this is something that the people here are doing on a much deeper level. The past is what it was, the future what it might be, but they are here now and are determined to make that count, acting out the present so that they live as full a life as they can without letting the twin thieves of yesterday and tomorrow rob them of today’s joy. Something we can learn from in our “must have material” world maybe?

Ok be safe and remember check out the sunrise and sunset, miracles happen every day, adjust your eyes to see them, breath deep, live and we will see you again in Angkor Wat or maybe Thailand...either way further down the journey. Laters CJ out