Andy Brouwer's Cambodia Tales

Andy Brouwer's Cambodia Tales

The Journey Begins

The future of Cambodia lies in its young people. These happy, smiling youngsters were part of a large group I met in the grounds of Wat Stung Meanchey, on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. They found my presence as entertaining as their sandal throwing competition, which I joined in, only to fail miserably.

Welcome to my Cambodia Tales and I hope you enjoy your visit. I owe a debt of gratitude to the award-winning journalist John Pilger. It was his 1979 documentary 'Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia' that first grabbed my attention and exposed me to the tragic story of Cambodia (then also known as Kampuchea). I was horrified. Deeply moved by the film, 'The Killing Fields' in the mid-80s, a few years later, my knowledge of Cambodia as a country had improved substantially and more hard-hitting Pilger revelations in 1990, kick-started an affair that has since become a real passion. In the early nineties, my zeal was boosted with membership of the pressure groups, Action Cambodia and Friends of Cambodia.

My first trip to Cambodia, a five-day white-knuckle ride of an adventure, took place in November 1994, after the United Nations' supervised elections had ushered in some semblance of normality to a country wrecked by more than twenty years of war. Two short visits followed in 1996 and 1997 as side trips to tours of Vietnam. Then, a longer two-week solo tour in March 1998, only served to cement my fascination for Cambodia and the Khmer people. I completed a 3-week trip in December 1999 which gave me a further opportunity to see a lot more of rural Cambodia, as did my last adventure which ended in late December 2000. Trip number seven took place in November 2001, another visit is booked for March 2002 and my first jaunt to Isaan is booked for November 2002. As you can see, staying away just isn't an option!

This website is devoted mainly to the tale of three trips in 1998, 1999 and 2000 (and very soon, 2001), comprising my travels in and around the capital Phnom Penh, in Siem Reap, the home of the magnificent Angkor temple complex, and elsewhere in the country. There's also a lot more besides. Cambodia's glorious past is inextricably linked with its tragic recent history. There is no escaping the horrors of the 1970s, every Cambodian was touched by it but now there is real hope that a new chapter has begun on the long road to recovery. I remain optimistic. The Khmers are a special people, they have survived so much and deserve better. The aim of my series of travelogue tales is to illustrate that Cambodia has much to offer the traveller although overwhelmingly, it is the spirit and the warmth of the people that make it such an exceptional destination.

« One of the pleasures of returning to Cambodia is meeting up with old friends. One such friend is Sokhom, a moto-driver in Kompong Thom, a sleepy provincial capital on the main highway between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Sokhom is without doubt the best moto-driver in town and he's an expert on the local area, which includes the ancient city of Sambor Prei Kuk. The picture (left) was a gift from him, and shows us posing at the top of Phnom Santuk, a popular hill-top spot favoured by locals. If you're visiting Kompong Thom, call Sokhom on 012 850 399 and as he now has access to e-mail, let me know the dates and I can put him on standby. «

Click on Contents to begin my travelogue and to navigate the rest of the website. I've broken down my tales into bite-sized chunks to make them easier to digest and have included over 500 photographs to illustrate and bring the text to life. Throughout the site click once on any image to see a larger version and position the mouse pointer over the image to view its caption. If any photograph fails to download, click the 'refresh' icon.

WHAT'S NEW : Site last 3 February 2002. I'm just back from Cambodia and will post a batch of new tales and photos in the next couple of weeks. Here's my Trip Overview for starters and a trip to the Sunrise Children's Village. In the meantime, see some of my photos from my latest trip in a Window on Cambodia. And click to see my favourite hotel in Phnom Penh, the Dara Reang Sey.

A NEW Forum has been added for questions, comments and discussion. Feel free to join in.

Also read.....NEW Christine investigating graveyards in Ratanakiri....Ray Zepp's NEW adventures along Highway Six and in Snuol and Pailin....Read about Aussie author Geraldine Cox and the orphanage diary of Rosanna White...I recently met author Loung Ung when she came to Britain....A page on the Khmer temples in Isaan....A look at the film, The Killing Fields....On my Personal pages, if you like British reggae, have a look at Steel Pulse, Natural-Ites & Black Roots or visit my Ennio Morricone page for news of his recent UK concert. Or read about a trip to Cyprus.

The Hot off the Press section has interviews with authors and the latest book news on Cambodia, whilst new publications are added to my comprehensive English language Bibliography. Also updated regularly will be Recommended Links & Visitors Comments and the Map (with the latest on border crossings) pages, as well as the People & Places section, which contains items on Angkorean temple sites and other titbits of general interest.

EXTRA BITS.....The Discovery Channel in the UK on 22 & 29 December, screened 'My Khmer Heart' and 'Land of the Wandering Souls'.....Geraldine Cox, the patron of the Sunrise Children's Village orphanage and author of 'Home Is Where the Heart Is' tells me that Hollywood have signed up the film rights to her book - click here to read more.....Namecheck for 'Cambodia Tales' in the new Southeast Asia On A Shoestring and the Rough Guide - First Time Asia and Insight Guide: Laos & Cambodia...and in the latest Phnom Penh Visitors Guide, published by those good people at Canby Publications.....Loung Ung's First They Killed My Father was published in the UK in April 2001 and I was fortunate to be at her only book reading appearance in Birmingham on 25 April (right).....Read a punchy monthly column from Gordon Sharpless for all the latest news from Siem Reap.

About the site author:- I've just returned from Cambodia and back to my normal place of residence in Gloucester, England, having just quietly celebrated my 42nd birthday! Whilst my patient wife and two teenage step-children don't exactly share my passion for Cambodia, they do have the good grace to tolerate it. For a day job, I work for a leading UK Bank. My first and last four trips to Cambodia were solo visits, whilst the two sandwiched in between were with the excellent adventure tour group, Explore Worldwide. I returned from my fifth trip in as many years in December 1999, having seen a lot more of rural Cambodia and at the same time, visited some of the lesser-known ancient temple sites in the country. Trip number six finished in December 2000, another three-week adventure to a batch of both old and new locations on the Cambodia map and my latest visit took place in November 2001, with a similar theme.

« This website is dedicated to the memory of... Sok Thea, a personal friend and managing director of Siem Reap-based tour company, Angkor Adventures, who died at the age of 29. I will miss but always remember Thea's boundless enthusiasm, sense of adventure and his friendship. «

E-mail me at andy.brouwer@btinternet.com with any comments, suggestions or questions about either this website or Cambodia ...... and thanks for stopping by.

visitors since 18 May 1999 : original website created 28 February 1999

Contents :: Overview01 :: Overview00 :: Overview99 :: Overview98 :: People & Places :: Hot off the Press :: Bibliography :: News :: Forum :: Vietnam :: Links :: E-mail

NEW : Go to my Forum page for questions, comments and discussion.

"The best site on Cambodia is Andy Brouwer's Cambodia Tales, a gateway to all things Khmer on the web" - Southeast Asia on a Shoestring - Lonely Planet (2001)