Back in the mid 1980s when I first started going to Cambodia, it was a pretty rough place....Once you crossed the border at "Aran" in Thailand into Poipet it was a totally different world. The roundabout and road just inside the border looked like bomb craters and I distinctly remember men walking around and riding bikes with AK-47s slung on their backs. But it was super cheap - much more so than Thailand. Poipet was always an interesting place to me. Typical of border towns all over the world , a place where you can immerse yourself in many types of illegal activities should you decide to do so. In Phnom Penh - the capitol city, you could, back then (mid 80s) buy guns, ammo, and (yup) land mines at the Russian market or from a "Guy" on the street.
It was way back then that I heard that you could pay to go shoot all of the different Russian weapons at a range located at a near by army base. Sooo, naturally, I had to go check it out. you could shoot anything from a K-59 pistol to a B-40 rocket, and chuck a few grenades (Russian or American), for around 30 U.S. Dollars - the defacto currency of Cambodia after the Pol Pot Regime.
Anyway, back in 2014 , I was leading an adventure tour in Cambodia and we decided to go to the range and check it out. Of course NOW, the prices were super inflated and we paid the "White man price" for everything. You could still shoot all of the guns, but sadly no grenades were to be had at the time we were there. Bummer.....All of the tour members fired the B-40 rocket, and several small arms. It was a good day and brought back many good memories of my 1st trip down that road.
See you on the trail!
Tomahawk
