a real eye-opener in Phnom Penh

---

After a lonnggg but ok bus journey from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh we arrived and checked into the guesthouse that the bus dropped us off at. A friendly Cambodian couple got on our bus a few minutes after we entered Cambodia and gave us (really kindly) a guava each (we think it was a guava!) and a little packet of salt to eat it with- we were unsure at first how to even begin to eat it but after a little demonstration and basically just biting into it we discovered we didn't like guava! Hoping not to offend the kind lady by not eating our guava we slyly put them away! Also, a few minutes after entering Cambodia Claire had already received about 10 smiles from the local people as we drove through the villages- great first impressions!

Next morning we hired a nice, cheeky, tuk-tuk and driver to take us round the sites. First stop was a gun range where (for a fairly hefty but worthwhile price) Chris got to fire an AK47 with 30 bullets - a seriously powerful weapon - got 4 head shots on his target. It was surprising actually how humbling it was seeing one for real and feeling its power, knowing all the problems its caused and continues to cause.

Next stop was the 'killing fields' where Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime commited mass genocide of innocent civilians and buried their remains in pits. Around 9000 remains were exhumed in the 1980's from around 80pits, not even half of what's there it's just that they're leaving the rest alone for now. They have a starkling tribute to those who died in the shape of a tower enclosing the skulls of those who died there.

From there we visited S-21 Tong Sleung, the prison and site of much torture and also the place prisoners were transported from when sent to the killing fields. Another humbling but educational experience of Cambodia's very bloody and recent history. Strange irony really that the building used to be a school before Polpot's regime.

After that we visited the wat Phnom (temple) that gave the city it's name which had several families of monkeys swinging around and eating tourists offerings. Claire was a bit scared after the monkey experience she had in Chiang Mai in Thailand! They were really tame monkeys and it was a funny site to see them swinging from the power cables and sitting on the balconies of the hotel nearby! We also had a look through one of the huge markets they have here and then chilled out after all our walking!

Decided that we'd leave Phnom Penh for the Sinhoukville seaside in the south the following day, one day in Phnom Penh was enough for us!

Ooh- we have both also mastered succesfully the use of chopsticks now!!

---

Photos

the killing fields
the 9000 remains of the victims of the genocide here have had their skulls arranged by age and gender in a memorial

the killing fields themselves
walking through this lovely peaceful wooded area its hard to imagine that each of these pits was a mass grave, containing around 100 bodies. only half of the pits have actually been explored

Comments

[Anna]

All those serious moving pictures and then a beautiful picture of Claire!? Chris, are you in trouble for that ? :P I never really knew much about Phnom Penh... interesting stuff :) How come you only stayed for one day though??