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Rough Ridin'
Crossing the border, the boys rode the rooftop to Stung Treng. I joined them late in the afternoon for sunset. Getting to Cambodia from Laos was an arduous day full of absurd and beautiful moments. Involving several boat as well as mini-bus changes, not to mention the ever-entrepreneurial Lao spirit of cramming as many people into tiny spaces as possible, conditions were not always ideal. Temps soared well past 40C as midday approached and the guys were crazy enough to endure the midday sun on the roof of our minibus. This gave us some extra room inside which we were grateful for with the bumps and rough road.
Made a pitstop late in the afternoon in Stung Tren to change mini-buses (again!) and keep on moving to Kampong Cham . This is when I joined the guys on the roof and had an amazing ride on a dirt road through villages with a spectacular sunset. Children waved and shouted "Hello!", the men mostly did double-takes when they noticed tourists atop the bus rather than locals, and the women just smiled and shook their heads as we waved and grinned our way through town.
Of course, this was all before the 'windshield effect' which took over after sunset. Bugs really do come out at night and when you are on
the roof of a minibus careening down the (now paved) road they hit you with alarming force. After 3 hours of this, debugging was critical upon arrival and overtook all other priorities including food and drink despite being famished. After a long shower and laundry in the sink, a cold beer and my first bowl of amok (fish curry in coconut milk), I crawled into bed and slept very well.
Phnom Penh hit me like a 10 ton truck the next night. After a leisurely day taking care of logistics like SIM cards, which you have to acquire in dark corners or under tables, Frank, Jordan and I hopped an overpriced bus down to the capital. Talk about overwhelming! Complete chaos and harrassment from the moment the bus doors opened. All my senses were violently assaulted by hordes of touts and drivers "tuktuk! moto! excuse me! where you going miss? you come with me, okay? okay? okay? okay?" AGH! It was night and it was the first time I've felt really vulnerable on this trip. This city has a very raw edge to it and while arriving alone would have been perfectly safe, I was so happy to have
Ripped Off
We stupidly got ripped off buying bus tickets. Here we just figured it out. I don't know why I have a stupid grin on my face. the guys with me I bought the first round of beers.
We stayed by the Lake which is a backpacker ghetto. By this I mean it is crawling with backpackers, budget accomodation, and plenty of opportunities to be taken advantage of by crafty vendors with no scruples. I hated it. But it was close to the bus drop-off and we found clean, cheap rooms easily. There is a reason these places exist.
The next morning I recovered from our evening out at the Love Orange Club dancing and drinking with the Cambodians. We were the only
barang and we had such an amazing time, it was 4am before any of us realized it. It completely reversed my earlier impression of the city.
In the afternoon, I took on visiting Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum for a dose of Cambodia's grim history. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng in Khmer means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees". The buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, the classrooms converted into tiny
Tuol Sleng
Interrogation cell prison and torture chambers, and all windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent escapes. All the prisoners were photographed when they arrived and the photos, biographies and paintings by survivors are on display in the classrooms and cells. It was a rough day. I still haven't processed everything I witnessed and read.
The following day I woke up early and climbed on the back of a moto to go out to the Killing Fields - the Cheoung Ek memorial site. Having witnessed the atrocities in photography, space and painting, it was time to go to the site where these people were taken by the truckload and ruthlessly assasinated. It was eerily peaceful and calm. An immaculate stupa rises from the center of the property and is filled with 8,000+ skulls recovered at the site. Deep impressions overgrown with grass mark the graves that were dug up after the end of the Khmer Rouge's governance. Young boys hustle for money or pens by striking up conversation, while the leaves on the now-recovering longan orchard rustle in the background.
The roads in and out of Phnom Penh were swarming with people leaving the city. Entire freeways
Tuol Sleng - Biographies
The upstairs hall lined with biographies of the khmer rouge were transformed into one-way roads to accomodate the excess traffic due to the Khmer New Year. Many people in Phnom Penh are transplants from other provinces and towns, and everyone goes home to spend New Year with their family.
Mass Exodus = Nightmare Roads = Interesting Moto Acrobatics
The Royal Palace was a disappointment. Two-thirds of it was closed to visitors and the floor of Wat Preah Kao (the Silver Pagoda) was covered in rugs! So much for seeing the 5,000 silver tiles. This is the official temple of the King of Cambodia and it houses a vast collection of Buddha statues.
Feeling deflated, I treated myself to a nice lunch by the river at Khmer Borane. Some fresh coconut water to quench my thirst and a delightful banana flower and chicken salad. I don't know how they spice and flavor their salads here, but the complexity is surprising and the flavors worked particularly well. I've never eaten banana flower before, but it was crisp and mild with an endive-like texture but slightly sweet.
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