Catching Up With Cambodia

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March 10th 2010

Published: March 11th 2010

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davidsylvie

Temple Tree

Our final week in Southeast Asia took us through Cambodia where we met up with a retired Whitehorse teaching buddy in Phnom Penh. The infamous sites documenting the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, notably the Killing Fields and the S21 Jail were a sobering experience and certainly gave us an in-depth understanding of the scope and scale of Cambodians' suffering under Pol Pot's regime.

Contrasting these sights were the extraordinary temple carvings of Angkor Wat. Feeling slightly templed-out prior to our visit to Siem Reap, the vast Angkor Wat temple complex exceeded all of our expectations and we enjoyed three full days of exploration in and among the ruins. Despite it's haunting past, Cambodia certainly shined with its ancient sites and warm smiles.

Additional photos below

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Phnom Penh Tour Guide

Hanging out with Marilyn, a transplanted Yukoner visiting family in Cambodia.

Membership has its privileges.

Royal Palace

Ou est la madame?

Killing Fields Memorial

This pagoda housed thousands of skulls and bones that were recovered in a local 'Killing Field'. There were hundreds of Killing Fields throughout the country.

S21 Torture Room

The Khmer Rouge transformed a high school into a torture complex and jail.

Photographic Reminder

Out of the thousands of prisoners who went through S21, only 7 survived.

Bombing Targets

Unbeknownst to many, Cambodia was heavily bombed during the Vietnam War and suffered many casualties.

BAN MINES NOW!

Cambodia was heavily mined during the Vietnam War and also during the wartorn years under the Khmer Rouge. Anti-personnel mines are still found in the Cambodian countryside and despite numerous demining efforts, the number of Cambodian casualties continues to rise.

Haunting Reminder

Survivor of the Killing Fields

This kind man was one of very few elderly people we encountered in Cambodia. We met him by pure chance and we were honoured to have him share his survival story with us.