CAMBODIA Part II

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My time in Cambodia is brief, but I’ve managed to pack in a good deal in less then one week. I fly to India via Thailand tomorrow and want to post these photos along with some history before leaving.

Cambodia’s history is filled with beauty and of horror. This blog will briefly walk you through both.



The Beauty:

The pagodas and temples in Cambodia are quite stunning and admist dramatic landscapes even moreso. Photos are taken of the Royal Palace, the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh where I got reprimanded for not taking off my shoes.

But the main tourist attraction for Cambodia are the Temples of Ankor in Siem Reap, the heart and soul of the ancient Khmer empire or, aka, the place where Tomb Raider was filmed. There are lots of temples so impressive and massive I can’t even imagine what they looked like in their hayday. I do know that I'll get workout climbing them.



The Horror:

During 1975-1979, nearly 3 million Cambodians were exterminated by the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.

The Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison (Tuol Sleng) was a high school taken over and used as a torture and extermination camp. It is now a “museum” but does not feel that way. There are still blood stained floors and walls, a reminder that the genocide was not that long ago.

Between 1975-78, there were over 17,000 people held at S-21 and then taken to the extermination camp at Choeung Ek. In 1979, when the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh, there were only 7 prisoners alive at S-21

I take a motorbike out to the above mentioned killing field, Choeung Ek, where 43 of the 129 mass graves still remain untouched. Birds chirp and there is an eerie silence that is interrupted every few moments by the wind, which to me sounds like cries from the dead. Before leaving my driver asks me if the people in my country know about this... do they REALLY know?

No, I don’t think they REALLY know.

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Photos

Welcome to Phnom Penh
Sorry e, your souvenir license plates will have to come in the form of photos

The Silver Pagoda
But it's not silver at all! It gets its name because the floor is covered with 5,000 silver tiles.

Buddha Statue
Buddha Buddha everywhere

Temple Angkor Wat
The big one, and the largest religious building in the world

Temple Angkor Wat
A view from the top

Temple Ta Prohm
The Angelina Jolie Special. This temple is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth and intentionally left unrestored

Temple Ta Prohm
The Angelina Jolie Special

The Horror...
Classrooms are transformed into prison cells at S-21

Choeung Ek
More than 8,000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind a clear glass panel from top to bottom inside this Memorial "Stupa"

Choeung Ek
Photographed are skulls of women my age. The cracks on the skull mean they were killed by being beaten over the head

Mass Grave
Mass Grave of 166 victims found without heads

Remnants
Remnants of clothing and bones still lie everywhere. A guide tells me that even thought the grounds are cleaned frequently, everytime it rains more resurfaces

Comments

[Shannah]

Postcards
Your pictures are amazing.....I bet you could get paid to visit places and make postcards! I will look for a job like that for you!!!

[pat casey]

amazing
Hi Sherry, Your mom just told me about your latest adventure/experience. I am in awe of what she was talking about, but mostly that you are doing such amazing things. Who would have thought that your art would have taken you to so many places and allowed you to touch so many lives. I think that what you are doing is unbelievably generous and loving and I am not at all surprised!! Though I don't really know you that well, personally, who you are is so very evident in the works that you are doing----"They'll know we are Christians by our LOVE"--those hymnal words are so true. God Bless You and keep you safe as you minister to the needy. Love and Peace, Pat Casey

[john]

hey sis
Sherry this is first time i really got to read all of your blogs and i am ashamed of myself. To think I couldnt make time to read these blogs when you are helping kids, travelling around the world and not once have you complained. Its mothers day today and i stopped over moms and dads, and i told them today was the day that i was goin to read your entries. Well i didnt expect all the things that you have gone through and i sit here writing this with tears in my eyes, that i even deserve to have a sister as caring and giving as you. You are a real inspiration to everyone that read you blogs, and we are all so proud of you. Its sad to see all these kids in Vietnam that cannot get medical attention or food or clothing, something we "fat americans" take for granted. Well be careful in India, we miss you alot and cant wait to have cervesas with you at the London Grill or anywhere else for that matter(bet you miss coors light). So keep those blogs coming and postcards and we will see you in a month love John