Phnom Penh


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Asia » Cambodia » South » Phnom Penh
March 21st 2012
Published: March 21st 2012
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Phnom Penh - the capital of Cambodia. We heard nothing good about that place but we both loved it. Forget about Bangkok for shopping - this is the place. You can shop till you drop. OPI nail varnishes for $1.50, Diesel Jeans for $20, etc, etc, etc. I had to force myself from staying away from the markets and shopping centres.

But there is also a different and more serious side to Phnom Penh - the Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. Both should be part of the programme. It will be a sad and intense day but it will help you understand just how far the Cambodians have come in the past 30+ years. The Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum or also known as S-21 (Security Prison no 21) used to be a high school until the Khmer Rouge turned it into a prison in 1975.

In April 1975 the Khmer Rouge marched into Phnom Penh and 'evacuated' the whole city within a couple of days - 'relocating' all inhabitans of Phnom Penh and all other cities in Cambodia to surrounding villages to make them work 12-15 hours in the fields with hardly any food. Phnom Penh was like a gost town at that time and apart from soldiers no one lived there.

S-21 was a place of horror and only 7 people survived when the Vietnamese marched into Phnom Penh in 1979. The Khmer
Rouge used this prison to torture people and make them confess to crimes against the regime such as working with the CIA and KGB. It is actually possible to read some of the statements. I took a guide for a small fee. The lady was 13 years old when she had to leave Phnom Phen with her family and was made to work in the rice fields for 12 or more hours a day. Her father and brother were taken away and until this day she doesn't know what happened to them. Not only Cambodians were kept and tortured in S-21 also 200 foreigners such as journalists or people who simply weren't able to leave Cambodia in time. Everyone who entered this prison was eventually moved to the Killing Fields for execution.

The Killing Fields are about 15km outside of Phnom Penh. On arrival you are given an audio guide. You can also listen to eye witness accounts and it makes the whole experience even more harrowing. The Killing Fields have 129 mass graves and up to this day bone fragments, teeth and clothes come to the surface, especially after heavy rain. Walking around the fields you can see them. It is a very sad place and both places reminded me a lot of our own horrible history. The Cambodians are such a lovely nation and it's sad to think that everyone over the age of 33 has been affected by it. The history is still quite raw.

Today, Phnom Penh is a vibrant city with hotels, great shops, markets and good restaurants. The city has a mediterrean feel to it and is definitly worth a visit.

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