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Published: February 16th 2014
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Accommodation - Villa Langka Phnom Penh
Accommodation - Bambu Hotel Battambang
Weather - Hot, sunny, blue skies with occasional clouds and one heavy rain storm in Battambang for an hour. 32 to 35c
Our two days in Phnom Penh went past in a whirl of sightseeing and wandering around. On our first morning we went on a city tour which included the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda and National museum. The Royal Palace, situated on the west bank of the Tonle Sap River, was stunning, glistening in the sun, built in the Khmer style, with multicoloured gilded and curlicued roofs, with carved columns. The adjacent Silver Pagoda, with a similar architecture, was named due to its floor, which is inlaid with 5000 solid silver tiles. Near by there is an intricately carved stupa which holds the ashes of the former king, Suramarit. An elaborate equestrian statue of King Norodom, wearing the attire of Napoleon III, was present in front of the pagoda. Next we visited the National Museum, housed in exotically shaped pavilions, containing an extensive display of Khmer statues, from the 5th century to the present day. Many of the statues originated from the temple complexes of Angkor
Wat, providing us with a taste of what will follow later in out trip.
While the morning trips were fun the afternoon excursions were somewhat disturbing and very sad. We visited the Tuol Sleng Prison and Genocide Museum - also known as S-21. The building was formerly a school which the Khmer Rouge turned into their torture headquarters. Up to 17,000 local people were subjected to horrendous torture before being herded to the killing fields. The schoolrooms were converted into torture chambers and tiny prison cells with barbed wire, which is still present, surrounding the balconies to prevent escape. The museum was informative with hundreds of photographs of prisoners both before and after torture. We followed the route of the prisoners, for several kilometres along rough roads, to Choeung Ek - the killing fields. Now a peaceful setting, this former logan fruit orchard, was the scene of the major atrocities and murders carried out by the Khmer Rouge. Mass communal graves, 129 in total, were found. Small scraps of clothing and occasional bone fragments can still be found protruding from the ground. A memorial pagoda stands in the centre and contains a glass pavilion in which the skulls of
8000 victims are present. Although not the highlight of the trip, we felt we should visit these disturbing dreadful places, which have featured so prominently in recent history.
We travelled north through very flat agricultural land and paddy fields, dotted with stilt-houses many with tiled roofs and palm leaf walls and swinging hammocks between the stilts in the shade. We passed through numerous small, dirty, dusty villages with small stalls selling local delicacies - deep fried crickets and tarantulas, bamboo stalks containing sticky rice, dried fish, barbecued frogs and fishes - needless to say we steered well clear of this decidedly, to our taste, unappetising food!! I know we say, in our short introduction to our blog site, that we like trying local food - but come on there is a limit - deep fried tarantula or crickets are a definite no-no!!
We arrived in the provincial town of Battambang in the late afternoon and checked in to our hotel. We made good use of the small but wonderfully cooling swimming pool and the happy hour refreshing draft tiger beer at a cost of $1, as the temperature was pushing 35c, the hottest place so far. The relaxing
atmosphere of the pool was somewhat disturbed by constant chantings and rhythmical music all day, from a funeral nearby. Cambodian Buddhists have funerals which last up to 2 days. Next day after a short walk around the local market WanderingPeter went on a 20km cycle tour around the town - seeing Pagodas and Buddhist Temples, old colonial houses, small village markets and a distinctly rickety suspension bridge over a river - which he had to cycle over - but made it no trouble!! WanderingPeter, although not having really cycled for perhaps 20 years, enjoyed getting out into the countryside on a bike - and he wasn't too achy the next day!!
Scroll right down to the end fir more photos.
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Helen and Bob
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Cambodia 2
Sounds such an interesting trip if not perhaps a bundle of laughs. The prisons and the trip to the killing fields sounded really grim, but as you sAt, you couldn't not do it. And I didn't like the sound of the deep fried tarantulas although we do keep reading that insects are the way to go and will solve world hunger! I liked the photos, particularly the market ones and well done with the cycle, Peter! All well here and it has been a beautiful day today! X