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Published: January 13th 2007
Hello again,
What can I say about Phnom Penh?! It was an eye-opener like I could never have imagined... One of my first comments when I arrived back into Bangkok this morning was "I cant believe how clean Bangkok is" - for those who know Bangkok that is a pretty big statement but Phnom Penh was filthy beyond your imagination.
As you already know we arrived in Phnom Penh around 2pm and went straight to the guesthouse. The Billabong guesthouse is run by another Aussie and the place was great value. We had some lunch there (Chicken Bacon Cheese Burgers - which rocked!) and spent the afternoon by the pool. We needed some relaxation! Around 6pm I took off to find an internet cafe.... It was my first experience in Phnom Penh and at 6pm at night I was feeling a tad unsafe but not too bad. I did some blog but the photos were taking too long to download so I caught a tuktuk back to the guesthouse (even though it was a 5 min walk).
Dinner Disaster - Who Would Of Thought!!
We hung out and around 9pm decided we needed some dinner.
I had been reading the Phnom Penh visitors guide for some suggestions and found a place that was nearby that sounded great. A little chinese place called "Peking Canteen".... they must sell Peking Duck and I had a craving to satisfy! Heath wanted to walk so off we set.... within one block we had children hanging off us begging for money.... we kept walking (you just cant give to all and the moment you give to one you have another 20 running after you). We finally found the Peking Canteen in a rundown section near the Central Market and walked in... it was pretty dirty looking but I was confident that the food would probably be GREAT as it usually is the little rundown local restaurants where you get a great feed.... little did I know what lay ahead!!!!!
I opened the menu to find NOTHING I knew of. This was pure China baby! How about Chicken and Pig Blood Soup .... or Duck Liver stirfry... or Chicken feet in Soy Sauce... you get the picture right?!! Now for those of you that know me well, you know I am game to try anything once usually and not too
fussy... but I was struggling... the lady had already placed free cold green teas in big mugs in front of us so we kind of felt obligated to eat something.... The best I could find was Duck in Soy Sauce and Fried Rice... which we ordered stating we werent too hungry....
Literally 20 seconds later the duck appeared on the table... hmmmm that was quick.... WAY TOO QUICK actually! Heath and I were really starting to look at each other with looks of horror. Our rice wasnt too far behind (obviously been sitting there hot!)... the horror continued when I went to pick at the duck with my fingers (yes I know terrible table manners) only to find the Duck was COLD! Stone refridgerator COLD!!! Now what?!
Reet : "ummmm honey, this duck is cold"
Heath : "what did you just say?!"
Reet : "ummmm this duck is cold"
Heath : "you are joking right?!"
Reet : "no, I'm not kidding, what are we going to do?"
Heath : "I'm not eating it"
Reet : "well nor am I"
Heath : "well what are we going to do?!"
*Both sit in silence staring at each other for
Beggars
The beggars come and sit at the bus steps when you get on/off what felt like ages*
I turned to the waitress and said "Could I please have a coke?!"
Waitress: "NO"
Reet : "Hmmmmmm ok"
*Both sit in silence picking at the rice too scared to touch the cold food poisoning duck*
At that point I knew we couldnt eat the duck but we didnt want to be rude. I made some excuse to the waitress that we were "very tired" and asked for takeaway containers for our YUMMY food. Thankfully they had them and $6 later we were off down the street with our inedible food! At this point I remembered seeing a Pizza place that did deliveries in the book so we set off for the hotel.... Halfway there, we stumbled across a sight that still haunts me today... a couple of 10-12yo boys ripping rubbish bags open on the pavement and eating the rubbish leftovers... they looked like little stray dogs and it was so sad. I ran across with our Duck and Rice and handed it to them. The look of wonder in their eyes told me they were going to enjoy every last piece... cold or not....
The walk back to our hotel
S-21 Building A
The pictures are really graphic was a little scary and uncomfortable. We really felt like the "rich privileged westerners" walking amongst all the homeless beggars. The amount of rubbish on the streets (mainly plastic bags and paper) was mind-boggling... every few steps we encountered another child begging us for money... we gave what we could and it only resulted in more running after us tugging at our clothes.... so sad but at the same time we felt so vulnerable. I cant say that Phnom Penh left a good impression on us. We just felt that there were too many 'desperate' people in the city and unfortunately it didnt make us feel very safe. Once encased in the safety of our hotel we rang Ecstatic Pizza, placed an order and had a hot Pepperoni Pizza on the doorstep 20min later.... and I have to say they do damn good pizza! Better than home!
A Very Sad History That Everyone Needs To Know About
The next morning our driver didnt turn up (I was under the impression that he was meeting us but maybe he was expecting a call). I figured that he obviously didnt need the work since he hadnt turned up as
S-21 Building A
the pictures on the wall depict how the last murdered person was found... the room has been left the same with the bed and the blood stains on the floor arranged so we organised a driver through the Guesthouse. We were going to take a Tuk tuk but the guesthouse said the road out to the Killing Fields was really bad and we were best off with an aircon car. $20USD later we were off in a aircon car.... only the aircon was struggling to work, our driver was the SLOWEST driver in all of South East Asia and I was quickly melting! Halfway through the day we really wished we had gone with the TukTuk....
For those of you that need a quick history lesson... The Khmer Rouge regime under the leadership of Pol Pot controlled Cambodia from 1975-1979. The term "Khmer Rouge," meaning "Red Khmer" in French, was used to refer to a 'succession of Communist parties in Cambodia'. This regime was heavily supported by the Chinese government and attempted one of the most radical and brutal restructurings of a society ever attempted. They wanted to 'transform the country into a Maoist-peasant dominated agrarian cooperative where all society's structures including family and village life would not exist and life would be dominated by the needs of the cooperative and the needs of the people would be secondary'.
S-21
A former school turned into a prison during the Pol Pot regime Immediately upon assuming power the Khmer Rouge ordered everyone in urban areas (including children, the sick and the elderly) to the countryside to work in slave labor type camps for 12-15 hours each day. Any disagreement or disobedience meant instant death. Currency, religon, schools, hospitals etc were all abolished. The Khmer Rouge systematically arrested, tortured and/or killed anyone they could find in Cambodia who was educated (incl all doctors etc and anyone wearing glasses), had a moderate viewpoint, was in a previous leadership position or whom they just did not like.
Bearing this history in mind our first stop was S-21 - Tuol Sleng Prison. This has now been turned into a musuem. It was here that the 'Khmer Rouge systematically arrested, tortured and killed 20,000 men women and children during their reign'. They killed every prisoner brought to this place with the exception of 7 individuals. The Khmer Rouge kept detailed and extensive records of the activities in S-21 that included the photographs, biographies and deaths of everyone in the prison. Included with the photographs are many of the prisoners after they were executed. This place was heart-wrenching and difficult to go through. It was so graphic that
Heath had to leave the buildings several times for time out. I am not sure why I handled it so well, maybe it was because I was taking photographs or maybe after reading so much I was more prepared for what I was about to face.
In the first building were where the more important prisoners were kept, chained to beds and tortured. There are pictures on the walls of the last victims found dead still chained to the beds when discovered. The blood stains still on the floor (those with a weak stomach should think twice before viewing my photos...). I thought twice about taking photos and also showing them on my blog, however many people are unaware of the extent of this sad history and I hope that everyone has a chance to feel what we felt on the day....
The second building kept the less important prisoners, on the first couple of floors there are single cells made from wood or brick, still with blood and chains on the floor. The second floor contains rooms used for mass detention... everyone laying side by side... Barbwire was used on the balconies so as to 'prevent the
desperate victims from commiting suicide'. This building now houses rows and rows of the mugshots taken by the Khmer Rouge... a sobering experience... the look of terror and sadness in the victims eyes... the children.... the mothers with babies in their arms.... there was one mother holding her baby with an electric wire attached to the back of her head... a single tear rolling down her cheek......
Once we left S-21 it was off to see the 'Killing Fields'... alot of you may have seen the film. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, 'between one million and two and a half million Cambodians perished, some killed outright, others dying from disease, malnutrition, neglect and mistreatment'. Many of the dead ended up in various ‘killing fields’ that can be found scattered across the country. The killing fields were essentially 'ad hoc places of execution and dumping grounds for dead bodies'. The memorial at Choeung Ek is just 15km south-west of Phnom Penh. A Memorial Stupa has been built... a large glass building which houses almost 9000 of the skulls found in the mass graves at the sight.....
This particular killing field is the site of the brutal executions
S-21 Building C
Building B was were less important prisoners were held. It now houses the mugshots of all those murdered of more than 17,000 men, women and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the S-21 Prison. All that is left now at Choeung Ek is a group of mass graves and the memorial stupa containing thousands of skulls. There is a tree where they used to beat small children, in fact most people were beaten to death so they could 'save bullets'..... The executioners used to scatter chemical substances like DDT over the mass grave for two purposes. Firstly, to elimnate the stench of dead bodies which could potentially raise suspicions among people working nearby the killing fields; and secondly, to kill off any victims that had been buried still alive. :-(
Light Relief Needed
Once we left the Killing Fields we decided some shopping was in order.... we headed for the Russian Markets (named this because the russians used to shop there apparently!). The Russian Markets are well known for all the brands made in Cambodia such as Gap, Adidas and Calvin Klein... all the stuff that falls off the back of the truck on the way for export ends up here!
We struggled to find alot of
S-21 Building C
The photos were haunting it but saw lots of cheap copies... the place was so huge though there was no way we could cover it in the timeframe we had allocated! I ended up buying a pair of Nike Gym Shoes for $17. Heath got a pair of Mossimo 3/4 pants for $9. We bought a couple of Gucci watches for $5 (for both!!!) and then we hit the DVD section (again)... Heath got a copy of the brand new Rocky movie that isnt even in the cinema for $2. I sadly bought the 2nd series of Veronica Mars (no comments please) for $15 and I also got the whole first season of Prison Break (yum yum) and the first 12 episodes of 2nd season (preview at my house when I get home girls!!!).
We then headed back to the hotel for a swim and an early dinner. We had an early start for the airport the next morning so we spent the night watching TV in bed and packing our bags.... yep they are pretty full now! :-)
Anyway thats all on Cambodia... I hope the photos arent too sad but they need to be seen. Next installment is on the
S-21 Building C
even kids were not exempt from the horror... shopping and sights of Bangkok.... and I will be home in 2 days now!
Love you all, thanks for tuning in for the past 6 weeks.
Reet & Heath xxxxxx
PS Heath feels a little sad that none of his friends have left comments *hint hint* :-)
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anonymous
non-member comment
Oh my God! I have to say that is all pretty heart-wrenching stuff and I don't think I could have handles it! I have to say, I've really enjoyed reading about your exploits in Cambodia as its one place I've never really looked into that much. Can't believe your trek is nearly over, but then again it seems like ages since we were sat at that Pool bar! Enjoy your last few days in Bankok, and have fun shopping!!!! Carolynn PS. I got the 1st season of prison break over in Phuket too :-)