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Published: August 7th 2007
CAMBODIA: PART 2 OF 3 To get to the second destination of my Cambodian adventure I sleepily made my way to the Phnom Penh-bound buses early on the morning of the 25th. After excellent service at my hotel, I had complete confidence that when purchasing my bus ticket from them (and not the bus company directly) I would end up on a rather new air-conditioned bus. Boy was I wrong!! I arrived as requested, 15 minutes prior to departure, only to find that I was one of the last to board this 10-15 year old bus with plastic seat covers. I knew I was in for a ride from hell when they took my ticket and pointed to my seat - in the back left-hand corner of the bus!!! Realizing that fair was fair, and a ticket was a ticket, I slowly made my way to my seat. Less than an hour later I was ready to jump out the window! The man beside me had fallen
fast asleep within the first 10 minutes of the bus ride and was continually leaning on my shoulder. After many failed attempts of pushing him and asking him to sit up
(I honestly had good intentions, and was going to politely ask him not to sleep on my shoulder.. but he wouldn't wake up) I was finally so fed up that I decided that instead of allowing him to bother me I would take action and fix the situation on my own... there was absolutely no way I could stand his prickly hair scratching my bare shoulder for another minute. So... making due with the materials available (which unfortunately did not include an empty seat) I reached for the nice A4 sized flyer that some hotel representative had thrust at me, and taped it to the side of the man's head. Problem solved! The remaining 4.5 hours of my bus ride went quite smoothly and I even think I managed to sleep for a bit myself! 😊 LOL, about 30 minutes prior to our destination the prickly-haired man started to stir and I braced myself for the explanation. He woke up quite slowly and took a few minutes to realize there was paper taped to his head, but after pulling it off and looking at me I think he understood the situation (maybe not approved.. but understood). I quickly apologized to
A Perfect Example of Child Labor
This young Cambodian is only 6 years old. She works her family banana stand before and after school (thank goodness she actually goes to school) to help her family. Although it is hard for me to accept such a young child having to work, some good has actually come of her situation. From working in this market and constantly interacting with tourists, she has learned to speak excellent English.him and made a quick excuse about sensitive skin, but then had to turn my face to hide my smile. It was really hard not to laugh considering the circumstances! Shortly after, we arrived in Phnom Penh and my next adventure began.
Wanting to make the most of a short day and a half in Cambodia's capital, I quickly dropped my bag off at the hotel and made my way down to the Mekong River where I began my tour of the city. For those who visit, Phnom Penh has 5 "must see" locations: the markets; the Royal Palace and 'Silver Pagoda'; the National Museum; Choeung Ek Genocidal Memorial (The Killing Fields); and Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Being mid-afternoon, I really only had enough time left to visit the markets before everything closed for the day so I hailed a
tuk tuk and headed to the Russian Market (Psah Toul Tom Poung).
With 4 more "must see" locations on my list, and only a day to visit them, I got up bright and early on Monday and started out for the Royal Palace and 'Silver Pagoda.' Walking through the Royal Palace I couldn't help but compare it
to Bangkok's. Although it was missing the gazillion little mirrors which adorn the palace in Bangkok, Phnom Penh's Royal Palace was painted in the same vibrant colors and topped with similar pointy roof tops. It really does define beautiful architecture! The Royal Palace was constructed over a century ago to serve as the residence of the King of Cambodia; it is also a venue for the performance of court ceremony and ritual, and is a symbol of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Within the palace is the famous 'Silver Pagoda,' which I unfortunately did not realize I had walked through until leaving the Palace and asking for directions to it, only to be told that it was the large building which I had just come from! How was I to know that the bright
yellow building filled with gold, silver, emerald and diamond treasures was the Silver Pagoda? I was looking for an actual
silver building! The secret... the entire floor (which, in my defence, was mostly covered by carpets) was made of sterling silver. I guess I will have to keep that in mind for future adventures!
After a brief walk through the National Museum I prepared myself for
Helping Grandpa
Through the use of some gestures and very simple English I managed to learn that this man is the grandfather of this girl. They spend most of their days doing just this (waiting for customers to cart around). a heartrending afternoon at Choeung Ek Genocidal Memorial and Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Unlike the temples of Angkor, I had actually done some research into the history of the Khmer Rouge regime before going to Cambodia, and knew a bit about what I was about to see. With that said, no amount of research or understanding from books and movies could have possibly given me the same insight to the crimes as my actual visit did. Actually being at, and witnessing firsthand, the site where thousands of innocent lives were brutally taken away was a heartbreaking experience. Our guide spoke of execution methods which were so inhumane that it was hard to belive that anyone could be capable of doing such things... it was really hard to accept that it had all actually happened. Actions such as those done by the Khmer Rouge absolutely disgust me, and I hope that each and every one of them who are currently on trial get what they deserve.
After Choeung Ek I climbed back into the
tuk tuk and we made our way to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21). Prior to 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school, but when
the Khmer Rouge came to power it was converted into the S-21 prison and interrogation facility. Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months. Once the inmates had confessed, or become useless to the Khmer Rouge, they were executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. S-21 processed over 17,000 people, seven of whom survived. The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness of the Khmer Rouge regime. Walking through its halls is a very eerie/sad experience because there are pictures of the inmates posted everywhere. Seeing pictures of young boys and girls, or young mothers with their babies clinging to them you just want to be able to put a stop to any injustices such as this. It makes you want to scream that the rest of the world because they did not act in time to save them.. and it makes you even angrier that mass genocides still occur. Needless to say, it was a very depressing afternoon (however one that I would not have even considered skipping).
After a busy day of sightseeing on Monday, I took it easy on Tuesday and spent the morning doing some
last minute shopping at the Central Market (Psah Thmei) before catching my next bus. Between the selection at the Russian Market and the Central Market, Phnom Penh's shopping is quite a bargainer's paradise. The entrance to the Central Market is lined with souvenir merchants hawking everything from T-shirts and postcards to silver curios and kramas. Inside there is a large display of jewels and gold. Electronic goods, stationery, secondhand clothes and flowers are also in ample supply. It was the perfect opportunity for me to expand my DVD collection and stock up on 100%!s(MISSING)ilk scarves to give away as souvenirs when I returned to Japan.
By noon I was back on a bus (this time I chose the company, and purchased my ticket early enough to request the front seat) and continuing south to the much anticipated beaches of Sihanoukville.
Here is a brief description of the Khmer Rouge regime and the damage they caused: From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979, the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, controlled the whole of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge regime the country was known as ‘Democratic Kampuchea.’ During the short 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.
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Lisa Van Muyen
Lisa Van Muyen
MOM
It’s a good thing your blog started out with such a GOOD laugh - laughed so hard tears came to my eyes, and then the end was so sobering. Well written.