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Crossing the Cambodian border was one of the strangest experiences of my life. The two hour bus ride from Saigon was normal enough- despite being very hungover, we were both in a great mood. The TV at the front of the bus was playing horrible music videos from the 80's and the bus was shaking like the tires were going to fall off. For some reason it all seemed so funny- we couldn't stop laughing.
About ten minutes from the border, we hit a line-up and a few people got off the bus to smoke. Outside the window, there were women and children carrying baskets on their heads- they were trying to sell snacks to the people in the cars. Ryan got off with his camera to take a few photos. I couldn't figure out what was in the baskets- it looked like dried shrimps but they were black. A few seconds later, Ryan got back on the bus and solved the mystery for me- they were bugs! Crickets, spiders, cockroaches, locusts... and they were all for eating! People got back on the bus and we started moving again. After a couple of minutes a smell started to spread through
the bus. Some people had actually bought bugs and were having themselves a little snack. I'm adventurous when it comes to food but you couldn't pay me to eat bugs... especially cockroaches.
At the border, we all climbed off the bus, handed our passports over to the bus driver and sat down to wait for our visas to be processed. There was an American on the bus who said he lived in Phnom Penh so we asked him a few questions while we waited. He said that the city could be described as a 'pile of garbage with thieves on top." Then he went on to describe the different kinds of cockroaches in the city- "small, medium and extra large with wings." At this point we were starting to wonder if we should have just flown straight to Thailand.
After crossing the border, the landscape changed quickly. There was a muddy river that ran parallel to the road we were on and we saw hundreds of people bathing in the water. Houses were extremely basic- many that we passed didn't have electricity. Some were simply four walls thrown together with a mat on the floor. Inside we could
see families of ten to fifteen people, sitting together on the floor or at makeshift tables, eating. It was so startling and sad to see this kind of poverty only minutes after crossing over from Vietnam.
A few hours and one tire change later, we arrived in Phnom Penh. We decided to take a Tuk Tuk to our hotel, which is basically a motorcycle with a cart attached to the back. My first impression of the city went against everything the American had told us. Beautiful buildings and nice restaurants lined the streets. Families sat together happily eating dinner on colourful blankets in the park. The Tuk Tuk drove quickly through the city, with motorbikes and cars whizzing around us. It was so exciting.
Our hotel was stunning. Forty dollars Canadian a night got us a four poster bed, heavy antique furniture, a clawfoot bathtub and a terrace facing the Palace. We dropped off our bags and headed out to dinner.
I have no idea why Cambodians would want to eat bugs when they have such amazing food. I've never experienced food like that in my life. Every bite left me feeling drugged. The Amok fish was
the most tender piece of seafood I've ever put in my mouth. We tried different curries, spicy pumpkin soups... I never wanted to stop eating. I will dream about this food when I go home to Canada.
Our second day in Phnom Penh we took a Tuk Tuk to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.
Between 1975 to 1979 an estimated 2.2 million people died at the hands of the Communist Khmer Rouge regime. Anyone who was educated or suspected of being capable of rebelling was executed. Many died of disease and starvation in work camps. In 1979, Communist Vietnam invaded Cambodia and toppled the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge executed and buried close to 9,000 people in the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. In order to save ammunition, the executions were often carried out using hammers, axe handles, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Some victims were required to dig their own graves- their weakness often meant that they were unable to dig very deep. The soldiers who carried out the executions were mostly young men or women from peasant families.
The buddhist memorial at the site was really disturbing. It has glass sides and is
filled with more than 5,000 human skulls. Some of the lower levels are opened during the day so that the skulls are visible- many have been shattered or smashed in. The ground is filled with hundreds of pockets where bodies were buried in mass graves. It was a very humbling, sad place.
I can't believe how little attention was paid to this genocide internationally. If you're interested in learning more- I read a really good book called
"First they Killed my Father" by Loung Ung- there's also a 1984 movie called
"The Killing Fields" that you could check out.
We spent only a few days in Phnom Penh, but loved every minute of it. We would have spent more time but we were anxious to get to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.
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