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Published: August 29th 2008
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Phnom Penh to Sihanouk Ville
The bus to Phnom Penh was great, Id happily have stayed on it to avoid the madness that is PP! The tuk tuk and moto drivers just dont leave you alone here, its beginning to get a tad irritating!
Anyway, PP is sprawling, pretty dirty & run down. The traffic is unbelievably horrendous. The proverty is on another level here, you see families with young kids sleeping on the side of the street. Right on the riverfront at a really busy spot I saw one mother washing her little girl over a drain at the side of a road with a hose. I dont know where she got the hose, maybe she just took advantage of its being there? There are women with really small children and amputees begging on the footpath - its pretty awful. Its very hard to be what the guidebooks call a "responsible" traveller and not give money.
On the way down to the city, we passed through some gorgeous countryside and along with the wooden/palm leaf-covered houses, we saw some really big "proper" houses and some pretty fancy 4 wheel drives, so there is money in this country.
Those that have are clearly have alot more than those that dont. Having said that, enterprise is everywhere - there are shops and stalls of all descriptions all along the side of the road selling fruit to phone credit. Everyone is clearly trying to improve their situation, which is some feat, given the recent history of this country.
We went to S21, a former high school, used by the Khmer Rough as a detention and torture centre, and on to the Killing Fields. Holy mother of god. It was all I could do not to burst in tears. 17000 people went into S21 and only 7 came out. They rounded up everyone from healty men & women to the elderly and small children, even mothers with tiny babies - all accused of being imperialist opponents to Angkar "the Organisation" run by the Khmer Rouge. The KR kept impecible records of the inmates and consequently there are mugshots of thousands of the people on display, as well horrific pictures of dead and tortured prisoners - no holds barred, I couldnt take any photos of that, it was just too horrific, and I suppose I felt, inappropriate. We saw the rooms
in which the torture took place, the cells where they were shackled, and the photos of 10 skulls on which forensic examination has been subsequently done in order to gather evidence against the Khmer Rouge regime leaders (those that remain alive are in prison, awaiting trail, but I dont know what the status of that is).
At the Choeung Ek, or The Killing Fields, we saw the sites of the mass graves where they have found the remains of nearly 8000 people - adults and children. They have left alot of the graves undisturbed, so can you imagine how many more people were killed there. Taken in trucks from S21 and then hit over the back of the head, their throats slit, their bodies falling into a shallow pit... As you walk around you can still see material poking up through the ground - their clothing. And under a tree some bones have been gathered. At another site, another collection of bones is on display including a glass full of teeth. They keep turning up, teeth, fragments of jaw and other bones. There is a huge memorial, a stupa, that is filled with the skulls of the victims. It
S21 Children
Jesus H. Christ... took a while before I was able to speak after seeing all of that.
The logic of the Khmer Rouge is incomprehensible - they wanted to turn the entire country into one huge farm, destroying everything including family and love. Im not sure if you'll be able to read it but I took a photo of a poem that describes what life was like in those years - bleak,with no hope and no trust. They estimate 2million people - about 1/4 to 1/3 of the population died under Pol Pot's regime. Afterwards, 70% of the population were women. There isnt a single person in this country who was not directly effected by those years. Today, they estimate 40% of the population is under 15. You dont see many old people about, and those you do see, well, what they must have lived through.
So, with the total destruction of the people and the economy, its amazing to see (trying not to sound like a condescending idiot) the level on industry here - everyone is trying to improve their lot, even the head-wrecking tuk-tuk and moto drivers. The level of distrust that was bread during the KR years, when
you couldnt even trust your closest friends and family, must have been so destructive, I dont know how these people live with one another today, not knowing who was KR and who wasnt.
Anyway, that's a pretty depressing piece of writing there - sorry about that, but it was pretty depressing experience.
So, we decided to escape the madness of PP and headed down to Sihanouk Ville - a beach town on the South China Sea, to soak up the sun and get some respite. Koh Pi Pi it aint, the town itself is a bit of a kip hole, but we have a place right on the beach and we are literally meters from the water. The sea is so warm its like getting into a bath. Its lovely have a breeze to counter the humidity that we experienced in SR and PP. Its pretty typical - beach huts, bars and restarants - some party central with full moon parties, some all rosemantic. Its all beach beds during the day, and tables & chairs with lamps in the sand and flame-juggler people at night. And beggars with missing limbs...
The kids here are relentless with their
bracelet selling and they absolutely hound you until you buy something - they descend on you in mobs. I think their tactics are focus on the newbies and wear them down by sheer numbers - it works! And the women offering massages, pedicures, manicures etc. I got a pedicure today and got gold sparkly nail polish put on (nice) just so everyone would be very clear - Id had my feet done, so leave me alone! One boy has taken to calling Simon "Mr No-Hair" (ha!) - he beat Si at Tic-Tack-Toe so he had to buy a bracelet. One women came begging with a baby, while we were playing cards, and literally launched the child at me! Now, the child was gorgeous, about 20 months, with the funniest little laugh, and he'd completely dissolve into giggles if you laughed back at him. We offered to buy him some milk, but the mother said no, she only wanted cash. If I were a more maternal sort, I think it would have been the end of me. He was climbing up and down our little platform, giggling away at us. Then I saw his little face go all serious, and I
thought "oh, oh". Yes, he pee'ed on my flip flop. Thankfully, my foot wasnt in it at the time...that'll teach me to be nice to babies. I'll stick with playing with the kittens from now on.
We are going to chill here for a few days. Next stop Vietnam - that's going to be one hell of a jaunt from all they way to Hanoi! Hopefully, we are harded up enough now to cope with the kids and the hawkers there...
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michael walsh
non-member comment
Holy Shit
Hi guys, hope you're having a brilliant time (although the killing fields are a good way to wreck your buzz!) Holy shit! What a terrible time in history, a little bit of hell seeped up onto the earth! Wait'll ya get the shits - then you'll know true horror! Hopefully it won't happen. Keep it real and keep 'er lit. Have the time of your life.