Phnom Penh

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After a week in Siem Reap we bussed it back down to Phnom Penh. Here we had a look round the National Museum and the Grand Palace ( Which is much like the Thais' one with a few more Buddahs and wobbly floor tiles made of silver ). We also went to the Tuol Sleng Museum, former school and site of one of the Khmer Rouge's interrogation camps in which thousands of Cambodians and others were, quite recently, tortured ( by the on average 14 year old wardens ) before being taken and bludgeoned to death at the nearby Killing Fields. It is quite amazing how good natured the people of this country are given their past and therefore hard to imagine their history even with the gruesome and explicit exhibits shown here. It is estimated that under the Khmer Rouge between 1 and 3 million people were killed throughout Cambodia ( ...and counting given all the land mines ).

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, Sara continues her quest for a drinkable coffee. Most places advertise a Cafe Latte/Au Lait but so far this has produced many results including a coffee with hot chocolate in it ( apparently hot chocolate contains powdered milk and was therefore providing the 'au lait' part ), a strange frozen creation and a marvel in a glass in which the coffee was somehow persuaded to float on top of the milk and was apparently the sweetest ( as in sugar ) thing that Sara had ever gobbed back out. Undeterred she continues her quest 'creating a scene' wherever she goes. That's when she's not busy entertaining the street children with her new found 'magic' skills. Oh yeah, and Sara got waved at by the King when he drove past and now she thinks she's sooooo special.

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