Vinny & Dogs Epic Trek Part 6: Cambodia, the Coconut meal and the Killing Fields

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I survived Thailand, Pattaya and the infamous Walking Street. Now I find myself in lovely Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I arrived a few days ago and have been seeing some of the local sights around the capital, which is filled with motorbikes, tuk tuks and a third world aura which should be experienced once in life. I say this to really allow people, mainly Westerners, to gain an understanding and an appreciation for what we have and what our countries stand for. It is really a sight to see.

Upon arriving at the Phnom Penh international airport, I received my visa and was free to roam about the country for approximately 1 month. I opted to go to the hostel in a taxi, as I was not ready for another tuk tuk ride just yet. After fighting our way through evening traffic filled with hundreds of motorbikes, with no real adherence to traffic rules and regulations, tuk tuks, with similar road antics and the numerous vehicles, which almost seem as if they don't belong in the streets, we made it to the hostel. Along the streets are the typical shops you see in third world nations, bike repair shops, food stalls, haircut stools on the side of the street (If I had not got a haircut in Thailand, I would have done it here on the side of the road with nothing but a mirror and a chair!) The room is nothing special as with most rooms I have been staying in (minus Pattaya!). Clean bathroom/shower, clean sheets and a locking door is my only real standard anymore! (Sad huh?) So I checked into the room and talked to a chick who worked at the hotel. I asked her to dinner. She obliged and away we went.

We go to this restaurant and she ordered something for herself while I decided on the seafood fried rice. When they brought out her dinner it was a coconut with the top cut off. She opened it and quickly put the lid back on as if to keep whatever it was inside! She asked if I would have some of it, without opening it for me to see, and I shrugged my shoulders without committing to anything just yet. I picked up my knife, just in case, and waited for her to open it again. She opened it and I saw something black in it.....I sort of looked at her wondering what she ordered and she started to pull it out with her chopsticks. I got my knife up.....and she pulled out what seemed to be a wing, only black as night. As she kept pulling I looked at her wondering if I should stab it or not, but the wing came off and it ended up being a small chicken. She fished out a bit of the juice and slurped it down and offered a spoonful for me. I took it wondering how it would taste. Honestly, it was great! After we had some of the juice, she finished pulling the chicken from its coconut shell. It was in fact black as night and had everything but the beak on it. The eyes were still in the head (I kept making comments it was looking at me. With her broken Engrish and my lack of Cambodian I laughed and she stared at me unknowingly). I guess it was one of the countless funny moments I would have to share with myself. Regardless I tried the black Chicken. (When in Rome, right?) and amazingly it tasted like chicken! My seafood fried rice finally made it to the table and we ate it up as well. At this point Cambodia seemed on the up and up. The following day would have me thinking otherwise....

(**The following paragraphs are pretty graphic**) The next day I went to the Killing Fields and the infamous Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Both were extremely morbid and surreal. I was in shock how people could do some of the were unearthed, while some stood by without being excavated. The middle of the area held a tall Pagoda erected to house a number of the skulls and as a sign of Peace. (I was shocked at how some locations in the world with similar stories try to hide the fact, while Cambodia has made it a tourist site, so people can see what really occurred here. I was torn between feeling it was a good thing or a bad.) It was eerie seeing the number of skulls on each shelf and knowing I could only see through a number of shelves, as they rose up to a level of 35 feet. Also on the grounds, there was a tree, which was used for soldiers taking children by their feet swinging them around and slamming them into the trunk. They would continue this as long as it took to kill them and toss their lifeless bodies into the heaps of rotting death strewn about.

After attempting to take in what had occurred there, I made my way to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. This was originally a school which became the torture center for people under Pol Pot's and his Khmer Rouge rule. Most of the people were tortured here and then sent to the Killing Fields to be executed at all hours of the day. Some of the rooms had photos of the what it looked like when it was liberated and the beds remained in the middle of the rooms. Gruesome is one of the words which comes to mind. Bodies were chained to beds, tortured and left for dead. Bodies were in every state of decomposition in almost every room. It was horrible. You all know I am not one to shy away from horrible and disgusting things, but this was as brutal as I have seen in a while. I continued on, however knowing I would never be the same after seeing something as horrific as what occurred in both places.

The next day I took a bus to Siem Reap and the entrance to Angkor Wat which is where I am currently writing from. I plan to head to the smaller temples around Angkor Wat tomorrow and then go to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom the following day. It should prove to be an amazing adventure and am avidly looking forward to it. I will update how Angkor Wat is and the following days later!

I have posted some photos from my trip so far on my Facebook page. Enjoy!

Cheers!!!

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Comments

[lanegra]

Nice post... I am currently in Phnom Penh and planning to head over to the S21 Museum.