Pensive in Phnom Penh

---

The video version of this blog c/o Matt is available at

&feature=related

(warning: a bit graphic)

We really enjoyed our few days in Vientianne. We were also definitely excited to be flying to Phnom Penh as opposed to the long bus ride that would have otherwise been necessary. Transitions are always interesting as we are 5 people often trying to squish into the vehicles with seating capacities of 4 and our ever increasing luggage also plays a role. Saying goodbye to Laos, we had an easy short flight and landed in Phnom Penh, immediately noticing the difference in pace between Cambodia and Laos. Phnom Penh is a large city and it would take us a few days to get our bearings. The streets however, had been named and structured by the French during their “control” of Cambodia (mid 1800’s – 1953). As a result, the streets were set up in a grid pattern with numerical streets so getting around proved to be fairly easy after we got used to the system. We had changed our travel dates a number of times leading up to the trip. This meant that the 252 Hotel was booked for the night that we arriving so they put us up next door in the Frangipani Hotel. We then switched for our final two nights and stayed at the 252 hotel (wonderful boutique hotel with a pool and an incredible courtyard where we got to experience a couple of wonderful Asian tropical downpours).

So we spent our first afternoon enjoying the monsoon and playing Yaniv (an addictive card game taught to us by our guide Tuy in Laos) by the pool and sampled the great local food (mixing in some western flavours we had missed). We then headed out for three or four hours down to the waterfront and relived the thrill of crossing the street dodging mopeds, taxis, tuk-tuks, bicycles, dogs etc. We decided to grab a bite at a place on the water and experienced our first taste of street people trying to make a living through begging (Mums with babies in arms and kids pushing you to buy gum, bracelets, postcards etc.). We were confronted full on by those questions of whether you do or do not support these people, as we were not sure where you would begin. For the rest of the trip, we intentionally only supported those people who were doing something with their talents (ie. there was an incredible group of land mine victims in Siem Reap who played music and are very clear that this is their choice as opposed to begging). As night descended, our venturing took us along much of the key areas to explore in downtown Phnom Penh (the Royal Palace and museum, etc.). There are some wonderful large open squares and park areas. We were going to head straight back to our hotel but we were drawn to some loud music that was coming from a long ways down one of these big boulevards. As we approached, a decent size group was doing a coordinated dance to some very loud modern music (the kids said it was something techno). In the dark, we watched as one or two young people led a large group (20+) through a series of funky dance “moves” (almost like a line dance). The group had a massive set of speakers set up and a computer on a table running the music. After a minute or so, we started to hear some interference music and we noticed there was another group set up a around 50 meters away further down (this group was smaller and only had 8 or 10 people but the music was equally loud). As we walked towards them, we caught a glimpse over our shoulders of yet another group (very large 50+) getting down only 50 metres from the second group. All of the groups were doing a Michael Jackson group dance type of thing from a really bad music video. It was stinking humid yet they were all givin ‘er, and it seemed a bit surreal. Bottom line, it was a lot of people have some healthy fun in a park (could have been a massive aerobics class for all we knew … but I don’t think so). Unfortunately we were not able to convince the kids to join in just long enough to have a good video for the blog☺. By the end of the night, we felt like we had covered a good part of Phnom Penh in our first 8 hours in the city.

The following day, we booked Mr Ny and his tuk tuk at a bargain price of $25 for the entire day. He set out a tour for us, along with some of our own ideas. Our Cambodian wasn’t great but we found out that Mr Ny (a wonderful man) is actually from Vietnam but lives for 4 months in his Tuk Tuk (basically) and then sends his money home to his family. He was a pleasure to get to know over the course of the full day. The day ended up being a bit of a tough one (but we knew that ahead of time) as this was going to be the day that we explored the terrible events that unfolded in Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 under the siege of the Khmer Rouge. We had watched the Killing Fields before we came so we had a bit of a background into what had happened. For those of you that are interested, the movie is worth watching as what happened in Cambodia rivals any of the mass genocides that humanity has ever witnessed (figures are between 1.5 and 3 million killed which was up to almost 20% of the population). Among the facts that we found hard to comprehend is that the United Nations have only put some of the perpetrators for these crimes on trial in the last 10 years. Pol Pot (the main player) died under house arrest in the 1980’s.

We spent the morning at the Genocide museum (Tuol Sleng) which was where the Khmer Rouge took over 20,000 prisoners to interrogate them (this was reserved for the people that they wanted to get information from). Only 7 people survived their stay in Tuol Sleng). We then went out to the “Killing Fields” which was where the slave labour happened and trucks also brought villagers to be killed. For those that don’t know, the major thrust of the Pol Pot regime was to kill anyone who opposed them (so if you had been a supporter of the previous government, you were hooped) or anyone who was educated (they wanted simple compliance so they saw anyone who was educated as a threat). The Cambodian people by and large were a gentle and orderly society so there was a distinct plan to make sure there was no one who would drum up negative support. Once the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh, they kicked almost everyone out of the city and made them live in villages (this was over 1 million people). It is very hard to fathom how this was done but ….. it happened. The killing fields memorial is a very graphic reminder to the whole world of what happened to so many innocent men, woman and children. It was a sobering and very real lesson in history for all of us. We also were remembering that this came on the heels of the Vietnam War, which severely impacted the neighbouring countries of Cambodia and Laos.

From there, we were all very quiet and reflective so we knew that we needed a bit of a change (not to forget what we had learned, but just to help process it). We spent some time in the afternoon at the Russian Market (a place that was almost reminiscent of the caves we had been in with respect to the claustrophobia that it brought on). We snuck out for a few minutes and grabbed a quick bite at our first (and only) fast food venture on our trip, KFC. The chicken sandwiches weren’t too bad.

The rest of the afternoon, Mr NY took us around Phnom Penh and we saw an new island where they are creating a casino. He explained to us that there was a big tragedy there last November where over 300 were crushed in a large crowd (we didn’t fully understand his explanation but our google searches confirmed what he had said). A large celebration was taking place on the waterfront with over a million people packed onto this very small area. When some panic started in the crowd to happen on a particular foot bridge, over 350 people were crushed, trampled, etc in the mayhem. It makes our Stanley Cup riots seem quite trivial. After our tour of the city, we were ready to just kick back in our pool area and enjoy the evening having our meal lounging by the pool. We were left to count our infinite blessings as we reflected on a day that exposed us to some of the worst that humanity has to offer.

The following day, we decided to walk to all of our destinations (the Royal Palace and Royal Museum). Our timing wasn’t great however and we arrived at the Palace at lunch (closed) so we took in the museum and caught a glimpse of the incredible history of the Khmer people in the Northern Part of Cambodia (Siem Reap area). The Khmer people have been in this area since the 2nd century (NOTE: the Khmer Rouge simply borrowed this name and wore red – they in NO WAY represent the history of this long standing civilization). We are not huge museum people but it was a good introduction to some of the history that we would be seeing when we visited the Angkor Wat area in a few days. With tired legs, we decided to grab a Tuk Tuk to another market and check out the food stalls. We have been much more adventurous this time about eating from local stalls. We grabbed lunch from the market taking our cues from what looked the freshest and most cooked. Satiated from the great local market food, we made our way back home and got caught in yet another rain storm (they are kind of fun because it is all very warm but they are also easy to get tired of (which we were)).

We rested up in the late afternoon and then walked to a restaurant that had been recommended to Marla (Sugar Palm). We had an excellent meal and it was a fitting end to our time in this great city. People had told us not to expect much here but we really enjoyed our time in Phnom Penh. We learned a lot, had some deep life lessons, and now are ready for our 6 hour bus ride down to Siem Reap (we booked tickets for the 7:30am bus with Mekong Express at the suggestion of our hotel). Angkor Wat, here we come!!!!

---

Photos

Royal Palace
A magnificent structure and complex, the Silver Pagoda lies within (we didn't make it in due to inclement weather).

Monsoon Rains
It comes down like anything.

Delectable street food
More adventurous than normal, we feasted from a number of street vendors.

Typical traffic
Keep your head up, close your eyes and just keep walking as you cross the street. Like a river, they weave their way around you.

Tuol Sleng
Also known as S21, this is where the Khmer Rouge interrogated, tortured and then killed over 20,000 prisoners.

Killing fields memorial
They do not want the world to forget what happened here.

Real People, Real Faces
A stark reminder of some of those who lost their lives under the Khmer Rouge.

Friendship Monument
This is a central feature in Phnom Penh and recognizes the positive relationship between these two neighbours (Vietnam and Cambodia).

Hard working
They are often up at 4am so who can excuse a mid afternoon nap.

Mobile 7-Eleven
A full market on wheels.

Mr Ny's house
He transported us around by day and sleeps here at night (hard to fathom).

Gas station
Buying gas by the litre (literally).

Royal Museum
A wonderful place to learn about this great civilization.

Mass graves
A vivid recollection and recounting of the horrific deeds done here.

Mekong River
This huge river seems to keep following us.

Comments

[Steve,Jody,Zach]

Wish we were there...
As usual a wonderful journal of travel and time together. Beautifully writen. Have enjoyed it vicariously... Love to all. J