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Published: December 31st 2015
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Tuesday 1st December 2015 We caught the bus from outside of our guesthouse which would take us across the border to Phenom Penh (PP), the capital of Cambodia and would mark our 5th country of our travels. The journey was fine and took 3 hours from Ho Chi Minh City to the border crossing. Reaching the border crossing we were given no instructions on what to do. We had given our bus conductor fella our passports and $30 each for the visa. When the bus stopped and all the Cambodian's got off, there were approx 10 western people looking at each other for guidance, us included. We all left the bus without our passports and headed for the building. Inside there weren't any clear signs which indicate foreign visitors or locals. We eventually managed to find the one for foreigners which didn't have a huge queue and was beckoned forward by the immigration guy, but none of us had passports and we couldn't locate the bus conductor. It was upon moving forward to the desk that we realised that the immigration guy had all of our passports and was already in the process of stamping us out of Vietnam. We
were given our passports back and beckoned through. Nice clear instructions by the bus conductor would've been helpful! Outside we found our bus and hopped back on. We chatted to a couple from Edinburgh and a guy from Southampton who looked exactly like the southern version of James Warren (for those of you who know Warren) about the shambles of the crossing and the obligatory who are you, where you from, where you going etc. We then drove 100 metres to the Cambodian crossing where we moved through without any hiccups and back on the bus. We knew instantly that Cambodia was a lot poorer than Vietnam on account of the dirt track road that greeted us. The next 3 hours to PP was a bumpy one.
We arrived in PP at about 3pm and jumped into a tuk tuk to our hotel. The tuk tuk ride was fun and for those not familiar with tuk tuks, they are basically a motorbike with a cabin like thing attached to the back which you sit in. The journey was a dusty one and we felt sorry for our driver who clearly had lung problems due to the dust and was
constantly coughing. We checked into our Hotel, Nawin Guesthouse which was located just behind the national museum. Unfortunately for us, we were based on the 6th floor of a building with no lift. It was a hard slog climbing up and down during our stay. The room was ok though and had air con and was clean, so no complaints.
After checking in, we headed out onto the street to find food. We were immediately accosted by tuk tuk drivers trying to earn a fare. We walked down the street and went to a restaurant called 'Friends Restaurant' which is run by an NGO (Non government organisation), so basically a charity which employs street children to give them skills and a wage. They allow them to work in the kitchens and as waiters enabling them to use these skills to find work once they have grown up. A good idea in my book. It was quite expensive though and the fact that in Cambodia, their currency is so weak they actually use the US Dollar, this meant that nothing cost less that $1 making a bottle of water actually quite expensive in comparison to Vietnam.
We headed back
to our hotel to sleep having had a good meal of Moroccan tagine (traditional Cambodian food?!) and arranged with our hotel for $20 to hire the services of one of their own tuk tuk drivers to take us to the killing fields and S21 the following morning.
Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Our tuk tuk driver picked us up early in the morning for the drive to Choeung Ek, the most well known of over 300 killing fields throughout Cambodia marking a dark chapter in the countries history. The now preserved location is approx 15km southwest of Phnom Penh taking about 30mins in the tuk tuk. The journey was really interesting (albeit bumpy on the uneven road surfaces and huge gaping holes where road should be) taking you out of the tourist parts of the city and onto the main roads and small interconnecting roads letting you see everyday life in Cambodia in action. Arriving at the gates of the now named Choeung Ek Genocidal Center we left our tuk tuk driver waiting at a cafe opposite and headed inside. The $6 entrance fee also includes an audio guide to lead you around the site of the former killing
fields. The audio guide provided by the centre has to be highly commended, providing a very historically informative but also thought provoking narrative, with a range of survivor stories and prison guard confessions helping to add a personal dimension to the experience. Over 1 million people were led to these fields to be killed and whilst many of the skeletons were removed from the mass graves in recent years, when it rains more clothing and bone continue to move to the surface. We saw this at first hand, seeing the edges of cloth creeping through the soil. Given the atrocities that took place there, the area has been curated to give a real feeling of peace & stillness allowing you time to absorb and reflect on the details of what took place. At the centre of the area, your eyes are drawn towards a tall white stone structure. This is the Memorial Stupa, used to pay respects to the thousands that lost their lives under Pol Pot (the leader of the government at the time). The interior is a real reminder of the atrocities, with glass cabinets reaching to the ceiling containing nearly 9000 skulls excavated from this site alone.
Meeting up with our tuk tuk driver, we headed back into Phnom Penh to Tuol Sleng, commonly referred to as S-21, a former school converted into a prison where between 12,000 and 20,000 people were imprisoned and tortured by the Khmer Rouge before being transported to the killing fields at Choeung Ek. The former grounds of the prison still stand and have been converted into a living museum allowing you to see first hand where the prisoners were held, stand in the cramped makeshift cells, see pictures and hear stories of those who passed through the doors and learn about the lives of the only 12 survivors confirmed to have survived the prison. As with Choeung Ek, the audio guide led us around the grounds giving information about the site, it's occupants, survivor stories and insights into Cambodian culture & history from that period that left us feeling sombre but much more aware of a part of a history that I definately didnt know much about. We took our time moving around the prison and by the time we had finished, the sun was already setting and both the curators of the museum and our tuk tuk driver were
standing at the entrance wanting to get home. Following a long day in Cambodian heat, we took ourselves to a local restaurant, Bright Lotus, for a quick meal of Cambodian Amok, and Lok Lak, before heading to bed. Whilst harrowing, a visit to both sites is well worth the journey and a must see in both our eyes.
Thursday 3rd December 2015 After a sombre day yesterday, today was meant to be a day of visiting the palace and the national musuem which were on the next block to us. We had a lie in and were out of the hotel by 11am and headed for brunch. We realised that we were feeling a bit iffy and whilst eating and reading some reviews of the museum and the palace decided that we wouldnt bother and instead get some more sleep to try and recharge our batteries. We rewoke about 5pm and looked for something to do in the evening. Looking on Trip Advisor we saw that there was a cinema in a shopping mall showing American movies. We looked on the website and saw that they had the new James Bond film on. We jumped into a tuk
tuk and headed to the cinema. On arriving it turned out that James Bond wasn't showing, but the new Hunger Games movie was. We got some popcorn and paid $3 each for a ticket and sat down to watch an 'O.K' film. It was nice to do something 'normal' and we went to bed feeling western again.
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