The Kingdom of Cambodia: the good, the bad and the ugly in Phnom Penh

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Arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, after struggling to get on and off 2 flights with my still very-much-in-pain legs!

Phnom Penh is a crazy hectic place, motorbikes, cars and tuk tuks everywhere, no road markings, everyone just driving wherever and whichever side of the road they feel like - mad!

Is a big sprawling and dusty city, and the signs of the war are obvious everywhere as much of the city is still being built or in poverty. Yet as you pass people sitting on the roadside in the dirt, a few metres along will be the most beautiful ornate pagoda, covered in gold - so surreal.

Phnom Penh (and Cambodia in general) has had a rough past - they suffered under the maoist regime of the Khmer Rouge, who from 1975-79 committed mass genoicide, killing over 2 million Cambodians and forcing the rest into slave labour in an attempt to achieve a Communist state.

Went to the Killing Fields - the place where thousands of people were slaughtered and dumped into mass graves. Was quite a shock, as I was greeted with the sight of over 8000 human skulls (adults and children), some with teeth intact, and then wandered around the fields, which were all big grassy holes (graves) with bones scattered everywhere, with signs showing certain trees which were either used to beat children to death against or to hang microphones to drown out the noise of the screaming people.

After that, me and the other guy who had hired the driver with me, went to the Shooting Range, as he wanted to shoot some ármy guns. Such a sickening place - a dusty old shack, down the road from the Killing Fields and none of us shot guns as hearing gun shots just after being at the Killing Fields was really disturbing.

Also visited the S-21 museum - a former high school which was turned into a prison and torture camp by the Khmer Rouge. Out of the 20,000 people that were sent there, only 7 survived. Again, a really shocking and depressing place, especially because this all happened only 30 years ago so people involved in the killings or affected by the deaths are still living in Phnom Penh.

In contrast, went to the amazingly beautiful elaborate Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda - really really stunning, full of gold buddhas and covered in gold and jewels.

Is a cool place, but a bit too crazy as tourists get hassled EVERYWHERE and it gets a bit too much at times. Don't have any pics (see my next entry) but didn't think pictures of prisons and torture camps would have been too cheery anyway!

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