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Published: April 19th 2013
Memorial Stupa
This was built in 1988 and contains more than 8000 skulls as well as bones.I have not done an entry for just over a fortnight, as up until recently I didn't have many new photos to add and the feedback from quite a few people is that they find the pictures interesting. The weather here is still really very hot and humid and even some of the locals are saying that it is hotter than usual for the time of the year! However the heavy rains are starting, which are typical of the monsoon season, although I think they are rather early this year.
I have just spent the last eleven days with my daughter Lucy and her friend, which has been lovely but they have now made their way back to Bangkok to spend a few more days before returning home. They did some sightseeing by themselves in Phnom Penh, whilst I was working but we did all visit the Killing Fields together, which was not a pleasant experience but necessary to see, if one is to understand Cambodia's history and realise how far the Khmer people have actually come in recent years.
The Killing Fields are situated at Choeung Ek about 15 kilometres south west of Phnom Penh. This site is
a peaceful place today and although massacres were carried out by the Khmer Rouge in other areas of Cambodia, this site has become the memorial for the horrors that unfolded in this country over three decades ago. We had an excellent audio tour and although the whole experience these people suffered was horrific, the place I shall always remember was the tree, which is still standing, against which young children were battered to death, before being thrown into a communal grave with their mothers. In all about 17,000 men, women, children and infants were transported to Choeung Ek for extermination. Following the end of the Pol Pot regime the remains of 8,985 people were exhumed although 43 of the 129 communal graves have been left untouched. This visit evoked similar feelings as when I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau a couple of years ago - how can human beings treat others of their own kind in this inhumane and horrific way?
On a lighter note I have just spent six days out of Phnom Penh on a small island, Koh Rong about two hours boat journey away from the mainland. We reached the mainland coast after a four hour mini
The Killing Tree
A truly heart-wrenching site bus journey, which went through many rice fields, villages and the scenery in places was picturesque with forests and mountain ranges in the distance. We stayed in a wooden bungalow complete with mosquito nets over the beds, which was basic but adequate. If you were lucky enough to have a flush toilet as we were, you still had to remove the top of the cistern and fill it up with water from the hose pipe before it would actually flush! However, on a positive note wifi access was excellent and I was able to Skype my daughter Amy and my friend Maureen and we could hear each other so clearly.
It was a very relaxing few days and lovely to be out of the dust, noise and crowds of Phnom Penh. The beaches were lovely and on calm days the sea was pleasant as well. However we had some really heavy rain and spectacular thunderstorms with thunder and lightening directly overhead and all we could do was sit in the bar and restaurant waiting for it to stop! Not a bad place to be I guess!
This few days break coincided with the Khmer New Year, which is
A mass grave
This is where the remains of mothers and their children were discovered. a big festival in Cambodia. The actual festival lasts for three days but as far as I could see many Cambodians take the whole week off and, where possible, visit family in the provinces so, for example, Phnom Penh is relatively quiet. There are many local Khmers on Koh Rong Island so there were quite a few festivities such as dancing and playing music and games and many Westerners joined in. We finished this break by staying a night on the mainland in Sihanoukville, as we had to get early buses the next day. None of us liked this resort at all, as it was rather touristy, although a little further down the coast, there was a nice beach at Otres, where we spent a relaxing afternoon.
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Chris
non-member comment
Saturday 20th
Hello J It sounds as if you are really beginning to get the flavour of the country and the people, as well as finding some nice places to relax. Your description of the Killing Fields is very poignant, and I think that whole period of Cambodian history is something that we were not very much aware of in the UK. I do remember seeing the film "The Killing Fields" in the 80s, and being very shocked by it. Now that Lucy has gone I guess you are back at work, hope that it's getting a bit more interesting. Love from Chris