Advertisement
Published: January 12th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Living at the Killing Fields
These kids live in a hut behind a fence next to the "Killing Fields" where mass graves have been found. I gave one of them them what I thought was 500 Riel or $0.20 cents but was in fact 500 baht which is about $20 - my mistake but good for them !!! 9th and 10th January
Sad Past - Wild Present and maybe an exciting future for Cambodia
The flight to Phnom Pengh from Siem Reap took about 40 minutes and we met our new guide Rith at the airport. It was a lot hotter in Phnom Pengh and we started our tour there at the Royal Palace - the Palace was very impressive and had been restored since the Pol Pot genocide years but still looked like it needed a coat of paint. It is definitely worth a visit if you come to this area.
We then settled into our hotel and spent the afternoon dining at a Riverfront restaurant called the Titanic and exploring the city which included checking out the Central Market with it's impressive golden domed architecture. I have never seen so many watches and they had a good quality selection of T shirts.
I was craving for a pizza and had seen reports the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) had a wood fired oven so I left the others at the market and went for a walk back to the Riverfront and the FCC. The building is three levels with great views of the river
Our guide Rith
Very nice guy and suffered personally from the genocide here and I sat on the corner of level two watching the busy street below. Some of my other tour friends came back to the FCC later and I also met LLoyd from NZ who had been travelling alone around India and other parts of Asia. He told me he had been to a shooting range near the killing fields where they give you a menu which includes a large range of military weapons and includes throwing a hand grenade into a pond - they would also take you into the hills to try a rocket launcher for US$200 - A Tuk Tuk driver also offered him target practice at cats and dogs which I thought was a bit sad - It is a bit like the wild wild west in Phnom Pengh, anything is available if you have the money.
We eventually did a pub crawl which included the infamous "Heart of Darkness" nightclub where there have been shootings in the past. I felt safe there and the security was incredible with everyone frisked for weapons as they entered. We also went to Sharkeys which is a Thai style Beer Bar and I had to fend of the locals
Royal Palace
Nearly matches Bangkok's Royal Palace - I didn't realise it was that type of bar as you cannot see inside from the street. The streets in Phnom Pengh are very dark and it is not safe to walk alone at night so we caught a Tuk Tuk to each destination for one or two dollars.
The next day we had an early start to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which is also known as S 21 - a former high school where victims were tortured and killed or prepared for mass murder at the killing fields around the country. It is amazing that this was ever allowed to happen and even more amazing the little knowledge of these events that some of the foreign tourist have. Our guide gave an in depth explanation about the Pol Pot era which I am well aware of after watching a few documentaries - I felt bad as I knew our guide Rith had lost family members during the genocide but I left the others and ventured through the museum as I wanted to have a close look at all the exhibits. I apologised to Rith later as I did not want to show any disrespect but
he was happy that I wanted to spend enough time to go through the museum properly within the time restraints of the tour - I guess another reason to travel independently.
Many of the victims were very young and there are hundreds of photos of persons tortured and killed in the genocide. The tools of the torture are also on display and the grim evidence of blood stained floors and walls.
The mass graves and a memorial tower filled with skulls and bones are located in the "Killing Fields" on the outskirts of Phnom Pengh. While wandering around the fence I met the usual group of children asking for money and after a nice chat where they told me their names and showed me the hut where they live in I thought that I would give them a small tip of 500 riels which is 20 cents (I couldn't find the 1000 notes) - I actually gave them 500 Thai baht by mistake which is worth around A$20 - that really got them excited and they disappeared quickly before I realised what had happened. $20 is nearly a months wages in Cambodia for a government official. Just shows
Royal Palace
Coronation exhibit how selfish we can become when we worry about losing $20 which is really small change in today's world but a huge amount for these kids, I am sure they could use it (I only thought about it for a second).
On the way back to the Hotel we stopped at the Russian Market which is undercover in a huge shed type building and had some silk products that proved popular with some of the tour group.
After lunch we had free time so I caught a motorcycle taxi to the new casino as I new this would also give me a tour along the whole length of the Riverside section of Phnom Pengh. The casino is fairly small and currently being extended, mainly used by rich Chinese tourist and has a very nice sky shaped ceiling - worth a look. I had not played pockie machines for about ten years after going cold turkey but thought no one would know if I had a quick gamble while overseas. I put in $20, had about five spins and doubled my money which repaid the $20 I had given the kids earlier in the day (not that I was
worried about that). "I will not play the machines again" - you can quote me on that one.
We had a dinner with all the tour group to finish our six days in Cambodia at an excellent Khymer type restaurant and there were lots of hugs and kisses as we all said goodbye. A nice way to end the tour was seeing Rith on his motorcycle with his wife and two kids, a beautiful family.
There is a lot of development going on in Cambodia with many new hotels being built and new infrastructure to support the development. If it can remain peaceful in this country then there should be an eventual turnaround in the living conditions for the locals. Apparently there is still a lot of corruption in Cambodia but hopefully the children will not always need to beg in the streets.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0467s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
anthea
non-member comment
Cambodia
Hi Leon, Hows things all well here. Cambodia sounds interesting but very sad not sure I could visit the genocide museum. Some fantastic photos and how did you ever climb up and down those stairs. Well nearly time for you to come back to boring Adelaide, dad has been transferred to a Rehabilitation Hospital at Hove Kerry says he is doing well we have been away for a week but have a nice feed of fresh crab for him. look forward to reading your next installment. Take care love Anthea.