Phnom Penh and the Killing Fields of Cambodia

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Hello there, its me again, I know we usually alternate, but my last one was mainly putting photos up so Joey has agreed to let me double up. The evening after the Cu Chi tunnels we went out for dinner with Liam and Michelle, and ended up at a Bia Hoi. Not long after we were arrived, so did Jonny. We spent the evening chatting, and drinking. With beer at 30p a bottle, and no watch, we had no idea how late it had gotten.....Until the sun came up! Jo and I went to bed "early" at 5am. The next day we woke rather late. 2.30pm! We spent the day just wandering round HCMC changed some Dong into Riel and booked ourselves a bus to Cambodia. (We have had bang for the Baht, clout for the Kip, ding for the Dong.....we cant think of a good one for Riel). At 9.30pm (after university), we met Jonny again and went out to dinner with him and Liam and Michelle. We all felt really bad for him, as the previous night caught up with us really quite early, so we all slumped off to bed at about 11pm.

On Thursday morning, we were up and away out of HCMC and across the country side heading for the border. It was an easy enough journey. Especially because it was the first time we caught a tour bus over the border. All of out Visa applications were done for us. Every other time, we have crossed ourselves and had to do some paper work. I was still feeling a little under the weather, and because swine flu had just hit HCMC, I had a decision to make: lie to the border official, and say I had had none of the symptoms ( I had all of them) or go into quarantine. I lied. Although, free food and accommodation was quite appealing! We arrived in Phnom Penh at 4pm and went to the hostel recommended by the Lonely Planet. If you are thinking of traveling, and taking a lonely planet guide with you. I will just give you a word of warning. They lie. The prices are all out of date and the hostel that was recommended was nice and clean. But unremarkable and the arse-end of nowhere. There was nothing around it. No bars, no restaurants, nothing. Why it was there pick I will never know. We ended up walking for ages to find food, and then getting a tuk tuk back, because we couldn't face the walk again.

On Friday we had a bit of a lie in and then headed to the S-21 prison. A place that used to be a school, but Pol Pot took over and changed into a prison in 1975. People who went there, were intellects, or people who had contacts outside of Cambodia. It was brutal. We decided we should get a guide to show us round, because, I think its fair to say my knowledge of Cambodian history is limited, while Joeys is non-existent. All the blocks had 3 floors and there were 4 blocks. Block A had 2 floors of holding rooms, where they kept 50 people at a time, and the bottom floor was the interrogation rooms, with just a single bed. People would be held here for days at a time, and be tortured for information for 2 hours a day. The list of rules was horrible this is them:

1. You must answer accordingly to my question. Don’t turn them away.
2. Don’t try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that, you are strictly prohibited to contest me.
3. Don’t be a fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution.
4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect.
5. Don’t tell me either about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.
6. While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all.
7. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting.
8. Don’t make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your jaw of traitor.
9. If you don’t follow all the above rules, you shall get many many lashes of electric wire.
10. If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge.

Block B and D had the same upper floors as block A. But the lower floor of B showed pictures of both the Khmer Rouge members (many of whom were really young, and joined the revolution for food. These children often had to discipline their own friends and family.) and victims. All the victims faces were full of fear, and they were quite tough to look at, some mothers holding babies, and some kids, who just looked petrified. But if they cried, they got lashed. Our guide picked a flower and put it on one of the victims photos. Block C was all split up into single holding cells where people would be kept for days on end, with no food, no water and no light. They were tiny, and as in much of the prison, you could see dried blood still on the floor, it was a lot to take in. Block D showed some of the torture methods used by the Khmer rouge, and they are barbaric. (The upstairs had peoples life stories, and one was of an ex soldier who said in it, that he had done some horrible things and would be happy to stand trial if they asked him to, because he deserved to be punished.) Our tour lady started to cry and apologised, explaining that her father and brother, had been killed by the Khmer Rouge. We didnt know what to do with ourselves. Out of more than 20,000 people who went into S-21 and onto the Killing Fields, only 7 survived. (Sorry if this a bit like a history lesson, its just what we were told, and have seen, is shocking, and has really stuck in my mind.)

In the evening we walked to the riverfront for dinner. We paid $4 for our food. But it was a little girls birthday and she insisted on us having some of her buffet. So we got 2 chicken legs and 4 spring rolls before our dinner, and afterwards she gave us some birthday cake. Bonus. We met Liam and Michelle, who had had a run in with a tuk tuk driver and were leaving to Seam Reap in the morning. We had a few beers with them and said goodbye. We traveled all of Vietnam and into Cambodia with them, so it was sad to part ways. Joey not for the first time that day, looked like she might cry. Throughout the day we had been counting how many times we were asked if we wanted a tuk tuk. 58th time lucky. We got one home and went to bed.

On Saturday we went to the Killing Fields. Another shocking experience. You walk in and in front of you is a stupa which contains 8000 human skulls. you can see what blows have been inflicted and how the people have died. Its quite incredible. We spent about an hour walking around the mass graves( there are 120) and you are walking over bones and clothes that have been embedded into the soil. There isnt just one or two bits here and there though, they're everywhere. I found it quite a strange thing. I have said to some people, its the only physical evidence of a holocaust that I have seen. You can go to Nazi concentration camps, but all the bones are gone and all that's left are the walls. Here, you see the bones, and the bodies, and the blood. It's bizarre though, because there is a school next to the Killing Fields, so as you are walking round, reflecting, you can hear kids playing and laughing. The worst part for me though was the tree, that the Khmer Rouge used to kill babies against. They had 2 methods. Both as awful as each other. The first was to throw them up in the air, and then shoot them as if they were clay pigeons. The second, was to hold them by their ankles and smash them into the tree.

When we left we went back to the hostel and decided to go to Sihanoukville for a few days. Which is where we are now. Its nice enough, although on the beach you are constantly hassled by kids. They make you friendship bracelets, give them to you, wont take money because its bad luck. Then make you buy a more expensive one. Or play nougts and crosses, and if you lose you buy off them. Joey being the good natured soul she is spent $5. Me being the tight fisted northerner I am spent $1, grudgingly.

That is about it. Joey will be blogging about one of the 7 wonders of the world next. Angkor Wat. Sorry if the blogs been depressing. We just have been doing the more tough stuff. I promise we will try and be more fun in the next few days so you can have a laugh at us.

BYEEE!!!

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Comments

[Tone]

Killing fields
Ghastly, imagine the stuff that wasn't documented :0(