Phnom Penh, Cambodia

April 2015 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia before crossing the boarder to Vietnam. 

We left Siem Reap at 1 PM on a $7 bus to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The road was pretty rough and slow going. We booked two nights at Velkommen's backpackers and arrived around 9 PM. If the road was a legitimate and proper 2 lane, paved highway connecting the country's two largest cities, it would have taken half the time. We got settled and walked up the river to the night market where we ate some cheap noodles while sitting on a mat on the ground. The riverwalk was nice (except for the rats) and reminded us of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Alex didn't hesitate to jump into the old ladies dance/aerobic group on the boardwalk of the Mekeong River.  

The Phnom Penh Grid

It got a little windy by the market.

People purchases birds to set them free. 

It was Khmer New Year and everyone came to make donations of rice and money.  

Close contact with a monk. Was he a monk?

Alex was given a red bracelet, was blessed and then was asked for money. 

We woke up the next day and hired a tuk tuk for $17 for the day. It was time a horrifying and depressing history lesson. We first went to the genocide museum which was an old school that was converted by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to a prison, interrogation and torture facility called S21. This was some real heavy history to read about and it was frustrating to read that the world was in the dark or in denial during the time of the Khmer Rouge. During this brief period of time, almost 3 out of 8 million Cambodians died by execution and starvation under Pol Pot and his regime. When they came to power they chased everyone out of Phnom Phenh and demanded that they triple the rice harvest. Tens of thousands of those came through S21. Most of these people were educated and seen as a threat to Pol Pot's control. Many of those were teachers, which shocking as Pol Pot was a teacher himself. We saw the rooms where people were tortured, read about the methods and saw the faces of hundreds of Cambodians who were taken here for questioning. Some appeared angry and defiant, some were terrified. However, many looked as though they had no idea of their fate. Only 7 people survived S21. Everyone else was taken quietly in the night in trucks to the Killing Fields.

The Killing Fields is about 15-20 kilometers outside of town and the area with the highest concentration of mass graves. During the Khmer Rouge, there were 20,000 mass graves and over a million executions. The admission was $6 and included a well done recorded audio guide of the grounds. Every track was worth listening to as it explained the history of the mass graves and had first hand accounts from survivors. The place itself was peaceful if not beautiful so it was hard to imagine it being a place of hell on earth. Thousands of people were brought here by truck load to die within a day of arrival.

Mass graves a the Killing Fields. 

There were big beautiful trees on the grounds that seemed docile, however, they served a sinister purpose. The largest tree in the center had speakers mounted to it where they would blast patriotic music to mask the sounds of people's screams. Another tree was next to a mass grave full of women and children. The Khmer Rouge used this tree to bash babies heads in by swinging them by their legs before throwing them in the pits. We were told if you look closely you can still see bits of bone and brain. Horrible. Barbaric. Tragic. I don't have the words to describe this place. But I think we all need to know what happened here and talk about it to prevent this from happening again. Although, it's difficult to understand how this happened for so long without the world knowing.

There was a Swedish journalism group that traveled to Cambodia at this time and was led to believe all was well in Cambodia. The reporters then told the world that there was no truth to the rumors of violence, fear and murder. One of these journalists has since admitted he made a mistake and feels remorse. In addition, I found it hard to believe that for ten years after this atrocity, the Khmer Rouge was still sitting at the UN. Worse still, Pol Pot managed to die of old age in his 70s. I don't get it. 

It was an enlightening, educational, moving, and exhausting experience. We left after 2 hours and our tuk tuk was pissed. Whatever, he was not upfront with us and we weren't going to rush through that experience. 

We headed back and spent some time by the river. We walked around a local market and checked out a temple that had some type of holiday celebratoin. The following day we were leaving for Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam.

We were sad to leave Cambodia. We loved the country and its people. Things are not easy for Cambodians. They have a sad history and are very poor. However, they are such a nice, happy and welcoming people despite it all. We will be back one day. 

Next stop, Saigon.