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Phnom Penh: Education on a Nation
So after cruisy lazy Sihanoukville, we jumped in yet another bus, and headed to Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. We'd stopped there earlier during one of our bus routes, but this time we weren't swamped with tuktuk drivers and sales people on arrival, but were dropped off right outside "Fancy Guesthouse" - it did the job, but I don't know if I'd call it fancy...
The afternoon was a bit of a sobering experience (yes, sober! bit of a change on this trip!). We headed for S-21, which had been a high school prior to 1975 when it was converted to a concentration camp under the Khmer Rouge. They took us through classrooms which were converted to torture chambers, complete with bare metal bedframes with shackles still attached, and photos on the walls of the last occupants, still with their insides hanging out after being sliced open and left for dead. Playground equipment was made into gallows and torture devices, and classrooms were divided into brick cells which were barely big enough for a person to lie down in.
Other classrooms were filled with mugshots of the soldiers, who barely looked old enough to be out of primary school, and the prisoners, who were tortured and murdered simply for being educated or for resisting the Pol Pot regime. Even our guide had lost family during the regime, and throughout the whole tour, he seemed to be constantly on his guard, looking around to make sure nobody was listening to what he was saying (including that the king at the time remains in power to this day).
From S-21, we headed to the killing fields, which was where the S-21 occupants were taken if they hadn't already been killed onsite. There were actually teeth, bones, and clothing prodtruding through the dirt on the paths, and though they try to cover it up occasionally, every year when it rains, more and more remains are exposed. Areas are are marked with signs saying things like "Mass grave containing 140 women and children without heads", and a massive shrine had been built containing the skulls and clothing of hundreds of victims. At the end of the tour, when our guide asked if there were any questions, all he really got was a stunned silence. What can you ask that hasn't already been answered by the horrific displays? And what's even harder to believe is that this was all still going on only 30 years ago, and the main offenders have still not been brought to justice. Maybe if there were oil in Cambodia other countries might have gotten involved... It's hard to even describe the stuff we saw, and they were only displays - will post photos if I can ever find a computer that will let me...
Afterwards, some chill out time was in order. Dinner at the same place we'd had lunch on our stopover in Phnom Penh - gotta love Intrepid, they have their favourite places they always take groups to! Last time we were there, we'd seen "Happy Pizza" on the menu, and (ie: pizza with weed on it), and a few people were keen to try, but when they asked the waitress, they were told it wasn't "that kind" of happy pizza - it was just served with a smile. This explanation made for a few unhappy pizza eaters...
The restaurant also raises money for the orphanage which is attached to the back, and during our meal we were treated to local dance performances from some of the kids who lived there, complete with live music and full costumes. Very cute, very entertaining - who would have thought you could get cultured while eating (un)happy pizza?
During dinner, Tom mentioned that there was a Walkabout (Aussie-themed pub which are all the rage in England apparently) somewhere in Phnom Penh, so we made it our mission to find it to see how it measured up. After a good half hour wandering the filthy, smelly, rubbish-filled streets of Phnom Penh with Tom and Ruffin, getting lost, and dodging muddy gutters and rats, we finally found a pretty boring pub filled with seedy old guys and Cambodian women looking to pick them up. Tom and Ruffin got a few stares, and if I hadn't been with them, they probably could have got more than that...
From there, it was on to Heart of Darkness, a nightclub which is frequented by Phnom Penh's richest brats, and their bodyguards. After being felt-up and -down at the door, we got inside to find a dark, packed club, which was actually playing some Western music. After sitting at the bar for a while, we also saw the owner of Cool Banana in Sihanoukville (the one from Wanneroo) walk in. Small world...
The next day started with a stinking hot walking tour of Phnom Penh, which only about five of us woke up for. We wandered through the embassy district, saw the train station which was built, but doesn't actually operate, and the central markets, before heading off for breakfast and shopping at the Russion Markets. After living in long shorts for the past two weeks or so, I was sick of constantly feeling decently covered, but frumpy and stinking hot, and was on a mission to find a pair that was a bit shorter. In the end, I just went straight up to the women at the stalls, said "shorts, BIG!", and made a fatarse motion, then watched them laugh as they held up their biggest pair, only to find it was way too small. Ergh... at least DVDs always fit! I got plenty of those, and a real, genuine, top of the line Louis Vuitton bag to put all my purchases in, for the bargain price of $20! It's amazing, this exchange rate in S.E Asia... So far I've managed to keep it empty, and it's squashed flat and strapped to the outside of my backpack. So proud of myself, but give it time, I'm sure I'll fill it!
That night, we headed to Friends Restaurant, another not-for-profit place run to train streetkids and orphans in hospitality - Intrepid's very into "responsible travel". It claims to be a tapas place, and the menu suggested 2 - 3 items per person - rubbish! The food was awesome, but so filling! We all ended up having to be rolled back through the sewerage and rubbish filled streets, feeling like over-inflated beach balls with fat pains...
Next morning, yet another early one, but our final bus ride! Woohoo! Over the border to Ho Chi Minh City, where the Cambodia part of our tour ends. Although I enjoyed Cambodia, saw some amazing things, and I'm glad I went, I don't know if I'd rush back...
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