Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Once we were satisfied our heads were still attached to our necks after a very bumpy bus journey we disembarked the bus as we had arrived in Phnom Penh!First impressions were the craziness of the place - motorbikes, pedestrians, buses, cars, tuk tuks and bicycles all vying for the same piece of road and no one giving in!We would be sure to encounter this later during our stay in Phnom Penh but for now we settled for a tuk tuk to our guesthouse!
Our room was somewhat drab with a smell of damp and no windows to watch the world go by but we had our own bathroom and cable TV!! The small things that make you feel normal again are strange, so watching Scrubs and a movie was quite a treat.We did manage to peel ourselves away from the TV to make a quick visit to the night market for some food - always high on the day's agenda.
We only had 3 nights in Phnom Penh, as we were keen to get into Vietnam so we could make the most of our remaining weeks.We agreed with the same tuk tuk driver from earlier that day that we would go to the Killing Fields and S-21 Prison the next day.It turned out to be his dad as I'm not sure he was keen to be our personal tuk tuk driver for the day for $10 so he palmed us off on pops!As we meandered somewhat scarily through the traffic (they seem to know they drive on the right but if there is traffic they drive on the left, use the pavement and beep at anything in their way) we headed out of town to the Killing Fields.On the way we really started to notice the difference between Phnom Penh and other big cities we have been to.Poverty seemed to be so much more evident here with children begging, disabled or disfigured people, shacks on the street side and roads much more dirt than tarmac.
As we entered the Killing Fields the sound of traffic and people disappeared.The place was very quiet with people learning about the place and silently paying their respects to those who lost their lives under Pol Pot's reign of terror.Now I for one didn't know the extent of atrocities but walking around the Killing Fields you soon learn about what he did and got away with.Liz and I couldn't quite fathom that this only just finished in the year we were born.There were some very harrowing areas such as the "killing tree", the mass graves and the Stupa filled with skulls and clothes of those who were killed as part of Pol Pot's "4 year plan".
On our way out to meet Pops the Driver we were approached by a few children begging for money, not selling anything like in Siem Reap but quite simply asking for money and water, testament to their desperation I suppose.
We then headed back towards the city to the S-21 Prison, an old elementary and secondary school taken over by the Khymer Rouge to use as a prison to detain those who fought against or didn't conform to the "ideals".Again, this was equally harrowing with explanations on how the old school playground and apparatus was used for torturing inmates.It was here that we started to learn what Pol Pot was trying to achieve, he was trying to create a classless country where the main role was to maximise rice production both for the country but more importantly to trade with other countries.This meant the killing of anyone with any expertise or wealth.When rice production wasn't maximised they reduced the amount the Cambodian people could have leading to starvation.Still can't quite believe that this was only 30 years ago.
We finished up with the sightseeing and headed to the Central Market for a browse.It was here that I made my first purchase since we left home, I splashed out and bought one t shirt!We then stumbled across another alley off the market and saw a lady with two big wicker baskets, one full of something black and glistening., the other filled with rather large tarantulas.We then realised that the first basket was filled with deep fried tarantulas!I managed to take a photo or two before having to walk away feeling slightly queasy! We have seen some very strange sights here in Phnom Penh, certainly not sights that animal or insect lovers would care to observe.The other quite worrying sight was a man on his moped with about 30 chickens on the back all tied on with their legs over the back of the bike.At first I thought they must be dead but then some of them raised their heads and this is when we realised they were all alive!I guess the chicken doesn't need to cross the road when it can be tied by its legs to the back of a bike!Speaking of crossing the road we felt it high time we got back to the guesthouse.Crossing the road is a skill.You need to walk really slowly checking to your sides.You should by no means rush across, as this doesn't give the bikes time to swerve around you.Either that or you follow a bunch of large American ladies as I did!
Once back safely in the room with a packet of crackers and a tub of peanut butter (this was the first time we haven't been bothered about the spicy noodles and rice and craved some bland western food) we watched a movie and then retired to bed.
Sam
- comments