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1st and 2nd December
Phnom Penh -
We leave Sihanoukville at 2pm, arrive at the bus station to get the bus to take us to Phnom Penh, this was about a 4 hour journey, we arrived at our destination about 6.30pm, the bus is surrounded by tuk tuk drivers all wanting to take us to the best guest house in town, which at this point RAT had no idea where this would be!!! Ok deep breath, lets just get our bags first and then find out about accommodation after, as we stepped off the bus we were met by a nice tuk tuk man called Dan, we were told by some friends that the best place to stay was at Lakeside, but Dan said that it was ganster land and that it was swarming with Mosquitoes, R was not to keen on staying here as she had been eaten alive in Sihanoukville and had only just got back to normal, (what can I say, must be tasty), plan B was to go to Riverside, Dan took us to a lovely hotel (oh dear, here we go again, flashpacking) called the Royal Highness Hotel, it was very nice and after some negotiation we managed to get the price down to 10$ a night without breakfast. Bonus!! Once we had checked in, Dan asked us if we wanted to visit the Killing fields and the S-21 Prison the following day, after some more negotiating we managed to agree a price of 7$ each for the whole day, so there it was; with the next day arranged we agreed to meet Dan at 10.30am to go to the killing fields.
That night we went to a little restaurant along the riverside called The Happy Pizza place it was really nice, a meal and a cold beer later and we were ready to call it a night to prepare us for the emotional day ahead of us.
Up at 10am just about ready in time to meet Dan, although no time for breakfast. Off we go, The Killing fields were 15-20km away from our hotel so a bumpy and smoggy ride awaits us!! After some time in the tuk tuk R has a feeling she has forgotten something, it is only then that she realised that she has left her sunglasses on the coach - b*****!!!! So with the sun beaming, contact lenses in and no shield from the grit we bore the 40 minute tutk tuk ride to the Killing fields. Upon arrival who should we meet but the Aussies from Sihanoukville, Courtney, Melissa, Peter, Steve, Anna and Jason, they left 2 days before us and were staying near Lakeside, they confirmed the gangster story, so RAT looked at each other and sigh a relief that they were not staying there!! Not before however; hearing a story of how when they did a pit stop on the way to Phnom Penh they had 2 Tarantulas thrown at them............OMG pause for thought, RAT squirmed at the thought of this and decided that if it had happened to them they would have - 1) Fainted or 2) Punched the girl that threw them!!!! After a bit of a catch up we went our separate ways.
The Killing fields are one of the most harrowing places to visit, so very, very sad, there was a glass case full of skulls all in varying sizes, from women to children, clothes, bones and signs up detailing exactly the acts that were carried out in the Genicide, it was very sombre and very moving, RAT read all the signs and paid their respects to the Men, Women and Children who lost their lives here.
After 40 minutes or so RAT went back to the Tuk Tuk where Dan was waiting for us - for the Cambodian Tuk tuk drivers to come to this place day in and day out making tourists aware of the horrendous acts that happen here, shows such resilience, RAT were very humbled!!!!
The next place to visit was the S21 Prison and torture camp of the Khymer Regime. RAT walked around and took in the horrendous scenes that faced them, there were pictures on the walls of some of the prisoners in their rooms where they were shackled and tortured to within an an inch of their lives, then they would be dunked into a vat of excrement to bring them round so the torture could start again, pictures of all the victims were displayed Men, Women and also very sadly children! Once again RAT paid their respects, feeling very sad we returned to Dan who took us back. On the way back RAT decided that they would go and have a massage by the blind masseuses to lift their spirits slightly, so off we go, this was the best massage we have ever had - what a mixed up day of emotions!!
As we return to the hotel we decided to go and get something to eat and to reflect on the day, we were sat eating our meals and their were lots of children trying to sell their wares anything from books to chewing gum just to make a tiny bit of money, when R couldn't manage anymore of her Lasagne a little girl came up and pointed at it, the next thing you know she has scooped it up in her hands and starts eating it; the poverty here now is so apparent!!
After our emotional day we went back to the hotel and tried to sleep - reflecting on how lucky we really are!!
The next day was spent up loading our photos and updating our blog - the bus was coming to pick us up at midnight, so all RAT could do was wait!!!!!
The Bus arrives at 12.15pm, we are starting to get used to things never being on time, this will take us onto the next stop in our journey - Siem Reap
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