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Mon 10 Nov
For today we hired the hotel tuk tuk and headed first towards to the Genocide Museum. This place was a former school turned into a prison detention camp where the Khmer Rouge conducted mass torture and murder of tens of thousands of people. Only 7 people actually survived and were rescued from here when the Vietnamese army took control.
Many people from here were taken to the Killing Fields to be slaughtered.
From the museum we headed to The killing fields which is out of the city area and driving there was like driving through miles of garbage dump . Really slummy part of the city with piles of garbage everywhere.
The actually Killing Fields was very somber and very well organised with audio commentary on a recording device that everyone gets in whatever language you speak. There are numbered signs everywhere so you just press the corresponding number to hear the story .
Was just amazing as there was thousands of people killed and buried here. Over 140 mass graves with up to 450 people in each grave. Only about 2/3s have been exhumed .
They tell you that bones and teeth are always coming to the surface after the rains as well as clothing. Was just horrendous here with so many atrocities occurring. There was one tree there that they used to bash the babies against and then throw them in the grave with their mothers. Just awful!!!
Anyway a real opener there and one experience we will not see again in our lifetime .
From there we stopped at the Russian markets which weren't too bad but incredibly hot. Spent a few dollars there before heading home.
For dinner we headed back to the riverside and decided to go a different way to the night before as we did not want to walk through the stinking markets so we took the next street. Coming home we decided to come back the same way. We only got half way when some a******* on a motorbike snatched my chain from my neck. I was walking in front of Pat and all I heard was her yell out and he grabbed and took off. Happened so quick . Didn't care about the chain but it had the pendant that Pat and the girls have me for my 40th on it. Pretty upset about losing that. We ended up going back to the street to look and see if they had dropped it which they could have but someone would have picked it up quick anyway. Just a stupid thing to happen and we should have been more aware. Well just another crap experience but no one was hurt so that's a good thing .
Tues 11 Nov
Headed out a bit wiser this morning after the previous night and walked to the palace. Couldn't get in as Pat didn't have sleeves so we caught a tuk tuk to Wat Phnom and then onto Central markets. The markets are pretty modern - I think they burnt down a couple of years ago and rebuilt - well laid out and plenty of room to walk around. Bought a few things before heading home
Was a bit more cautious going to dinner tonight and walked through the garbage dump markets home. If that what it takes to get home safe then so be it- we will do it.
Will try try palace again tomorrow
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