Hi everyone,
This is going to be along one as I have some catching up to do, but I won't bore you all too much. We visited the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. The guide that was showing us around had lost most of his family members due to the Khumer Rouge, and was on the verge of tears. We were shown a huge tower where lots of skulls were kept, showing how brutally people were killed, with bamboo sticks or against a sharp palm tree and many more terrible, brutal ways. After that he showed us the mass graves and the whole area was covered with bones, everytime you walked there was a crunch of a bone and remains or clothes everywhere. If that wasn't disturbing enough we were shown a tree which was used to kill babies. It sure was some hard wrending stuff!
After that we went to the Tuol Sleng Museum S-21, which was formerly a school then transformed into a prison/torture and detention centre by the Khumer Rouge. I have just finished a book by one of the survivors of the prison (only handful of survivors) which was thanks to the Vietnemese bombings.They had really graphic pictures of people who were beaten up and tortured, and a whole section on children that were killed. Our guide here was also on the verge of tears as she had lost a lot of family including her daughter. One of the most horrifying things I found was the pictures of some of the Khumer Rouge soldiers, who were about 14 or 15 and were holding huge rifles smiling!
The next day we left for our homestay with a local family in village called Takeo. We wen to the market to buy some beer, whiskey and wine. They were so accomodating, and lived in three wooden huts on stilts, with cows and hens under the house. Some of us played some shuttle c*** which involves keeping shuttle in the air ( I wasn't very good), while others were playing with girls and putting flowers in their hair! The cooked us a fantastic meal, chicken soup, stir fried veg, grilled fish and rice! It was really good. After that we opened the whiskey and created saucepans of cocktails (a bit like Thai buckets)! We danced all night around the garden, it was so much fun! I was scared after Jens spider story when going to bed, but nothing crawled on us and I wrapped myself in my mosquito net!
The next day we went to Sinoukville, beach town. Unofrtunatly the day we arrived is was quite windy and overcast. We went for lunch and immediatly we were swarmed with children trying to sell us stuff! If you bought anything from one you would be swarmed by another ten children. The children weren't begging it was just a part time job after school, they told us! We had great night out that night, played few drinking games and ended up in a club. I had not realised that we were actually in an escort club (where white men take asian women)! Few of the girls had walked into a bedroom accidently thinking it was a toilet. We soon left!!
The next day we lazed about on the beach and drank more cocktails that night! We went back to Phnom Penh the next day and visited National Museum (statues by Khumer Craftemn), and Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which was breath takingly beautiful! The grounds of the royal palace were such a contrast to the streets outside the gates! That night we went for a meal in a restaurant run by street kids and their teachers. It helps thier families and communitys, and the service was out fo this world. The food was also fantastic, we had tapas, nice change from fried rice or noodles.
It was sad to leave everyone! Starting next tour through Vietnam.