Phnom Phen
Travel Location: Phnom-Penh,Cambodia
We arrived in Phnom Phen to have tuk tuk and moto drivers attack us as we left the bus. Our attention was drawn to a slightly less harrasing tuk tuk driver with a distinctly australian accent, called Sam, who went on to become our regular driver. He took us to the backpacker area on Boeng kak lake, where we found bargain rooms for $4 – despite the fact they had no bathroom and the walls only came up to just above eye level… the communal areas however made up for it. The rooms and communal deck are built over the water, and the view of the sunset each evening was spectacular. We relaxed after our long journey, and prepared ourselves for the following day.
Nick and Eddie decided to go to the shooting ranges, where they shot AK47s and pistols, while Rachel and I explored the towns markets. The central market is a bizzare circular art deco structure with all the shops divided into sections, and was mostly a maze to us. We met up with the boys in the afternoon to visit the Security-21 prison, Tol Sleung. The bilding was originally a secondary school, and still has childrens drawings on the walls. It became a museum literally weeks after it was used for torture and as a prison in the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. It is preserved as it was found. The torture rooms still have evident stains of blood, which was hugely disturbing, and the other buildings house the holding cells, still with the ammunition tins which prisoners had to use as toilets. Another building houses the photos of the victims, which serve as a method for many Khmers to find out what happened to their families after they were split up during the regime.
The following day we headed to Sihanoukville, on the south coast, which i will write in a sperate entry.
After Sihanoukville, Nick and I left our friends behind – (they were too hungover to leave) – and we bussed back to Phnom Penh on the 1st Feb. We stayed in the same place, but managed to get a room with a bathroom (for the same price?!?). The following day we went to the killing fields outside of the town. It felt very peaceful in comparison with the prison. There has been a monument erected at the entrance, a tower maybe 60 foot high, with a beautiful roof. The tower is filled with level after level of unidentified skulls. There is still clothing and bone popping out of the ground, and many mass graves have been left unexcavated.
We spent our afternoon at the Russian market, where until recently guns and drugs were sold freely at the market stalls. We went on a bargain hunting spree, and ended up with so much stuff we had to post it home… We spent the evening reading our books on Cambodia history and culture that are sold abundantly by street sellers. Its a pretty confusing history and culture to understand, but we came to the conclusion that Cambodia is undoubtedly our favourite country so far. The people are hospitable, friendly and unbegrudging, and despite the evident corruption, we felt very at ease and at home in Cambodia.
We spent our final day in Phnom Penh looking at the Kings palace, and exploring the town, before heading to Siem reap and Angkor Wat for my birthday.
