11. – Phnom Penh

We opted to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by bus.  We did consider travelling by boat down the Tonle Sap but we heard that the boat was often overbooked and those without seats had to sit on the roof of the boat. Due to the size of the Tonle Sap you would only see water, so the bus seemed the better option.  We purchased seats on the Mekong Express.  They claim to be a limousine bus services.  The buses must be about 15 years old.  The door on our one had to be manually closed and tied before we left.  At least the seats were okay.

The journey took about six hours with a 30 minute break about half way at Kampong Thom, where we got off the bus and had a look about the street stalls. 

There was one food stall that was selling all sorts of bugs, tarantulas, grass hoppers etc  – yuck.  Back on the bus we passed through many small villages and over lots of bumpy roads before arriving in Phnom Pehn.

A tuk-tuk was the transport to our hotel which was at the edge of the riverside area where many tourist hotels are situated.  The hotel was really nice and within walking distance of a few attractions.

We walked to the National Museum which was just round the corner.  Most of the artifacts they have on display come from the ruins at Angkor.  It was interesting to read about which temples the items had come from. 

They have a lovely inner courtyard where you can sit and have a cold drink.

The Killing Fields was our next stop.  It is about 15km out of the city so we hired a tuk-tuk and made the journey through the traffic. Don’t think I’ll every get my head round the rule of the road ( or lack of). 

Choeung Ek is the most famous of over 300 Killing Fields in Cambodia. You walk through the grounds and it tells you the story of what happened at each part. The people were brought there to be killed after having been interrogated. You are shown where the babies and infants were battered to death against a tree, often with there mothers watching.

There are many pits where the bodies were thrown after death although sometimes they were still alive.  The bodies were then covered in chemicals to ensure that no one survived. As we walked through the area where the pits are there were many butterflies flying about.  It was almost like they were the spirits of all the people who had been killed there. All throughout the area pieces of clothing are still being washed up to the surface after heavy rains.  

The last part it where you view The Stupa which holds all the skulls which were found when the pits were dug up.  It’s a very moving experience. 

We laid some flowers there in memory of those who had perished.

We decided to go to the Royal Palace. It was good to think of something else after the harrowing experience earlier.  The Palace is a royal residence so only some of the buildings and gardens are open to the public.  The palace is made up of many small buildings all located close to one another.

 One of the buildings is the Silver Pagoda.  It houses the Jade Buddha along with many other religious artefacts. 

In the grounds they have a model of what Angkor Wat looked like when in was complete.

We went to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum today.  It is located within Phnom Penh and is where the prisoners during Pol Pot's regime were taken for interrogation. 

It was two schools before it was taken over by the Khmer Rouge.  Each of the buildings is on three floors.  Some rooms were kitted out for interrogation purposes. 

 The room held a metal bed that the prisoner was strapped to before being tortured and electocuted in the hope that they would confess to the crimes they were accused of.  Some of the rooms were sectioned off either with blocks or wood into very small cells about 5 feet by 3 feet in size. 

The prisoners would be shackled to the floor or walls. There is a yard in front of the buildings where the prisoners would be hung by their feet and beaten then dunked in filthy water before being beaten again. 

 Various torture impliments are on display along with many photographs of the victims.  It’s difficult to believe that this was all happening only 35 years ago.

After that we needed a drink. 

Only problem was finding a glass big enough to hold the ice.

And something to eat.

Phnom Pehn in not really a tourist mecca.  It was nice to walk through their street markets and see the people at work – it’s odd to see what some shops on the street sell

 or walk along the riverside in the evening and watch the locals enjoying a game or taking part in an exercise class.  We tried to workout too.

 There is an awful lot of poverty particularly in this part of Cambodia, but the people are all very happy and lovely to talk to.