PHNOM PENH

We pulled up to the centre of Phnom Penh (Capitol of Cambodia, pop 1 million) in our sticky bus (with tiny seats made for asians, per usual) and looked out the windows to a frightful sight. The few westerners that had gotten off the bus were being swarmed by moto/tuktuk/taxi drivers like white on rice. We prepared ourselves and stepped into the craziness. We were bombarded by a ton of drivers trying to get us into their cars or trying to take us to "The best guesthouse" (guesthouses here pay drivers a commission to drop off travellers at their guesthouse). The challenging part is trying to differentiate between the drivers who will take you where you want to go and the ones who will take you to the guesthouse that pays them.

We chose a guesthouse in one of the backpacker areas on Boeung Kak Lake. Our place had a relaxing patio that extended into the water on stilts. The lake was a nice setting even if the water is as toxic as everyone says it is. Checked out the royal palace and some cool restaurants that night. I definitely noticed a lot of stares and glares from Cambodian people in Phnom Penh--not sure if they were just curious or if they didn't approve of Westerners on their turf. Probably a mix of both.

Our moto drivers picked us up the next morning to tour the sites where some of Cambodias dark historical events took place. Weaving through the streets of Phnom Penh during the middle of the day on the back of a motorbike was terrifyingly fun. We weren't provided with helmets (sorry mom!) because nobody really wears them here. There aren't really traffic laws so you can only begin toimagine how disorganized and chaotic the roads are. Motos just speed in and out of gaps in traffic--even if the gaps are in oncoming traffic! When we hit the outskirts of Phnom Penh, all we had to worry about avoiding were potholes and huge smelly piles of garabage. I also saw a rabid dog on the side of the road.

Our first stop was the Choeung Ek killing fields. Thousands of people were killed and buried there in mass graves between 1977 and 1980 (I think I've got the dates right) during a nationwide genocide/extermination that killed about 2 million people in total. Because it was
so recent, we saw lots of bones and clothing protruding from the earth in the pits and even on the walkway we were following. Pretty chilling. The information that was posted about the significance of this site bothered me though because they compared it to the holocaust and even stated that it was "Worse than the genocide committed by Hitlers fascists." Comparing the two is just not right.

Our motos took us to the Tuol Sleng high school that was transofmed into a prison/torture camp during the same genocide. It was very eerie to walk through because they left it in roughly the same shape it was found in. They had a photo exhibit that captured the detainees starving, wounded/beaten, seconds from death and even photos of the dead. There was also an area that featured paintings done by a survivor (There were only 12 survivors out of thousands) that portrayed the different ways in which the detainees were tortured--the most cruel punishments imaginable. Some of the tiny cells we explored still had dried blood on the floor and the chains used for prisoners attached to the walls.

After a long sombre day, we went to a cozy, chill place in our neighborhood to have a nice dinner and unwind with some drinks and some world cup soccer. Next stop Sihanoukville (beaches)!