A chilling time in phnom penh

SoutCorrection to all the guidebooks out there - the road from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is actually quite nice. I guess they finally finished paving the road since all the guidebooks came out since it was pretty much paved the whole way will very little bumps and no delays. That's good especially since we were on it for 5 hours! Both Ang and I were pretty worried that we would end up on the bus all day but we got into Phnom Penh early enough to see the city.

We're back to our normal budget ways so we just random guesthouse that had air-con and was less than $10. Its a good thing we had decided on a place before we got off the bus because we were absolutely swarmed the second we got off the bus. I've never seen touts work so hard! They were in our faces, shouting, shoving pamphlets at us, yanking our bags - absolute chaos. This is the part of traveling I hate the most. Why can't they just leave us alone?? Obviously, if I want a place to stay or a tuk-tuk ride somewhere, I would ask. Otherwise, don't bother!

But we got in okay so we decided to have a walk around. Normally, Ang and I just head to the central markets to eat at the local food stalls so we went to one in Phnom Penh. And its there we realized we were in a major, busy city. It was like being in La Paz all over again. The city is just a big, loud, polluted city with very few sites. It was a shock to the system especially since we haven't had to deal with it for about 2 weeks. We did get some Cambodian sandwiches but I don't think there will be any shopping going on here. But we did find some very good restaurants that were run by and benefited local NGOs so it gave us an excuse to splurge on some really amazing food, especially at the Friends Cafe, which supports street kids.

We almost got ran over like a bazillion times. We were also harassed at every turn by tuk-tuk drivers. No! We don't need a ride! Argh!

We got these really delicious sandwiches at the insane market. It was really cheap at $0.75 but I swear he only charged the local guy $.013. Go figure.

In my Southeast Asia Rough Guide, they list the Royal Palace in Cambodia as one of the top 35 things not to miss here so we decided to go. It was impressive with flashy buildings and a pagoda with tons of silver tiles but it just didn't compare to the Grand Palace in Thailand or the grandeur of Angkor Wat. Maybe we were just toured-out but we could barely make the effort to enter the different buildings. We need a break!

The Royal Palace! Actually the most impressive part of this place was inside the throne room but we weren't able to take photos in there. You could really see the French influence though.

This totally out-of-place iron house was a gift from Napoleon III. The doors even have big N's etched into the glass. Hilarious.

They really love their king here! Though I think the Thai displays of their king are more ostentatious though its a tough call.

Our terrible teva tans from trekking and Angkor Wat. Its going to take months to go away!

Those that's where they get all those ancient antiques!

The next day, we went to see the Killing Fields and the S-21 prison, both things we we really came to Phnom Penh to see. We hired a tuk-tuk driver and battled smog thick as butter to get there but it was worth it. It was bone-chillingly tragic to see the mass graves of the Cambodians who died at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge a mere 30 years ago. The regime only lasted between 1975 and 1979 but Pol Pot executed and buried over 17,000 Cambodians who were suspected of undermining his rules or basically didn't fit into the agricultural peasant ideal of Pol Pot's twisted view of communism. To see what Cambodia has faced in the past are simply unbelievable. To think that tragedies like these can still happen (and still do) is depressing. I admire the strength of the Cambodian people who were able to move on past these tragedies and be able to find a way to confront it.

Skulls unearthed from the mass graves. They have a huge stupa (basically a tomb monument) for the victims with their skulls organized by age and gender. So so so many of them.

They've only disinterred 86 mass graves. There are still 43 that have been untouched. The scariest part is that you look around and it just looks like another other grove or orchard rather than a place of genocide.

The S-21 prison (now Tuol Sleng genocide museum) used to be a high school but the classrooms were turned into prison cells where political prisoners were tortured and then killed in the Killing Fields.

A view of a cell up close.

The Khmer Rouge kept meticulous notes on the prisoners, including photos and details of their torture. It is disconcerting to see the faces of the victims up close, especially the young children.

Both Ang and I are moving on after Cambodia. Ang is going home and I'm off to Laos. I really wish Ang could stay but I know that not everyone is as irresponsible as I am and able to travel for so long. But having her here during the last 2 weeks has definitely a high point in my travels. Being able to hold a real conversation and knowing that someone is there to support you is so important, especially out here where its so easy to feel lonely and disconnected from home. We had some really great laughs, especially goofing off at Angkor Wat and holding each other through the leeches. Ang, I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that you came out here and how great these last few weeks have been. I wish you could stay!!!!! I love you and I hope you have a safe trip home! We will definitely remember this trip forever!