A history lesson in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh, well that was hot. Very hot. We all suffered in Phnom Penh. Our little guest house on the lake kept us cool for the few nights we were there, and well stocked with food and beer - the area is like a little village for backpackers, with floating terraces overlooking the water. It was nice, but it's made us want to escape the gringo trail as much as we can from now on!

We spent a day immersed in Cambodia's dark recent history, with a trip to the killing fields at Choeng Ek, a remarkably peaceful place with a very bloody tale to tell. A memorial stupa has been built to house the thousands of skulls that were uncovered - nothing can be more shocking than the sight of them piled behind glass.








The same afternoon we saw the Tuol Sleng genocide museum - previously a school it was used as the S-21 prison by the Khmer Rouge during their brutal regime. Again, the setting is unlikely and it's easy to imagine the school children happily playing in the courtyard. Blood still stains the walls of the tiny cells inside, and chains and iron poles lie on the floor as they were found. In one series of rooms there is a display of the records left by the prison officials - they were meticulous, with photos of every single inmate, most of whom were arrested for no just reason and many of whom were children. Here they were tortured before being taken to their death at the killing fields. Only seven people were found there alive after the Vietnamese army liberated the city - 14 others had been tortured to death as the troops rolled in.

It was a very depressing day, but we learnt a lot and came away relishing every breath.










Cambodia was celebrating the Khmer New Year while we were in Phnom Penh, which meant a lot of places were closed, but it did mean we were the subject of amusement for many roadside kids. The tradition is to squirt each other and every single passer by, on foot, moto or tuk-tuk, with water, and slap talc all over them. They even stop passing cars, lining up in front of them until they come to a halt, and squirt through the windows! We saw a lot of very white Cambodians in Phnom Penh! It was really nice spending a couple of hours in a central park, watching the locals celebrate. And play with the monkeys. We had a lot of fun watching the monkeys, could have stayed for hours!






Now we're in Siem Reap and visiting the temples of Angkor. I feel very,very priviliged to see them for a second time, and I am as stunned as I was the first time. We'll write all about that in a couple of days...