Cambodia Day 2

Phnom Penh

Yesterday we had arranged for a taxi to take us around today. We discovered the location of the Kings Palace walking around last night, so decided we would just use the taxi to get to places further out. It is very hot and muggy today.

We started with Toul Sleng Museum, also known as Prison S21. This is the school that Pol Pot turned into a prison for the incarceration and torture of 20,000 people - of which only 7 survived. It is grim and horrendous, and even more terrible to realise that things like this are still happening in the world today. There was also a small display from the Museum of Okinawa in Japan. It looks as if there is a partnership happening where the Japanese are teaching curation skills to the Cambodians in regards to presenting the prison, and the development of educational materials to go along with the displays. The displays are truly horrific. Pol Pot documented all of his atrocities with photographs, and they are graphic. In the end he became so paranoid that the jailers and torturers themselves became victims of the prison system, as they turned on each other.

Skulls in the Buddist Stupa at the Killing Fields

People weren't murdered at the gaol - they were taken to the Killing Fields, which is where we headed to next (Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre). You are given an audio tour when you enter, which was really informative. The focus is mostly on the victims, but there is also information on the perpetrators, and the lack of justice that is still being worked through today. Pol Pot remained the leader of the Khmer Rouge for 20 years after they were deposed, and the party was given a seat at the UN as the recognised leaders of Cambodia.

Pieces of bone and teeth that rise to the surface of the earth after rain.

There are so many mass graves at the site, not all have been excavated, and even now, after heavy rain, bones and pieces of clothing will still rise to the surface. All of the excavated skulls and bones have been collected into a monument named a stupa.

The Buddist Stupa - a monument to those murdered by the Pol Pot regime

I was beginning to get a headache from the heat and the really tough going at the memorials, so we quickly stopped off at a temple (Wat Phnom), before heading back to the hotel. I had a swim in the pool to try and cool down, followed by a sleep to get rid of my headache, which didn't really work. For dinner we walked to the waterfront and ate in a restaurant called Karma. Almost all of the restaurants along here offer a mix of Khmer, Western, French and Chinese or Indian. We were unable to find a restaurant that only offered Cambodian dishes, although we both sampled Amok, which is a type of spicy curry. We successfully caught a tuk-tuk back - last night when we tried to do so, all we got was "tour?", so we decided it was all too hard and had walked back.

The pool at our lovely hotel. Very welcome in the heat.

Early bed with my headache, that's why I didn't post. I realise this photo collage is a bit off-putting. That's the type of contradiction you come across here as a visitor.