Phnom Penh

After the poor experience of Kompong Chnang, we luckily got an earlier bus to take us the short ride to Phnom Penh - but knowing what we were going to see there, we weren't really expecting a pick-me-up, if you know what I mean...

On arrival at the bus stop, we experienced the now-familiar feeling of being beseiged by the motorbike/tuk-tuk drivers' assault. Both of the hotels in our price range were full, but fortunately Pete stumbled across a gem. A well-run private guest house with its own gardens, set back from the quiet road, and well away from the attentions of the tuk-tuk drivers up the street.

If anyone else is heading to Phnom Penh, it's called 'Changiville', and it's just round the corner from Bodhi Umma Cafe/Guesthouse and the notorious Tuong Sleng prison. It was $15 for a lovely room with access to the rooftop terrace, and the lounge/garden area was a lovely haven to escape from the hectic streets.

Ismail (our gracious host from Singapore) made us feel most welcome here, and we enjoyed the fact that that the premises also hosts regular classes on the roof terrace for the local children to learn English. Ismail plans to open a cafe there also - if we make it back there at any time we'll be sure to check it out. :-)

We enjoyed a lovely dinner that evening at the Bodhi Umma cafe, then the following morning steeled ourselves for a not-at-all-pleasant-but-had-to-be-done trip to the Tuong Sleng prison round the corner. This former school, set in the middle of the suburbs like many others, was also known as 'S21'. Of the 17,000* or so people who entered its gates during the horrific reign of the Khmer Rouge, only 7 people survived. The rest of the poor souls were taken a few kilometres away to a place now known as the 'Killing Fields'. Shockingly, this is but one of many thousands of mass graves that exist across the country.

The first part of the prison/school/museum (it's hard to define what it is now) was a brutal introduction to the the realities of the awful things that happened to the people who passed through its gates. Amongst the many photographs of the prisoners, it was horrifying to see children as young as 4 or 5 staring back at you. The second part of the museum showed many other aspects to its history, such as the story of some of the prison guards (some of whom work as tour guides there apparently) and how they've gone back to their own villages. It also explained how children became torturers due to the fear of meeting a similar fate if they didn't carry out their orders. And it gave some explanations as to why, nearly 20 years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, many of its high-ranking members are not only still at large and not brought to justice, but hold important jobs within the current government!

After this experience, we felt it almost too much to follow it up with a ride out to the Killing Fields, and so instead went to check out the Royal Palace. We'd read in our guide book that appropriate dress was required, such as arms being covered, so Hazel brought along her shawl in her bag. Despite our best intentions, this still wasn't enough and we were barred from entering, even though many people in a tour group (arms bared to the world) were allowed straight through. In our disgust we turned down the 'offer' of buying a T-shirt from the stall next door, and took our well-earned tourist dollars elsewhere.

The evening finished nicely, however, with a beautiful sunset over the Royal Palace and a delicious meal at a local Khmer Restaurant.

 

Namaste!