Phnom Phen
The first full day in Phnom Phen was rest day - snacks, internet, good food, discovery channel - the usual. We had agreed with our previous night's tuk-tuk driver that we would make use of his services for our sight seeing the next day. The competition for tourist business is the fiercest in Cambodia of all our visited countries - you cant move without being accosted continuously - even the children are shrewd, unrelenting and sometimes even abusive sales people. This can get quite disturbing and definitely very draining.
Day 2 was for delving into Cambodia's recent past for which it is so famous - the genocide and social destruction of the country brought about by the Khmer Rouge reign under Pol Pot. It is almost unthinkable what evil one man could dream up and how much far-reaching destruction he could achieve during the short period of 1975-1979. The United Human Rights Council's site sums it up well - click here to read up.
We started by heading off to the famous killing fields. En route our driver took us to an underground shooting range with a choice of war time weapon relics (everything is there - hand guns, AK47s, M16s - even hand grenades and rocket launchers!) which you can try your hand at for a decent fee (including the driver's commission of course). Johan took a round on an AK47 and Janine took the M16. Weird experience to shoot with the very weapons used in a very cruel war.
The killing fields were close by - a place of mass execution and burial during the Khmer Rouge regime. There is a monument filled with skulls of the victims. We read all the info boards and headed on our way.
Bumping and bouncing our way on the dusty roads (our driver had very kindly bought us dust masks for the ride) back through town we arrived at the most disturbing of all the sites. Tuol Sleng was an old school converted into a prison and torture centre for the captives condemned by the Khmer Rouge. The grounds have been preserved very much as they were during the time of the genocide and is now a museum. The Pol Pot regime kept meticulous detail of their torture and execution campaigns and all the victims that ended up at these grounds were photographed. A huge collection of these photos are on display in the buildings as are some photos taken of the torturing process. - All in all a very depressing and disturbing exposure.
After a brief walk through the Russian market we headed back for some peace and light-heartedness to break the day's somber mould.
Culture Shock: There are no public bus routes operating in the city.
Day 2 was for delving into Cambodia's recent past for which it is so famous - the genocide and social destruction of the country brought about by the Khmer Rouge reign under Pol Pot. It is almost unthinkable what evil one man could dream up and how much far-reaching destruction he could achieve during the short period of 1975-1979. The United Human Rights Council's site sums it up well - click here to read up.
We started by heading off to the famous killing fields. En route our driver took us to an underground shooting range with a choice of war time weapon relics (everything is there - hand guns, AK47s, M16s - even hand grenades and rocket launchers!) which you can try your hand at for a decent fee (including the driver's commission of course). Johan took a round on an AK47 and Janine took the M16. Weird experience to shoot with the very weapons used in a very cruel war.
The killing fields were close by - a place of mass execution and burial during the Khmer Rouge regime. There is a monument filled with skulls of the victims. We read all the info boards and headed on our way.
Bumping and bouncing our way on the dusty roads (our driver had very kindly bought us dust masks for the ride) back through town we arrived at the most disturbing of all the sites. Tuol Sleng was an old school converted into a prison and torture centre for the captives condemned by the Khmer Rouge. The grounds have been preserved very much as they were during the time of the genocide and is now a museum. The Pol Pot regime kept meticulous detail of their torture and execution campaigns and all the victims that ended up at these grounds were photographed. A huge collection of these photos are on display in the buildings as are some photos taken of the torturing process. - All in all a very depressing and disturbing exposure.
After a brief walk through the Russian market we headed back for some peace and light-heartedness to break the day's somber mould.
Culture Shock: There are no public bus routes operating in the city.
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