Learning About Cambodia's Sad History

  Phnom Penh, Cambodia
April 23, 2009

I watched Destinations last night after the internet until 1 am. Bill was out cold. I had to put my feet up on a cushion because my legs and feet were swollen. I think I need to drink more water...

The bed was rock hard (the platform is cement) and the dogs next door were yapping during the wee hours of the morning.

We found out recently via internet that Ally is not doing well, our poor baby! I hope that they are able to get rid of her kidney and tooth infection soon. She does not like being at the vets very much.

We had green tea, a donut, a bun, bread, unknown juice with seeds, grape fruit, pineapple, watermelon and banana for our breakfast (holy carbs!).

I worked on the computer after breakfast and Bill went to run some errands. He said our room is over the pool table, but they shut it down at 9 pm. Bill had a painful hour and 20 minutes of burning our pictures onto a DVD (he found out later in Sihanoukville that they also added a virus to the DVD and our memory card). He also shopped around to find a tour office that would book both the slow boat and a minivan for our trip to Vietnam. We had been quoted both at one office, but no one else seems able to do it?!

Around 10:30 I went for a dip in the pool. The water was nice and the cabanas look great, but upon closer inspection are dirty and do not smell very good. The cabanas and lounges are all located in the shade and are not good for tanning. Bill had seen a rat at the back of the pool area the other night and I had seen cockroaches and geckos when I used the toilet the first night we were in town (that same first night, right after that we left there we were walking along the dark alley back to the street when a dog starting barking in the yard next to me; I screamed bloody murder and then started laughing hysterically).

We went to Le Wok for lunch. Bill had beef in bamboo with a beer and I had salad with Serrano ham and asparagus with water. I was feeling itchy (not uncommon, either I have a bug on me or I feel like I do) and I had to reach up my shirt and kill an ant on my boob. UGH! Then while I was eating lunch there was a dead bug in my salad. I am sick of the bugs!!! Our meals were not too bad, nothing special.

I went to a bookstore to exchange my books. The girl would not take 2 of them (one is a photocopied one that I had picked up on Khoa San) and she said 1 was too old. She would give me $2 for the brand new one and $1 for the 2 used ones. The books that I had picked up were $3.50, so she would take my 3 and I would have to pay $3. I did not think that was a good deal, especially since 1 of the books I was buying was in worse shape than the 1 she would not take from me. No Deal!

We hired a tuk tuk driver ($17) and took our bags to Cyclo Guest House and checked in to our third hotel since we have been here! We are going to stay 2 nights in one place now. The place seems fairly good, but the floor feels dirty and the mat in the bathroom needs to go into the garbage.

Our tuk tuk driver took us to the Genocide Museum that was formerly S21- Tuol Sleng prison when the Khmer Rouge was in power from 1975 - 1979, directed by Pol Pot (his real name was Salot Sor). Before the Khmer Rouge, the prison was a primary and a high school. It is believed that over 10,500 adults and 20,000 children were killed here. Only 12 people survived.

We went through Building A first where the conducted interrogations and torture. The bottom level had smaller rooms and the upper levels had larger rooms which were holding cells for people who were accused of rising up against the regime. They had beds, shackles and other instruments of torture in these rooms and photos of people who had been tortured. In front of this building there were tombs of the 14 corpses that were found here on Jan 17, 1979. There was also a wooden frame that had been used for exercise by children in the school yard. The officers had used it for torturing victims of their interrogations.

In Buildings B and C the lower levels had small brick or wooden cells. The upper 2 floors were for group incarceration. In Building B there were photographs (like mug shots) of prisoners and some of their clothing. On the 3rd floor of Building C there was a photo exhibit from a Swedish guy. He was a supporter of communism and had been invited to Cambodia in 1978 to tour the country and to see all the good things that communism had done for the Cambodian people. Each photo had his comments from 1978 and from almost 20 years later. He is very remorseful because he feels like he helped to spread propaganda for the Khmer Rouge.

In Building D there were pictures and stories from people who had been a part of Khmer Rouge as soldiers. Most of the people are deceased, but some are still alive today. We both found it interesting that of all of the people who were alive today, none of them expressed remorse for what they had done during that time, in their stories. There were more pictures of prisoners, torture and skulls that have been found at the Killing Fields. The 3rd floor had a theater, but we did not have time to stay for the show.

The museum was pretty good, they have kept it simple. It was not high-tech, but it was certainly effective.

We took a long, smelly ride on the very slow tuk tuk to the Killing Fields which is 16 kms outside of Phnom Penh. There is a monument which contains all of the skulls that they have found at this site. People were transported from S21 to this site where they were executed. We were able to see the hole of the mass grave sites. There are a few brief explanations around the site. It looks like they are building a new center here.

Interestingly enough while we were there I heard a puppy yelping repeatedly. There was a little girl on the edge of the site torturing a puppy. She was sitting on it and at one point was kicking it. The silly thing did not run away, just kept taking the beatings...

We had a long (45 minutes), smelly ride back to the Guest House. It started storming along the way back, so our driver kept stopping and putting more and more pieces of plastic in place to keep us dry while he was getting wet with his sheet of plastic on.

I had spotted a mini mart at the edge of town, so we asked him to stop. We bought some peanut butter, Coke (one for the driver), beer, nuts and chocolate soy milk and ensure (maybe I could use some vitamins?). We stopped and picked up our laundry. It smells nice and clean and is dry!

We chilled in our room for a bit and watched the last few minutes of the Amazing Race (last season). We walked to The Gym, a sports bar, but they do not show baseball games, only cricket and football.

We went to the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) for dinner. Bill had a draft beer ($1) and a Margarita pizza with an extra topping - chorizo. I had pork, green pepper and asparagus salad with soda. Bill had 3 good meals today. I had 3 mediocre meals.

We took a tuk tuk ($2) to the Naga Casino. We were both impressed, it was a real casino. It was large and all shiny! There was some lounges and restaurants. One lounge had bad singers in cheesy outfits and another one was quite nice with a waterfall. There was roulette, black jack, baccarat, video gaming, slots (not making lots of noise) and 3 card poker.

Bill played black jack and won $72 in a few minutes. This will cover our 2 nights of hotel and our bus ride to Sihanoukville!

When we returned to the room the pool table was closed, but the beer garden bar/restaurant was going full tilt next door. People love their karaoke!

Tonight I was asleep early and Bill stayed up late. We both woke up on and off because of the street noise, music, singing and hard bed.