So after an amazing 12 days in Vietnam I headed to Cambodia, a country I have wanted to visit for a very long time!
We boarded a bus and said goodbye to our Vietnamese guide at the border. A bit of an odd border crossing - we got a visa on arrival, a few documents stapled to our passport and a temperature check (similar to how I would check the temp of the ham in the deli dept I used to work in). Thankfully we had no issues. Strangely enough the first thing we encountered once crossing into Cambodia was about five rundown casinos. We definitely weren't in Vietnam anymore!
Our local Cambodian guide, Thida (a bubbly and inspiring person), met us just over the Cambodian border. We made our way to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. I wasn't sure what to expect of this city but I ended up absolutely loving it!
The Cambodian people are absolutely lovely and friendly. Cars and motorbikes even stopped to let us cross the road and people volunteered to help us when they found us looking confusingly at the map! We made our way around either by walking, tuk tuks or cyclos... All a very fun method of travelling - although I did feel sorry for the cyclo riders that had to pedal us westerners around, especially considering one of the riders was 80years old! However, I recently found out my parents, on a recent trip to Brisbane, had someone pedal the both of them on an old school bicycle tuk tuk! At least our guys only had to pedal one person and the Cambodian tuk tuk drivers are on motorbikes.
Phnom Penh is a city with a very recent, terrible history. We started our first full day in the city with a tour of Tou Sleng Prison and the Choung Ek Killing Fields. Our guide was a young girl who told us, in unflinching detail, the atrocities that occurred during the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970's. At the prison we learned of the countless people arrested, tortured and later killed for ridiculous reasons such as being fair skinned, wearing glasses, having smooth hands or having an intelligent job. The prison (considered highest security during the regime) was once a primary school. I can think of no greater atrocity than turning a place of learning into a torture headquarters.
As sickening as the use of the prison was, we met two survivors of the prison who have found found their healing process through sharing their account of their time in the prison. Both men that we met had lost their entire families during the regime and were tortured by the prison interrogators. Both were present and gave testimonials at the trials that took place in the 2000's to indict the main perpetrators. However, it is interesting to note that many of the key perpetrators died of a mysterious heart attack days before they were due to testify. In addition, the royal monarchy remained intact during the regime and has always had close ties with China. While not officially documented or said aloud in public, these facts would absolutely create doubt and controversy among the local population. As well, majority of the young generation have no idea what occurred in the 1970s as it is not taught in school.
After our visit to the prison, out tour guide took us to the Killing Fields - a place where thousands of innocents were executed. While the Choung Ek Killing Fields is an infamous site, there are more than 400 unnamed killing fields throughout the country. Our visit through the grounds was extremely disconcerting. The place was largely untouched apart from a few signs, a museum and a monument made out of bones (with coloured stickers to show how the person had been killed). Walking through the grounds there are signs asking people not to step on the bones. At first I thought they meant the graves... But a few more steps revealed unearthed bones. To describe the atrocious nature of what occurred in this area during the Pol Pot regime is impossible. It is something one can only experience for themself. I also believe it is extremely important for everyone to see places like this in the world to understand how truly awful human beings can be to one another. As shocked, appalled, disturbed and disgusted as it can make people - this is the correct reaction to have!
Almost 2million people died unnecessarily during the Pol Pot regime. It is hard to believe that the Khmer Rouge were only in power for 3 years 8 months - not even the entire length of a normal government rule.
We were scheduled to have dinner with a local family that night and found out we would be spending the night with our young tour guides family for dinner. Da, who was only 20, and her family, welcomed us into their home and fed us one of the most delicious feats ever. They had a simple home that housed 30 and flooded during the rainy season but they also taught English lessons to the local kids in the neighbourhood and were more than welcoming to us. Their family was truly inspiring - especially considering some of Da's grandparents had died after being imprisoned at Toul Sleng and her parents survived the regime.
Two more points about Phnom Penh - one uplifting and one truly nightmare inducing frightening!
1. Our local tour leader, Thida, was passionate about helping the local community. One particular organisation she introduced us to was called Friends. It is a chain of restaurants that train local street kids in a trade, school them and house them. Seeing the environment and cooking ability of students I really hope this charity becomes more well known.
2. Tarantulas are good for the lungs! I was truly dreading coming across some of these large, hairy creatures. Day two in Cambodia I was overrun with them. Two people at lunch ordered a plateful (at the Friends restaurant!). They were artfully plated and came with a dipping sauce. Of course I had to be an idiot and ask whether they kept live ones in the kitchen. Next minute - a live one comes out on a plate and people are holding it! Everyone witnessed my first freak out. Later that night, after a beautiful home cooked meal, our host whips out two bottles of tarantula rice wine (with about 10 spiders in each)! It was homemade and the spiders were actually shoved into the plastic bottles alive!! I'm proud to say I held the bottle and even had a tiny sip! People heard my second freak out during the night when I screamed during a nightmare. Clearly way too many tarantulas for one day!!!!
