Hester
Ok, so I think that Brendon's description of the journey to Sen Monorom was fairly accurate, although I don't think that he fully conveyed the extent of internal bleeding that we both suffered during the truck drive. My bum is still bruised (see elephant trek story later for more information on this).
The place we stayed in Sen Monorom was really cool, we had a little cabin to ourselves on the side of a hill, looking out across a valley. The cabin had an open air toilet and shower room out the back, which was a real treat, although I have to admit the going to the toilet in the rain in the middle of the night soon loses its novelty.
When we arrived, we spent the evening at the bar chatting to an aussie couple who were on their extended honeymoon. They had experience the same ride over as us, so we compared stories. Went to bed at about half past 8, as it was dark, there was not much in the way of light (the main village had no electricity at this time, but out place had hydo power), and we were exhausted. As Bren said, the first full day there was spent chilling. It was nice to know that we would be staying in one place for a few days, as it feels like we are racing from place to place to place all the time. The evening was really cool. Got chatting at the bar with a guy who works for oxfam out here and the woman who runs the guesthouse, and kind of got a bit more of an insite into Kmer life, what people think about stuff like the Cambodia war crimes tribunal, and what the future looks like for the country etc. Really interesting, nice to know a bit more about what goes on rather than just passing through taking pics.
The second day was a liiiiiitle less relaxed. We went into town to see if we could find a place to hire mottos for the day - no luck, so we went for a casual wander that turned into a bloody long trek - both very tired, and grumpy by the end of this. On the way back to our guesthouse, we thought we would stop in a bar, which it turned out was run by a dutch woman, who had kind of "gone native". She was a proper "tough as old boots" kind of lady who regaled us with stories of her life in cambodia for the next 2 hours, including the time she shot a bazooka at the Khmer Rouge, met her mates hiding under tables during gun fights, her strong dislike for NGOs ("Fucking evangelists"), and her boyfriend "the butcher" who used to be a medic for landmine victims (nice nickname for that line of work). She was brilliant!!!
Next day in Sen Monorom, we went on an elephant trek. It was a long motto ride out to the Dunong/Pnong hill tribes hut where the elephant was. Was so bizarre to see her coming through the trees -absolutely huge. we booked the ride through a project that teaches the hill tribe people how to care for the elephants properly and ensures that they are not over worked and are well fed. We both climbed aboard and were fairly snug in the 1m by 50cm seat. The first part of the trek was two hours deep into the jungle - it was a long way squished into the seat, which seemed to be getting tinier by the second. But the fact that we were sat atop an elephant, in the middle of cambodia made it worth it. Its an awkward gaint to get used to, and when she was grabbing leaves, branches, and pulling up whole trees on the way through, we has a few moments where we thought we might fall off. But how bizarre and amazing to get to experience something like this. After about two hours we had reached our destination - a waterfall will splash pool. The drop from the top to the bottom was about 3 or 4metres, which Bren threw himself off. I was a little more cautious, and actually chickened out. ever since busting me knee, I have been less convinced that I am indestructible - according to Brendon, this is a sign that I am getting old. Charming. So, I found my way down and gently plopped into the water from a hight of about 20cms. There is life in me yet!!! After splashing in the water for a while, we had the lunch the guesthouse had given us, splashed some more, and then sat chilling in the sun (resulting in us both getting sunburnt. OOOoops)Soon after, the elephant returned (she had been off grazing somewhere) plus rider/driver/jockey(!) and we watched her take a bath. That was really cool, she was clearly enjoying cooling off as much as we had. Then it was the 2 hour trek back. By this point, the combined impact of the truck drive over to Sen Monorom, plus the first 2 hours on the elephant was causing agony for both our backsides. So another two hours was pretty much hell. Which was a shame, as it was such an awesome experience, but at times we were a little preoccupied with bottom pain. Note to self - must get silicon bum implants. Or take a bigger cushion.
The next morning (yesterday) we left sen monorom, this time inside the truck, enjoying the padded cushions and the aircon. Made it to Phnom Pehn in about 9 hours, a little over the advertised 6 hours, but who is counting. To be fair, there was a problem with the truck, which resulted in everyone standing around looking like they knew what was going on, then going at the wheel with a chisel. Once again, safety is not a priority. But we are here in Phnom Penh so all good.
This morning I went to the S-21 museum, which was the prison where alot of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were held and tortured. Its a pretty horrific place, to see the old school building turned into a makeshift prison, with classrooms divided into small cells. And everywhere there are the photographs of the prisoners. Its a very eerie feeling, staring into the faces in these photographs, trying to get an insight into whet these people were experiencing just from the expressions on their faces. There are also numerous pictures of people who have been tortured and killed. However, the thing that I found the most difficult was when a guy there told me that in the previous room were the pictures of the people who has been the guards etc in the prison. I was curious to see these picture; I guess I wanted to see what sort of people they were. I think we would all like to think that people who do this kind of thing are different from the rest of us, that they are intrinsically evil; its easier to accept that way. But no, they weren't, they ARE just normal people, and not just that...in this case, most of them were children.
After s-21, I met up with Brendon, we had lunch and then went out to the Killing Fields, where most of the inmates from S-21 were sent to be executed. In the centre there is a tower, full the skulls of those dug up from the mass graves. Its horrible.
One thing I was thinking about- I wonder how many Cambodian people go to s-21 and the killing fields. When you are being badgered by tuktuk drivers every few yards, who ask if you want to go there, it all feels a bit comercialised. I wander what opportunity the Cambodian people have to actually have possession of their own past, rather than losing it to the tourist industry……
