24th/25th March - went to bamboo island for a chillin time with Victoria. Many operators go to the island but chose Coasters at $6 return and $10 for a bamboo hut for the night. 50 min or so trip that leaves from ocheuteal beach at 10am.
The island is a quiet hangout with shallow clear warm waters to swim in and a few bars to eat and drink at.
25th March is an important day back home as my son is 18 today. Time marches on and they row up quick.
Food on the island is good quality and had the best barracuda I've had in a long time. Facilities are basic though, but it's an island and to be expected.
Wed 26th Mar - Back on the road again and heading for Phnom Penh by bus leaving at 9am ($4). There is only one bus station here, which makes it easy. As mentioned previously, my visa runs out on 28th, so had to do something. In the time I have spent with Victoria, we have grown very close and will miss her immensely. However, we have our own agendas for a while and, if it works out as planned, we will meet up again later in the year. A sad day to be leaving but happy to have such a wonderful friend. Anyway, Victoria gave me something that I will cherish and have to return to her when we meet up again.
Arrived at phnom penh central market bus station at about 1:30pm and as usual got accosted by numerous tuk-tuk drivers. Ended up at the Angkor International hotel for $12 a night. Immediately got my bus ticket booked for friday to Ho Chi Minh City for $12 and then headed off to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also referred to as S-21 prison (Security office 21). From 1975 to 1978, the Khmer Rouge used this ex high school as a prison to torture and murder the cambodians who opposed their regime. Figures vary as to how many died here. They reckon an average of 100 deaths per day, either way the methods of torture where horrific and inhumane and entire families were murdered including the children. Those who didn't die here were taken out to the Choeung Ek killing fields and executed. I won't go into detail here as there are many sources of such information elsewhere on the net and in print, suffice to say that it is a moving experience, with many horrific pictures in the torture rooms and display cases of some of the many skulls of those who died. There are signs requesting silence but everyone is speechless anyway!
Went for a walk later along the Sisowath Quay road that follows the Tonlé Sap river, generally referred to as the riverside area. Will definitely be coming back tomorrow afternoon to visit the Royal palace and Silver Pagoda.
Bumped into a couple from the UK that Victoria and I had met on bamboo island, so had a drink together followed by the going to see the 'Mekong river event movie theatre' which showed a 40 minute film about the Pol Pot era and the history of genocide for $3. Some amazing images that help build an understanding of the trauma that the country went throug up to the fall of the era in 1979.
Thu 27th Mar - Off to the Choeung Ek killing fields, about 15km southwest of the city. Picked up a moto for the day for $8. Stopped off at the post office on the way to send off a couple of packages. Very fast and efficient service. Takes about half an hour to get to Choeung Ek. $2 entry fee. Between 1975 and 1978, this was where the Khmer Rouge prisoners were brought to be killed and buried in mass graves. It is unimaginable the fear these people went through and an emotional place to visit after having been to Tuol Sleng yesterday. A massive white stupa emerges amongst the 129 mass graves in which about 17,000 men, women and children where executed. To save bullets they had their skulls bashed in with rifle butts, hoes, in fact anything available. Children were smashed against trees...about 8000 skulls are displayed inside the stupa on shelf upon shelf rising upwards. A lower shelf is stacked with some of their clothes. Walking around the graves is sickening, at the sight of remnants of clothes still poking through the ground along with pieces of bone. Man's ability to be so gruesome towards fellow human beings is a sad indictment of how previously 'normal' people can be driven to perperate such extremes by fanatical leaders (Polpot, Hitler etc). A quiet ride back to town aferwards!
I decided to leave my moto driver and go exploring on foot. There is so much to see in Phnom Penh that my short visit isn't enough really. The Royal palace closes for lunch, so with a couple of hours to lose, it was an ideal opportunity to just walk around. The temperature was already very hot, so tried to keep to the shade as much as possible. The wide open boulevards are a pleasure to walk around and, with so many Wats and monuments to see, never a dull moment. A nice lunch of bananas and a cold beer in the shade was enough to cool the body down. One thing I must say about Phnom Penh is that it is overrun with moto drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, cyclo drivers, beggars, so much so that it is almost impossible to walk or sit anywhere without being pestered by them. They are pleasant enough, so it isn't too annoying, but it is hard to find some peace sometimes.
After lunch went to the silver palace and royal palace, which are inside the same walled perimeter. Entry cost is 25,000 riel and no shorts or sleeveless tops are allowed. Neither is photography inside either building. Fortunately, you get a nice souvenir booklet and map with your ticket.
At the rear of the compound is the king and queen's residence, and I guessed they were in today with the flag flying at full mast. Large areas are off-limits for security reasons and others due to repairwork in progress. Having been to Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok and seen opulence in extreme, the many tiered royal palace (built in 1866), is a more subtle design. Very grand and superbly maintained along with the gardens, which are mainly off-limits.
