Phnom Penh

Tuesday 4th

We were told to be ready by 8:30am, we were eating our breakfast at the place next door to our hotel when the bus turned up at 8:15am to collect us, so we didn't get to finish our food. Worst of all i was having a soup so i couldn't take it with me and i hadn't had much as it was still hot. Waste of money that was.We left Sianoukville at 9:30am, eventhough we were on the bus waiting, there were people who came late and we had to pick up more people from another bus office.

We arrived four hours later in Phnom Penh to a horde of tuk tuk drivers wanting us business. We went to our hotel of choice (Spring Guesthouse), which the tuk tuk driver insisted was no good (opposite to Lonely Planet's view) and that we should go to his suggestion, love the feeling of proving them wrong, $9 a night, beautiful. The plan was to have yum cha for dinner, well at least some dumplings, as we had two Chinese restaurants close by, neither had any. We went to a Khmer restaurant instead.


Wednesday 5th

Kay was still wanting prawn dumplings, luckily Monivong Blvd. which leads to the central market had many Chinese restaurants, including one that sold dumplings.

We got to the market and had  a look around, pretty much the same stuff you see everywhere, although there were a heap of watch stores in the centre and jewellery stores down another side. We had decided to get a watch since Kay's phone is our only source of the time and we have had it die on us previously. I'm not a watch person (although i might get one in Bangkok) so it was a watch for Kay. We looked at so many from the one store, after half an hour of deciding and bargaining we got a very nice '(and i mean very nice) 'Rado' watch for $20, down from $35.

I wasn't particularly after anything as i got what i immediately needed in Vietnam but i did finally find a belt that i wanted. After very hard bargaining, more so because i wasn't fussed if i got it or not, meaning i was a real hard arse, i got my 'Louis Vuitton' belt for $10, down from $25. They played the "i make no profit"card yet still gave it to me for that price as i walked away, fancy selling something for no profit.

Once again most of the day was consumed by shopping, i can't imagine what it's going to be like in Bangkok when we really plan to shop.


Thursday 6th

Today was dedicated to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda (next door to one another). We didn't realise that the Palace had a siesta so we had to wait 45 minutes to get in, which wasn't too bad as it allowed us to rest after our long walk in the middle of the day heat. It was quite hot today, however when you found some shade, combined with a nice breeze, it was not too bad. The main thing when it comes to the heat in Cambodia is the sun, when you're directly in it, you really feel it.

There was a whole bunch of people waiting to get it, some women were rejected for being under-dressed (idiots), it's common knowledge that you (boys included) must cover the shoulders and knees (shorts ok, not short shorts) in Buddhist countries before entering a pagoda or respectful sight like a Palace. The guidebook which was printed in March '09 stated $3 for entry and $2 for a camera, entry was $6.25 regardless of camera or not, talk about a price hike.

I suppose the Palace is one of those things you do in Phnom Penh, but you can't really see much and the entry fee in no way reflects what you do see. On the way back we stopped off at a Belgian chocolate shop for a rest and nibble. It was very nice. We also found a proper dim sum place on our way back and had a few things to eat (not a full meal) as the other Chinese place didn't suffice.


Friday 7th

We went to the Killing Fields of  Choeng Ek and S-21 Tuol Sleng Prison today. We started at the killing fields, which are located 13km out of Phnom Penh. We considered renting a bike but the traffic within Phnom Penh is pretty bad, although not as many people as Saigon, there are many more cars. Although it worked out fine because we got a tuk tuk driver to take us to the killing fields and drop us at Tuol Sleng for $8 (he opened at $13).

If you know about this period in Cambodian history then you can skip this paragraph and the next. In 1975 a group called the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot took over Cambodia. Soon after taking Phnom Penh from the Lon Nol regime they moved everyone out of the city. This was Year Zero, a fresh start for Pol Pot's utopia. Over the next three and a bit year's millions of Cambodians were used as slave labour on projects and rice fields. About two million people were either killed or starved to death during this period. The Vietnamese invaded Cambodia in 1979 and liberated  it's people.

The irony is that the West (mainly the US) helped the Khmer Rouge take power and did nothing to help the people of Cambodia. In fact they condemned Vietnam for invading Cambodia. It must be said that Vietnam's main reason for invading was that the Khmer Rouge were causing problems on the border and the war hardened Vietnamese had had enough. Pol Pot was never brought to justice for his crimes, he died of old age in 1998. Many of his comrades have been charged, thirty year's too late though.

Tuol Sleng was a once a school before it became S-21. The killing field of Choeng Ek was the principal killing field for prisoners from S-21, there are many more like it all over the country. Over 20 000 people went through S-21 during it's operation, all but seven ended up in the killing field. When it was abandoned due to the coming Vietnamese forces, there were fourteen dead people and the aforementioned seven survivors left in Tuol Sleng. The Khmer Rouge, like the Nazi's were meticulous record keepers, every person that went through S-21 had their photo taken and a file kept on them. Some of the photos are displayed on giant boards at the prison now.

The killing field contains over 100 mass graves, although not all have been exhumed, the largest had over 300 bodies inside it. At the site is a memorial stupa, which contains the skulls of thousands of the people that died there. If you look carefully you can see how some of them died, be it a hole from a bullet or a 'cut' from a knife (well machete). In an effort to save bullets not all were shot. Many were killed with primitive instruments such as hoes, axe handles and even palm leaves (the sharp ones).



There were constant hassles in Phnom Penh, we were been asked if we wanted a tuk tuk or moto a hundred times a day, it became really annoying. The other thing bout Phnom Penh is the volume of cars and the fact that there is no on-street parking, rather they park on the FOOTpath, facing the shops of course. Phnom Penh is definitely not pedestrian friendly. Walks become so much longer because you're constantly side stepping cars, bikes and the wares of shops. It's actually easier to walk on the side of the road, albeit more dangerous.