Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday afternoon with our 30 day e-visas obtained online using scanned passport copies and photos. It cost about 25 dollars each, was super easy to do, and we avoided the long line ups at the airport for the visa-on-arrival.  A taxi driver was waiting for us as arranged by the hotel.

The first thing we noticed was the steering wheel of our taxi was on the left side. It felt strange considering we’d just spent the last 3 ½ months driving on the other side of the road with the driver on the right side of the car. We drove through the city to get to our hotel and it wasn’t impressive. Dirty, busy, with traffic a lot like Indonesia: no one staying in one lane, motorbikes weaving in and out of cars, lane splitting.  The streets were crowded with cars, motorbikes, and tuk tuks. Tuks tuks are the easiest way for tourists to travel in Cambodian cities.

We arrived at the gate of our abode: Manor House, a gay friendly 12 room hotel with pool. We removed our shoes and left them with the pile at the bottom of the stairs.  This isn’t the first time a hotel has required its clients to remove their shoes before entering.

Sook un, a young gentle Cambodian fellow, and the manager of the hotel, got us sorted out quickly. The hotel is owned by David, an Australian, who bought the place about 4 years ago for his ‘retirement’. Previously he was a fashion designer and teacher. Our room is very spacious and we have more drawers and cupboards then we can fill. A/c, fan, fridge, TV, WIFI, breakfast, king sized bed, ensuite bathroom... all for 32 dollars.

After we packed, David gave us a map and presented us with a few choices for dinner and off we went. On route there are many tuk tuk drivers offering their services but once you say ‘no thanks’ they don’t pester you and are quite friendly.  Our hotel is located on a quiet street and takes less than 5 minutes to walk to some restaurants and a small variety store. I was so glad things were close after having to walk 20 – 25 minutes to get to a restaurant from our home in Bangkok!

We had dinner at the Herb Café, a tiny open air restaurant filled with foreign tourists. Our meal of grilled Sea Bass with mango chutney, assorted sushi plate and drinks came to about 10 dollars US. Most of the prices seem to be in US dollars here.  We wandered down the street and found a tiny variety store and I searched in vain for Crest toothpaste. Our tubes of Crest were finished in Thailand and we were forced to buy Colgate, which we hate. We got a large bottle of water for about 80 cents and made our way back.

We returned to our room to catch Walking Dead and then had a pretty rough night’s sleep. The a/c was so cold we shut it off but then woke in the wee hours of the morning sweating because it was so hot.  Unfortunately, Ian couldn’t get the a/c back on so I got dressed and went downstairs to seek some help but by the time I found someone, Ian had figured things out again. It was not a good night.

The Killing Fields

In the morning breakfast was eggs, fruit, and yogurt. The pool looked inviting but we had to dash for our arranged outing. The day before Sook un suggested we make the 30 minute trip outside of the city to the killing fields so he arranged for a tuk tuk driver.  Our driver was waiting so we piled onto the back bench of the two bench carriage attached to his motorbike and were on our way.

I have to say it’s an interesting way to see the city up close. Tuk tuks go slower than taxis and you have an unobstructed view of people on the road and at the side of the roads. Our journey took us down busy streets and dusty roads.  Shops lined one road where a few breaks in between provided glimpses of flat fields of rice. Eventually I realized that behind each shop was a home balanced on high stilts. Some of the shops were just large enough to hold a barber’s chair or bottles of water and food; others sold tires, hardware, or a few items of clothing. There were also repair shops for engines and welding shops.

The road was busy with cement trucks, SUVs, motorbikes, Lorries, and tuk tuks and the dust flew. I looked down at my grey pants and was astonished to see them covered in a fine layer of brown dust. Our driver suddenly pulled over and stuck a brick under one of the wheels. He then limped across the road over to a small concession stand. I figured maybe he had to buy some cigarettes but instead he returned with two bottles of water and two masks to help with the dust. We put those masks on gratefully.

I loved watching the busy traffic, in particular, the motorbikes. Families of 4 and sometimes 5 can squeeze onto one seat of a motorbike. It is amazing what they will carry on those bikes: wooden trailers with thirty 10 foot metal beams, 15 foot trim, bamboo chairs piled high, tiny babies draped over their arms… Look closely  at this next photo, there are three passengers carrying what I think is a metal wardrobe rack:

We arrived at the Choeung Ek Genocide Center, the most well known of over 300 killing fields throughout Cambodia. According to the BBC news, the Khmer Rouge, under the leader Pol Pot were responsible for killing an estimated 2.5 million of its own people. The Khmer Rouge were the ruling party of Cambodia from 1975 to 79.

On entrance, we were provided with an audio unit in English to help us understand the significance of the various sites. Many of the visitors were Western and all were respectful, hardly speaking, certainly not smiling or laughing. By the end of the tour, some looked shell shocked and a few were crying. It is a pretty sad journey to make through these fields.

The Khmer Rouge wanted to transform Cambodia into an agrarian utopia and quickly went about evacuating cities, forcing people to move to the country where they would serve as slave labour in the fields. Apparently Pol Pot was influenced by the self-sufficient hill tribes where money and Buddhism were not important. Anyone who seemed to be an intellect: artists, teachers, movie stars, researchers, even those who wore glasses, were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Many were tortured.

Choeung Ek was a village turned into an execution and burial site. According to the Choeung Ek website, prisoners were told that they were being moved to a different location to keep them from trying to escape or cry. As many as 300 people a day were killed as high ranking officials supervised from the sidelines. Blindfolded prisoners would be led to a ditch, told to kneel then hit with an axe, hoe, shovel, or club because bullets were too expensive to waste (according to the audio tape).

The site itself is mostly a large field with indentations where the graves were found.

A tall white memorial contains the skulls and bones of those found in the graves. I could see the skulls from where I sat but couldn’t bring myself to go in.

Sign posts along the way indicated where buildings had once stood.

The audio tape pointed out particular areas of focus and provided background information. At one point, I was directed to look at the ground behind a roped off area where teeth and bone fragments continue to surface. Every 3 months, staff collect them from the ground. Bits of clothing and rags can be seen caught in the roots of trees or poking up from the ground.

A large tree once held mounted speakers playing loud music to drown out the cries and screams of those being killed.  Another tree was where babies were killed. Taking photos of these seemed disrespectful and even now, writing this, I find it hard to relate the horrors of what we learned.  I was glad that a small pond with a trail around it allowed for some quiet reflection and time away from the evidence of such horrific events.

The end of the tour included a small museum with information on some of those who were killed and an introduction to some of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot is dead but just this week, three high ranking officials are being put on trial – 30 years later. Hard to believe.

Our tuk tuk took us back to the city for lunch across from the Russian Market. It was cheap and plentiful. Neither of us felt like hitting the market so we went on our way to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly known as S.21.

Genocide Museum

S.21 was created by Pol Pot in 1975 for the detention, interrogation, torture, and killing after confession of prisoners. Originally S.21 was a primary school and high school. There are four large buildings on the site. This building is where interrogations and torture took place.

When the site was first discovered, fourteen corpses were found, one in each of the torture rooms on the lower area, left tied to metal bed frames. Of the 14, one was a woman. These were the last victims to be tortured and killed by S.21 personnel before they fled. The corpses were unidentifiable and are now buried in graves on the site. Tourists can enter each room and inside there is a bed frame, a large photo on the wall of the victim found in that room, and various other implements – perhaps a shovel, shackles, or a plastic container. It is truly horrific.

Outside the building is a large wooden post, in the shape of a goal post, where prisoners were tied up to a pulley system and lifted by the arms (which were tied behind their backs). This was done several times and they would pass out from the pain. Their heads were then dunked into large containers of filthy water until they regained consciousness; the procedure continued until they would confess. Some prisoners would make up stories like accidents they caused or mistakes made at work, others would give the guards the names of the neighbours.

The other three buildings are covered in barbed wire to prevent prisoners from committing suicide by jumping from the open corridors running along the front.

The rooms on the lower levels were reconfigured into tiny cells. The first building had cells made of cement blocks while the second building held even smaller cells, 0.8 X 2 metres, made of wood. The ceilings were open and there was a small window in each door. I could barely enter the room let alone take a photo or enter a cell. It was hard to imagine being in one of those tiny dark cells.

The upper levels were for larger cells where prisoners were crowded together, their ankles shackled with metal clamps along a long bar. Prisoners would be forced to lie on their backs, unable to move. Some of the rooms held displays, providing information about four senior officials still alive and under investigation.  Other rooms held board after board of photos.

The Khmer Rouge were meticulous record keepers and every prisoner had a photo and an I.D. number. These were the photos that we walked slowly by.  It was eerie, seeing the men, women, and children, peering at us – knowing that they soon died after that picture was taken. The average prisoner at S.21 lived 2 to 4 months.

Going through the buildings and seeing all those photos was emotionally exhausting but extremely educational and an invaluable experience.