Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand

We had been warned that today would be a tough day, but I was not prepared for how tough it would be.

We left our hotel around 8 and drove 15 minutes to S-21, the high school turned massive prison during the reign of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. I don’t think I truly understood that many of these prisons were right in the city centre. We were taken into a cell which was fairly large as that’s where the “VIP” prisoners were kept. Prisoners here were chained by their ankles to a bed and tortured. Each of the 14 VIP cells also had pictures of the dead bodies as these were the final prisoners killed when the Vietnamese showed up to drive out Pol Pot. Much like the photos at the War Remnants Museum, these were uncensored and completely horrifying. Prisoners were often not only clubbed in the head, but also disemboweled. Our guide even showed us where their were still blood stains on the ceiling. And that was just the start.

We walked through each cell, quietly observing, and then came to Block B where our guide become so emotional as he talked about his experience. He and his siblings were hidden at a labour farm and told to say they were orphans (his father worked for the previous government and therefore he came from an educated family). The children worked every day and had nothing to eat, so they whatever bugs they could find to survive. His mother survived but his father and several of his siblings died. He had to collect himself many times and it was so heartbreaking.

We also were able to see the children’s rope climbing apparatus that Pol Pot turned into a gallows, and a volleyball court that was used to torture prisoners by water boarding them in large vats of water. There were several rooms that contained the photos of every prisoner that was taken, and often, a collection of skulls and bones. Tong and our other guide kept referring to it as being “confronting” which is not how I would ever use this word, but it was absolutely that - confronting.

We had some time to ourselves to explore the three blocks of cells and then we loaded to bus to drive out to the Killing Fields.

After half an hour, we arrived at one of the many Killing Fields. This was one of the sites of mass graves. The Khmer Rouge didn’t necessarily kill people at S-21 (until the very end when they were fleeing), but they did transport prisoners (in fake Red Cross trucks so they wouldn’t be detected) to this countryside place and murder them. They couldn’t use guns because villagers would hear them, so they clubbed them, cut their throats, and/or disemboweled them and then pushed them into mass graves. The site has been outfitted with wooden bridges so you don’t walk on the bones of the dead. It goes without saying that this was an incredibly sad visit and hard to comprehend the mass murder that happened in such a short time.

Whew. A very heavy morning. Lots of deep breaths and many tears.

We had lunch across the road and tried Tong’s recommendations of Char Krereng (similar to a stir fry) and Somlor Korko Ktis (curry soup with fish and morning glory) as well as a lemon soda. The fresh sodas and juices are really great!

Once we got back to our hotel, we repacked our day bags and headed off to the central market. This market was quite different than the ones in Vietnam because the sellers were far less aggressive! Cambodia is known for its peppercorns, so we stopped in at a booth and the vendor let us try the different grades and colours of peppercorns. They were all spicy, but far more fragrant than the ones we get at home.

After we had our fill of the market, we walked to the Royal Palace and tried to gain admission, but Brad’s shorts were too short! So, we had to buy some pants for him to cover up. I didn’t get a picture of his “temple” pants, but I hood up! They are pretty cute and likely the best pants he’ll ever buy for $3 USD!

The palace buildings were ornately decorated and quite beautiful. And we spent about an hour visiting the various structures.

We decided to take a tuk tuk back to our hotel as we were meeting our group to go on a “booze cruise.” This cruise was something else! Not only did they send four-person tuk tuks to pick us up, but it was all you could eat fruit and all you could drink beer! We were with the other GAdventures group who is doing the exact same tour we are, so it was fun to mingle with them as we often see them on our journey!

The cruise was a great way to see Phnom Penh and we thoroughly enjoyed the sunset! We decided to split off after the cruise and go to a fine-dining Cambodian restaurant called Milas. I’ll write about it in a separate post!Leer más