Phnom Penh

Started the day at the Royal Palace. Had a great local guide who made some absolutely fantastic jokes(!) Such as Angelina Jolie being his ex girlfriend. Royal Palace is mostly 19th century but still pretty special to look at especially in the blazing sunlight and there was a good collection of Buddha statues and gold elephant boxes. We then went to the killing fields which was fucking horrifying. It's hard to even imagine how nearly half the population was wiped out over a few years by boy soldiers essentially. The fields were shocking because on top of the thousands of remains already found,more bones, teeth and rags of clothing keep showing through the earth after the rainy season. We actually saw bones and teeth poking out of the ground beneath our feet which I was not anticipating. We also visited the genocide museum which was equally as grim - we were shown around the tiny cells prisoners were kept in and saw photos of their bodies which was horrifying. It's really difficult to comprehend something in such recent history that hasn't really been reconciled- ex guards and soldiers of the regime still go about their lives despite all the things they did which is strange. Our guide said it is the Buddhist way to forgive and understand those people will be punished in their next life. After that we went to the National Museum which was a welcome respite. Lots of amazing sculpture from the Ankor period which was interesting to see as it's not something I'm familiar with. We also saw the first graphical depiction of zero which was pretty exciting for nerds like us. No protection around it of course so we could get up really close. Finally, we went on a 'fun' cyclo ride which comprised of sitting in a seat facing directly into the traffic powered by a bike peddled by a seemingly exhausted man no longer in the prime of his life who kept coughing every 30 seconds. I thought my weight would be the death of him but we both made it through unscathed and saw the spectacular 1920s central market. Also managed to have a cocktail at the FCC which is supposedly famous for colonial journalists and authors but I have to confess my ignorance on this as hadn't heard of them! But still, it was a good atmosphere and I needed a strong drink after today.Read more