The Wow Travels

After my absolutely stunning and amazing time in Vietnam, I left to go to Cambodia.
Vietnam has been a great joy. I spent almost three months in this amazing country and I experienced a lot. From the Ha Giang Loop to volunteering in Hanoi, exploring the country side and visiting some waterfalls, eating amazing food and living cheaply with expenses from averaging 20 CHF a day (without selecting the cheapest options available).
I was also lucky enough that my friends visited me during the first three weeks and a newly-made friend during the last two weeks. So I was sad when I got onto the bus that would bring me to Phnom Pen.

But the busride, including the border and visa on arrival process went smooth and I entered Cambodia with no problem.
First thing that happened was a tuk tuk driver trying to charge me 5 dollars for a 5 minute ride, which I bargained down to 1.5 USD.
Cambodias currency is riel, but they also use USD. I decided to pay everything with riel, because if the dollar note is not in top condition, they wouldn't accept it. But their own currency they accept even if it is a little bit fucked.

Phnom Pen is more modern than I thought it would be. In the hostel, I made friends with Clara, a solo traveler on her bike and together we joined a free walking tour.
Our tourguide Martin was very nice, telling us a bit about the history of Cambodia and Phnom Pen. The weather was hot and humid, but still better than Quy Nhon.
The tour ended in the night market, where I had cambodian fried rice for dinner.

The next day, I had a private tuk tuk driver bringing me to the killing fields (as the season is low, there are many tuk tuk drivers talking to you and asking what you are doing. One tuktuk driver called Boli convinced me to hire him for the day, where he would drive me around for 14 USD).

I came to Cambodia with little to no knowledge. The only thing I knew before entering the killing field was the word "genocide".
Trigger Warning, here is what happened (don't read the following paragraph if you are not in the mood for something heavy. Continue with "I left the killing fields...."):

Basically, Khmer rouge was a radical communist movement that ruled the country from 1975 to 1979. During this time, 3 million Cambodians (from a total of 7 million) got killed. From their own people.
The leader of Khmer rouge wanted to make a new community, with "old people" (farmers) and "new people" (smart people, but only those who are in power). That meant no private property, nothing to own yourself except the clothes on your body (not even that in some cases). Any person that was suspicous got murdered (that means: speaking a second language, wearing glasses, looking funny at a member of the khmer rouge). They basically enslaved everybody, forcing them to plant rice. They wanted triple the amount of rice, but would sell everything to China to fund their movement, while Cambodians were starving. Families got split up, houses destroyed, everything in shambles.
They would kill the whole family of the suspicious people, just so that the children wouldn't seek revenge later on.
That means I entered the killing fields, listening to the audioguide, and I still saw old clothes between tree roots, washed up from the rain. That means I stood in front of a tree that was used to smash the head in of the children of the "traitors", before they were thrown into a pit next to their dead, naked, raped mother.
I looked at the stupa, a religious resting place for hundreds of skulls, bones and ragged clothes. I visited the museum, saw the hung up baby clothes and in my head, I could not get the images out that my brain was conjuring up, too used with reading books.
This was not phantasy. this happened less than 50 years ago. My parents were already alive when this happened.

I left the killing fields and Boli, my driver, greeted me with a smile, before driving me to the Museum Genosida Tuol Sleng.
Where it even got worse (Trigger Warning again, next paragraph is about the torture of those "traitors". Continue with "In the museum, I didn't take many photos....").

In the museum, I got another audio guide.
So before the people got to the killing fields, they were tortured in an old school. They were forced to confess for crimes they did not do, like working for the CIA (they never heard of the CIA before), or for stealing things they never stole. They were tortured by binding their hands behind their back, tying them to a post and pulling on the rope until they were hanging in the air, dislocating their shoulders. If they became unconcious, they would dunk their head into a bowl filled with feces and dirt water, until they woke up and the torturer would repeat the process.
They were held in either one big room or small individual cells, feet tied to a iron bar or chain and at night, when they move and the chain would rattle, they would beat them for making noise. There were more rooms with skulls, some with holes in them, where they bashed their heads in with hammers or agriculture equipment. There were even records of two foreigners (americans sailing around the world) who got arrested on their boat when they were close to Cambodia, and then also tortured and killed here.
Appr. 20'000 people were held just in this one place. There are only 12 confirmed survivors.

In the museum, I didn't take many photos. I did not dare.
The khmer rouge were overthrown by the vietnamese 1979. There was still war and peace only came to this country 1991.
Since then, Cambodia is growing and fast developing.
I went out of the museum, a tuktuk driver asked me if I need a ride and I said no, I have someone waiting for me and he thanked me (as in thanking me using a private tuktuk and not relying on Grab).
Boli took me back to my hostel and I gave him 15 USD.

Then I went to a restaurant and ate chicken salad.

Growing up, I did not know war. Switzerland is famous for not-involving itself in anything happening in the world and though I was aware that terrible crimes to humanity existed, it is different when I am standing in front of a Stupa filled with human skulls. All the Cambodians smiling at me, being friendly and greeting me cheerfully with a head nod and a "hello sister" show me just how strong the human spirit is and even when facing the worst thing possible, things can always get better.Weiterlesen