Phnom Penh - Viewer Discretion is Advised

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Warning - This post is not for those with weak stomachs. Some of the images and subject matter may be disturbing. If you have difficulty, skip toward the end and enjoy the Royal Palace.

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We flew from Bangkok to the capital of Cambodia, mid-afternoon on Dec. 18. The AirAsia flight was only half-full at best, providing most people with a window seat. The flight was only 55 min. When we arrived, we immediately had to wait for our visa (a whopping $20). This process involved handing over the application and our passports, and waiting for them to be passed down a line of 8 Cambodian officials and then handed back when our names were called and we gave them the money. Side note: there's a $1 "fine" if you don't bring a passport photo with you, which is actually cheaper than having passport photos taken. We got a cab and drove to the waterfront to find a guesthouse to stay in. We spent the night checking out the pubs and had our first experience with the amazing Khmer cuisine.

The Streets of Phnom Penh.

Geckos, everywhere.

$4 for 2 crabs in a garlic and peppercorn sauce. The second one "bit" me.

The next day, we decided to upgrade our housing and moved to the California 2 guesthouse. We then found a tuktuk to take us around for the day (and quite a distance) for $25. First, we decided to visit Tuol Sleng - literally meaning "Place of Death", (also known as S21) an old high school that was converted into a torture facility during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. For those who are unaware, the Khmer Rouge committed a genocide that ended the lives of several million Cambodians from 1973-1978 until the Vietnamese freed the country of their tyranny. The regime imprisoned and killed anyone who was an opponent of the communist party, any foreigners and anyone who was educated. The effects of the Khmer Rouge can still be felt and seen throughout the country, as thousands of landmines (placed to lower national morale in the replacement government) still dot the landscape. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians have been left disfigured from stepping on landmines. Unlike most museums, this was not a sterilized way of informing the public. Rather, the facility was left mostly in the manner that it was found 30 years ago, with bloodstains still found on the walls and floors. The museum still had the beds used for torture in the cells, with pictures on the wall of how each room was used. There are pictures of all of the victims of the facility, including women and children as young as 5 or 6 years old. There is also photo documentation of the vicious and horrendous results of the torture. At one point, Andrew and I passed through a gate that wasn't quite closed, only to find a space under some stairs filled with the remains of the clothes left behind by the victims.

Tuol Sleng.

Entry Instructions

Prisoner Code of Conduct.

One of the torture cells.

One of the youngest victims.

Bloodstains on the cell floor. These cells are not even big enough for me to lie down.

After an emotionally trying visit to Tuol Sleng, we made our way to the Killing Fields about 15-20 km outside of town. I thought that Tuol Sleng was hard, but this made it seem like Disneyland by comparison. The Killing Fields is one of hundreds of sites that was home to the mass graves of the Khmer Rouge victims. This one was where the victims of Tuol Sleng were sent to be executed. Over 22 000 victims were executed at this site. Less than 9000 of these bodies have been found. The central monument houses all of the skulls and hand and foot bones that have been found. What really hits home about this site is that as you walk around, there are bones protruding from the ground as well as the clothing that the victims were wearing. Every year, the ground heaves, forcing many bones to the surface. There are piles of bones scattered around the site, and even a container for people to pick up any bones that they find and deposit them for a proper burial.

One of 13 levels of bones in the Killing Fields monument.

Mass graves.

Monument at the Killing Fields.

Bones in and on the ground.

The Khmer Rouge chose the site because it was already a Chinese cemetery. Once a month, the party would drive a few hundred prisoners to the place, blast some VERY loud music so it would seem like a party, but use the noise to drown out the screams of those being executed. Since they couldn't afford to keep buying bullets, Pol Pot ordered that they not be used on the prisoners. Instead, they would use hammers, garden hoes, knives, and most commonly palm leaves. This seemed odd to me at first, but when I walked into a palm leaf, I discovered just how rigid and serrated the edges are on them.

To alleviate the emotional devastation we placed on ourselves, we visited the Cambodian Royal Palace. Since Cambodia is a monarchy, the Palace is still in use, and there are pretty strict rules on where you can go, and of what you can take photos. The Palace is grand and ornately decorated, a stark contrast to the run-down and rather impoverished country and city that surrounds it.

The Royal Palace.

Napoleon Bonaparte's gift to the Cambodian Royal Family. It's a bit of an eyesore in contrast to the exquisite architecture that surrounds it.

That's me.

The inside of the Silver Pagoda. The floor is made entirely of sterling silver tiles. Photographs are forbidden, so I had to sneak this one in.

Visitors to Phnom Penh will find many peddlers, often children, who approach you at every step of the way. The tuktuk drivers are particularly troublesome, as the streets are lined with them, and each one will ask pipe up with "Tuktuk?" as you pass them. After a day and a half, I was more than prepared to move on to Siem Reap. A trip that would commence at 7:00 the next morning.