Cambodia – First Two Days
PICTURES – I have taken tons of pictures, but it looks like I might have to wait until I return to China before downloading them. The internet here is not fast enough, and I would have to spend HOURS downloading them. So, this will be something for you to look forward to later, okay?!
I left for Cambodia on Tuesday, July 18 and was lucky to meet Kim and her mother during my flight to Phnom Penh. They are Cambodian, and she and her family insisted on taking me to my hotel, despite the long wait involved in having me clear Customs. I swear, those officials took longer than any place I have travelled! Our flight didn’t arrive until 1:00 am so Kim was concerned for my safety. If this is an example of the friendliness of the Cambodians, then I have come to the right place!
And of course we woke up the hotel staff when we arrived at the Dara Reang Sey Hotel. They wanted me to pay USD 15 for an air conditioned room, but when I showed them my reservation, they immediately changed their tone. As a result, my single room with fan which cost only USD 7 was very nice indeed!
I ate in the hotel’s restaurant the next morning and met Michael, a journalist and travel writer from Canada (he had the most amazing stories to tell). He once trekked through a remote area of Nepal with a very high-ranking Lama – he almost didn’t live to tell the tale! Anyway, he is here with his family – they are doing the tourist thing while he hunts out amazing stories about survivors.
Later on, at an internet cafe, I met a British gentleman who has been coming to Cambodia since the 1980’s (believe me, he has seen it all!). He is even close friends with Cambodia’s King! The funny thing is that I have run into him many times since that first morning! Our neighbourhood is quite small, it seems.
The first tourist thing I did was to visit the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. I am quite lucky that they were within easy walking distance of my hotel. The motocycle guys and tuk-tuk guys are constantly hounding us, trying to get us to hire them.
The current Royal Palace is not the original (what else is new). The Silver Pagoda is called that because of the amazing silver floor – it is covered with 5,329 silver tiles – they are quite beautiful. But, the offiicial name of the temple is the “Temple of the Emerald Buddha” due to the fact that the main image inside is a pure emerald buddha. Inside the temple are many buddhist statues, made of a variety of materials such as gold, silver, and bronze. I found out later that diamonds, sapphires, rubies and other precious stones are inlaid into each one.
I found a wonderful Thai restauarant in which to have dinner. It was not to be a peaceful evening, however. The local children meander in and out of the restaurants, lugging around plastic bins filled with books, in hopes of getting the tourists to buy them. The sad thing is that many of them are so devious, even at such a young age. But they need to survive. There are also beggars everywhere, but not as many land mine victims here as I expected. I will probably see a lot more in other areas as I travel around Cambodia.
Most people live in their shops. Some even park their cars right in the middle of their shops! I especially noticed a bedding shop next door, with a nice double-glass door. The shop’s walls displayed all the bedding materials while the center of the shop remained empty. At the end of the evening, they open the two doors and two cars drove in to park for the evening – I have never seen anything like it! I mean, this was a NICE shop!
I went to the Mekong River restaurant for breakfast the next day (at my British friend’s suggestion) and then spent the next couple of hours viewing two short documentaries created by the restaurant’s French owner: “Pol Pot: The History of Genocide, and “The Mines in Cambodia and in the world”. These two films provided me with an excellent background on the history of some of the atrocities commited by the Khmer Rouge regime in the1970’s. I also learned more about the mines in Cambodia and why some countries still refuse to stop production of them. I hadn’t realize the leadership role that Canada has taken in this matter as well – good for us!
Later, I went to the FCC for lunch (Foreign Correspondents” Club). I felt like I had stepped back in time. The club is located in an old British style building, replete with ceiling fans and huge rattan club chairs to sink back into. It’s a beautiful restaurant and the prices were not at outrageous as I had expected.
I then went on my first Cambodian tuk-tuk ride to get to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This was the most famous prison which was set up by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s. Its purpose was to interrogate and exterminate those who were accused of opposing Angkor. Ironically enough, the prison was housed in a former high school located in a sedate residential neighbourhood. During the Khmer Rouge regime, the school/prison was enclosed by corrugated iron sheets covered with dense, electrified barb wire. Victims in the prison were taken from all walks of life. They were of different nationalities and included, Brits, Aussies and even Canadians, but the vast majority were Cambodians. Whole families of the prisoners, including new born babies, were taken there for extermination. Extensive records were kept by the Khmer Rouge and reports show that close to 20,000 people were killed there. They were kept in small cells and shackled with chains fixed to walls or rings in the concrete floors. Those held in the larger mass cells had one or both of their legs shackled or short or long pieces of iron bar. Before the prisoners were put in the cells, they were photographed, and detailed biographies of their childhood up to the dates of their arrests were recorded. Then they were stripped of everything and forced to sleep directly on the concrete floors; there were no mats, mosquito nets or blankets. The conditions were absolutely atrocious.
The biggest challenge facing the government right now is how to best preserve the prison facility, along with its extensive collection of documents and photographs, which are deteriorating more and more each day. I realize it is extremely that this important record of the Cambodian people’s history is never forgotten. In fact, the local guide I hired to take me through the facility was a victim herself. In 1975, everyone in Phnom Penh was forcefully taken from the city (it was completely emptied of its population) and marched to the countryside where they undertook farming work for the next 4 years. (I found out later that this happened in all the major cities throughout Cambodia). Conditions in the countryside were appalling and many died from illness, lack of food and overwork. My guide lost most of her family and still suffers emotionally today. She even showed me the deep scars carved into her legs where she was beated during her time in the fields. Virtually every Cambodian over 30 years old has suffered directly as a result of the Khmer Rouge onslaught. I don’t think any of us can ever fully comprehend what the Cambodian people went through during that time.
This is the rainy season, right?!! Well, it hasn’t been too bad. So far, it only rains in the late afternoons. But, my god does it rain! Yesterday the water on the streets easily reached 6 inches high in no time at all. And the rain is usually accompanied by the most amazing thunder and lightening. It’s really quite scary.
For dinner, I tried the Kebab Cafe (Pakistan) and enjoyed some fabulous Indian curry and nan bread – yum!
My travels will continue. That’s it for now my friends. Carol :o)
Tags: Travel
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