Princess Hotel Phnom Penh

... voting, no matter how politically apathetic you might be... but more critically, the importance of holding our politicians absolutely accountable to the people they serve, regardless of which party is in power.<br><br>After S-21, we drove to the "Killing Fields", to the rural South West of Phnom Penh, where "outgoing" inmates from the prison were sent for execution. Here, they were blindfolded, bludgeoned and had their throats slit (bullets being saved for waging ...

... recharging the batteries. I took a nice stroll around town to see some sights. I started off with my eyes set on a Western style sub sandwich, which I found and destroyed. Whole grain bread, spicy chicken with lettuce, jalapenos, and pickles, with mustard on top. Oh man, it had been too long. <br><br> I found the Central Market, which is a huge dome structure with a basic market inside. Nothing special. I found my way to the American Embassy, and just to step foot on American Soil, I ...

... putting everything in a box and slapping on an address, we thought, OK, it&#8217;s a little heavy; it will probably be expensive; but it&#8217;s worth it. So we headed to the post office.<br><br>Even though we had packed the box well and had it all ready to tape up, the ladies at the post office took it to the next level by covering our box with brown wrapping paper and miles of tape. Everything was looking good. Then they put it on the scale&#8230 ...

... here between 1975 and 1979. There are thought to be only 12 people who survived the imprisonment and were released. It was really horrific to see the barbaric torture methods and implements which remain there today and even more thought provoking considering how recent it was, only a couple of years before we were born. There were thousands of photos of the prisoners on display including a few foreigners. And we saw cabinets full of peoples skulls which were uncovered in ...

... names and mannerisms, identifying their needs and limitation - and we had great fun playing with, and teahing, them. We ate rice three times a day, accompanied by a range of healthy vegetable based dishes, and steered well clear of the beers!<br><br>A few days became a week, which extended itself into a fortnight. We were doing good! and living well, though the stresses of the place began to affect us, and I felt quite restless, that surely came from a withdrawal from the excesses ...

... has lost a family member or know of someone who died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. <br><br>S21 was once a school and was turned into a prison of torture. The 2 buildings are now a museum where you can see how the original classrooms were turned into cells and they pretty much remain as they were found. In some cells there are still blood stains on the floor. The walls are lined with pictures taken of the prisoners - alll were ...

... them again. Boo hoo!<br><br>Our new BFF's were so accommodating that they called for our personal tuk-tuk driver, Vy, each evening. Vy has been escorting us all over Phnom Penh. We simply call his cell phone and he arrives smiling and waving his arms high over his head to make sure we see him, before hailing another tuk-tuk. Azh and I are convinced that he's been able to treat his lady to a few ...

... it with!<br>And the sun was shining... so we sunbathed and swam and chilled....<br>On the walk back, we took a different route back through the middle of Don det... it was like stepping back in time.... it's not a big island but all you could see was rice paddy fields, farmers working the land with buffalos and ploughs, no machines.... kids playing with grasshoppers... it was beautiful...<br><br>Day 3 - most of the original group had left so i was left with Dutch Roy, Italian ...

... there is no garbage person to come pick it up. The streets were dark, unlit and smelled like garbage. To make the scene even a bit seedier (and quite sad) we walked by a few &#8220;Karaoke&#8221; bars on the way to the mall. In Phnom Penh karaoke is a euphemism for brothel. The streets that weren&#8217;t dark were lined with teenage girls sitting outside the &#8220;karaoke&#8221; for business. When we finally made it to the mall the food ...

... the security checks, not to mention getting into every one else's way. However, although not as grand as the Grand Palace in Bangkok, it was attractive enough: marble, cream, white and gold - the main buildings - monks clad in the orange robes and flip-flops striding in unison. The place, however, got so crowded at the finish that I was glad to quit the place. Outside, I gave a lame bookseller a couple of Cambodian bucks. It was nice to sit down and ...