Alice masters Asian City

Trip Start Nov 15, 2008
1
8
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Trip End Feb 28, 2009


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Flag of Cambodia  ,
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Phnom Penh is very a special place. Not in a bad way. It's not an easy place to be. Hot and edgy, with a rising economy set against the history of Cambodia which is markedly present in this city since the Khmer Rouge killed and exiled most of its inhabitants. In just 2 days here we had more than enough. We walked to the beautiful modern theatre to see a show we had been told about which marked 60 years since the UN Declaration of Human Rights, which Cambodia now subscribes to. On the way we got chased by a monkey and we almost set upon a man who was sitting with a Khmer girl who could barely have been 13. We got about 200 yards past and although we've seen a lot of prostitution and Thai or Khmer/Western "relationships" on our travels, this one really got to us and we wished we had the guts to go and say something to the fat middle aged man sitting next to this girl as they stared at the traffic. You rarely see these bizarre couples talking to each other, I always wonder why they bother sitting together in cafes. I suppose loneliness and desire is quenched in many ways. Seeing the dance show at the theatre was really positive, an interesting juxtaposition to seeing the young girl in the cafe a couple of hours earlier. For me, it highlights the battle going on everywhere and the need to keep questioning our actions. Sometimes the tourism industry seems like the answer to everyone making a better life in places like Phnom Penh but mainly I've seen a lot of pissed up people wanting to "do" the sights and get high. 60 years of the Declaration of Human Rights
60 years of the Declaration of Human Rights
 Except Kylie, maybe, we met her during quiz night at the Lazy Gecko. She's lived in Phnom Penh for 2 years doing work with a charity which tries to help people who are displaced. For example, when a big Japanese company wants to buy land to build a resort somewhere in town, the government chuck all the people off it and put them in the countryside. About as much use as asking me to become an electrician over night. So they all become even more poor in the countryside and some people don't look after their children. Kyle has learnt Khmer, well enough to tell the men how manly it is to look after their children and feed them and dress them while their wives are at work. Otherwise, Khmer man, you are as weak as your child. She knows it's patronising, but when it works it's a result. The other ex pats all seem to work as teachers, another form of colonialism, you could argue.

We visited Teng Sleung, it's a school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a detention and torture/murder camp. I don't need to say much more except that, you'll see from the photos, it's not a sanitised museum. It is as it was from 1975-79, the beds are in place and so are the rods that they shackled your ankles to so they can electrocute you. One in four Khmer people died. And it was in most of our lifetimes. And the Khmer Rouge held a seat at the UN until the 90s. WTF. History lesson over.

We didn't get into the Royal Palace because our shoulders were not covered and we'd had enough by then, but there are these splendid Pagodas dotted all over Phnom Penh and wide "French" boulevards which make the city really beautifull in many ways. The food is delicious, Amok has fish with coconut on top and it's steamed in a banana leaf. Gorgeous. But time to go.
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