Hello Cambodia

We had paid extra to get the fast boat from Vietnam to Cambodia, but after breaking down at the Cambodian border we eventually arrived in Phnom Penh about 4 hours later than expected! After being persuaded to stay in a local hotel ( loose use of the word hotel)by one of the many touts/taxi drivers who met us at the pier, we agreed that the same guy would be our transport for the following day and set off for a walk around the city before it got dark. Phnom Penh was not at all what we had expected, it is a relatively big and busy new looking city with wide pavements. One of the first things we noticed was the number of cars compared to Vietnam where the main mode of transport was mopeds. The streets are very dark at night as there are very few street lights.

01 The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

We decided not to go on organised tours and instead arranged for our taxi driver to take us to the Killing Fields, S-21 and then leave us at the Royal Palace for US$15. He was waiting for us after breakfast and we headed off 15Km South West of Phnom Penh to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, as soon as we left the city boundary the nice paved roads turned to dusty dirt roads full of pot holes. The killing fields are a sad and strange place, its quiet stark. There is a memorial stupa which holds 8000skulls, a few plaques providing a brief history and the rest is just fields with large craters where the graves were dug out. You could still see some bones and pieces of clothing in the earth, very eery. From here we headed back into the city to the Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21). On route we tried to engage in conversation with our driver, talking about the history and the places we were visiting, but he was not willing to discuss. The Tuol Sleng museum was a former school, turned into the S-21 prison by Pol Pot in 1975. Almost all of the prisoners held were tortured and executed, including women and children. Again this was a very sad and eery place to visit, you could see the cells and torture equipment, but worst of all are the photos of all the prisoners. The details of every prisoner inc photographs were recorded, they looked like normal people - well they were! - babies, children, men and women of all ages.

02 The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

Our next stop was the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda ( the floor is made of silver tiles!), this place is just beautiful, the grounds, the many buildings, everything is very luxurious. As we later walked around this part of the city we noticed lots of large pictures of the King, the city does have a wealthy feel in parts.

03 The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

04 The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

05 The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek

06 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

07 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

08 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

09 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

10 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

11 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

12 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

13 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

14 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

15 Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21)

16 Phnom Penh

17 Phnom Penh

18 Phnom Penh

19 Phnom Penh

20 Phnom Penh