Swasiday!

Trip Start Jan 06, 2005
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Trip End Apr 13, 2005


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Flag of Cambodia  ,
Monday, March 7, 2005

while in saigon, we also paid a visit to the cu chi tunnels, a lengthy underground network of tunnels (3 levels) that was constructed by the viet minh during the war with the french, and then expanded and used extensively by the north and southern guerilla forces during the war with the americans. the cu chi area itself was full of people who supported the north vietnamese army and many of them (including young women, many as young as 17-18, physically showed support by going to fight as part of the guerilla army. the area was also heavily bombed by the US army in their attempts to bomb out the tunnels but the northern forces proved to be too clever. even though i've already visited the tunnels once before, the ingenuity of the tunnels and the guerilla warfare methods that were employed never cease to amaze me! the tunnels played a pivotal role in the eventual fall/liberation (whichever way you look at it) of saigon in 1975, finally ending the long and bloody war.

after saigon, jess and i went on a 3-day tour of the mekong delta, an incredibly fertile area that is home to many tropical fruit orchards and rice paddies (it produces most of the country's rice). the experience was akin to being hearded around like sheep since there were 28 people on our tour. i definitely prefer the independent travel route but when you have only 3 days left on your visa and limited funds left, a tour is a quick and easy way to breeze through an area. we travelled on boat and bus, with the tour guides whipping us on the butts once in awhile to get the herd to move (just kidding - they just shouted "okay, everyone! this way please!" i got flashbacks of elementary school field trips..)

the tour also included boat and bus transport to phnom penh, cambodia.. so this is where we are now and have been for the past 3 days. phnom penh is a bustling metropolis, like all the other major southeast asian cities we have been to so far: motorbikes honk and whiz by, women sell food on the streets, and people go about their daily activities. the population here is much less than saigon's though, but more than vientiane's. we have spent our time wandering around (as always), sipping 'happy hour' cheap drinks by the river, and visiting a few of the major markets, one of which is full of stalls with dirt cheap clothes liberated(?) from the local GAP, adidas, american eagle, etc. sweatshops.

today, we also hired some moto drivers to take us for a sobering visit to the choeng ek killing fields. this was where the brutal pol pot regime brought people in order to exterminate them after they spent time being interrogated and tortured in the S-21 prison (a former high school). jess went on to visit the tuol sleng museum (the former S-21 prison) but i decided against seeing it (though i would have liked to learn more and see the film they show) since seeing room after room of photos of people getting killed/tortured and their mutilated bodies would give me nightmares for weeks after.

it is strange to wander around bustling phnom penh and realize that only 27-30 years before, the city was relatively empty since most of the population was rounded up and sent away to be tortured and killed by the regime, only days after pol pot took over the government with his fake 'left-wing' totalitarian regime. i am sickened and saddened.

tomorrow, we head to the town of kratie to hopefully see the rare irrawaddy dolphins that inhabit the river near there, and then up to ratanakiri province in the northeast.

photos later!
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