Hi All,
Phnom Penh is a beautiful capital city but bares many scars of its dark past. In 1975 the Khmer Rouge took forceful control of the entire country in an attempt to liberate it and create a utopian communist society. In reality this resulted in the deaths of over 3 million people, a third of the country's population, over the next 4 years. Many buildings in the city hold a significance linked to the fall of Phnom Penh when all the residents were removed by the soldiers of the Khmer Rouge; people were either arrested and later tortured and killed or sent to work camps in the countryside. This happened over the entire country. Before coming to Cambodia, we didn’t know anything about the barbaric genocide that happened only 40 years ago.
On our first day we visited the sights of the city in true tourist fashion - using our map to navigate from place to place with the guide book in hand. The grand National Library was first on our list. While the majority of books were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge soldiers, we were shown a huge collection of manuscripts written on palm leaves by monks that managed to survive the destruction. Next we headed past the French embassy, used as a refuge for 1,400 people during the fall off the city. We visited two smaller temples before stopping at the city’s largest - Wat Phnom. This beautiful temple was full of people praying for luck and success and others bringing the offerings they promised now their wish had been granted. We sat quietly watching while a band played using traditional instruments. We headed back down the grand staircase guarded by lions and naga (a mythical serpent).
Next on our agenda was the National Museum. This impressive terracotta building houses a great number of bronze, sandstone and wooden statues. The beautifully ornate City Palace and Silver Pagoda were the finale to our city walking tour. These stunning buildings showcasing Cambodian culture and architecture were preserved by the Khmer Rouge to highlight national pride and heritage.
The following day we visited S-21, also known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This former high school was turned onto the country’s largest torture and detention centre by the Khmer Rouge under orders from its leader - Pol Pot (who was never charged for the crimes he committed against humanity). Pol Pot ruled by hatred, ignorance and fear to create an extreme communist regime. Those arrested and tortured at SE-1 were the ‘New People’; people Pol Pot and his party believed had committed crimes against the state by becoming educated or learning a trade instead of sticking to a traditional Cambodian farming lifestyle. These people included anyone who was: educated, had soft hands, spoke a foreign language or wore glasses. Lawyers, teachers, mechanics and doctors were all guilty. Anyone who they thought would not support the regime was killed.
Much like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge kept documents of all 17,000 people that passed through SE-1 in the 3 years, 8 months and 20 days they were in power. As we walked through the museum, we passed board after board of victims. Seeing the sheer number of people and listening to audio-guide about their families was harrowing. They have preserved the prison as it was, keeping rooms of both wooden and brick cells as well as beds and instruments used for torture. Artwork from a former prisoner (just one of 7 to survive) was was of the most moving exhibits; one piece showed 60 prisoners chained together in one room being ‘showered’ by a hose. Western visitors to the city at the time were greeted by a few smiling faces and shown around a select few government buildings in a ghost town; none the wiser to the horrific reality of the situation. The western world initially refused to accept the atrocities reported by survivors who escaped Cambodia during the regime because of this front that had been presented to them.
The following day we visited Choeung Ek Killing Fields. What we saw there was beyond shocking, and left us quiet for the rest of the afternoon. After being forced to admit 'crimes' they hadn’t committed, all the prisoners from S-21 were brought here to be executed. The victims were not shot as bullets were expensive and could have attracted attention from the outside world. Instead, loud revolutionary music was played to cover up the screams of prisoners as they were made to kneel blindfolded then hit over the head before being pushed into a mass grave. The audio tour played the drowning sound of the upbeat propaganda music along with the constant whirring of the generator - the last thing the victims would have heard. The bodies were sprayed with DTT chemicals for two reasons: firstly to eliminate prisoners who had not died from the cranial damage and secondly to mask the stench of rotting corpses. The most shocking scene was a mass grave of women, babies and children - the 55 babies had been found with their skulls shattered. Next to the grave was a tree that was found covered in blood, hair, brain and cranial fragments; in the audi0-tour a former torturer describes killing babies by 'smashing them into trees'. A quote from Pol Pit, highlights the regimes disregard for innocent human life - ‘It is better to kill an innocent by mistake than spare an enemy by mistake’. If one parent of a family was convicted of committing a 'crime' against the state, all members of their family were killed under pretence 'To dig up the grass, one must also dig up the roots'.
A beautiful Buddhist stupa has been erected on the sight to commemorate the 3 million lives lost across Cambodia during the regime. Within the stupa are 9 layers of skulls exhumed from the mass graves at Choeung Ek. These 9,000 people have undergone forensic examination to find evidence of their cause of death. It was an overwhelmingly powerful reminder of this oh so recent tragedy in which so many people were killed mercilessly for absolutely no cause.
On a lighter note, Cambodian food has been an eye opener. They commonly eat frogs, tarantulas and other bugs for snacks. Rats and snakes are grilled for a tasty lunch. Durian, the worlds smelliest fruit is a firm favourite and duck foetus are served grilled over a open fire. While most of these are a step to far even for us, we have tried the durian (absolutely vile, tastes like sick), tree ants (served in a yummy beef stir fry) and tarantulas (legs much like crispy bacon). As well as the seriously unusual, we have had some delicious meals; one at a restaurant run by ex street kids and their teachers, giving skills and a future to the young people working there. Matt took us to a really cool speakeasy, to enter we had to locate the coca-cola machine at the end of the alleyway which opened to reveal the secret bar. We also visited a 70's vinyl bar where we played some pool and a tense few games of Connect Four.
Having visited all the main sights in Phnom Penh, we decided to make an unplanned overnight trip to Battambang. First stop was to see Phnom Samphou Cave, the former site of another mass killing. Here Khmer Rouge soldiers pushed their victims into the cavern below; now only small shrines containing the bones of a few victims remain. Despite its dark past this cave network now has a string of small bars as the conjoining cavern is home to millions of bats which fly out simultaneously at 5:30 each evening. This show was absolutely spectacular and totally worth the visit to Battambang alone. Our other highlight in Battambang was whizzing through the countryside on the bamboo train. The four of us pilled onto the bamboo platform and our driver started up the moped engine attached to the back. Abiding by the rules of the single track railway, we stopped several times to pass other ‘carriages’ which had to climb off and dissemble their platform. We won the face off each time as we had four passengers, outnumbering others and forcing them to get off to let us pass. A shop owner at the end of the line explained to us how she used to travel to school via the bamboo railway with no engine, using a stick much like the oar of a rowing boat to move the carriage.
In the afternoon we boarded the supposedly 4 hour bus to Siem Reap. The journey did not go as planned. Stood on the side of the road having broken down for a third time, we realised we had made the wrong decision getting a bus when we could have got a taxi; apologies to Matt and Imy for being budget travellers! An hour passed and the last of the daylight had faded yet still the driver still could not repair the engine. Instead he resorted to putting out the Cambodian version of an orange triangle- a wicker basket and a few tree branches. Unsurprisingly, other traffic wasn’t deterred by this and instead ended up driving straight into it in the dark; therefore increasing, rather than limiting, the chance of a crash. We lost all faith when his solution was to add a wooden chair to the pile! We joked about hitch hiking a lift but when a pick up truck slowed down to pass the bus, Ross put his hands together praying at the man. He pulled over and said we were welcome to hop in as he was going to Siem Reap anyway. We hastily gathered our bags and jumped in - the girls inside and the boys in the back! The driver told us all about his family and work as a supervisor in 250 hectares of rice paddies in the countryside. 25km later, we were dropped right outside our apartment in Siem Reap and the man wouldn’t accept a penny.
Love R and D (plus M and I) xxx
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