Getting an edumacation in Cambodian history

Yesterday morning we started out bright and early by organising a tuk tuk driver who could take us around to various places and wait for us at each. The hotel reception told us that what we had in mind would cost around $US15, so we went outside prepared to haggle, but to our surprise the first tuk tuk driver we saw said he'd do it for $10. So we immediately agreed to this without any argument and we set off to the Vietnam Airlines office to see if we could have our lost plane tickets from Siem Reap to HCMC replaced (another story).

Our driver had a bit of trouble finding the place and stopped to ask various of his mates if they knew how to get there along the way, but finally we found it only to discover that, although yesterday wasn't a public holiday (today and tomorrow are), the office was closed anyway. So we still don't know how we're going to go with that, but we'll have to wait until Thursday to find out now.

After this our driver took us out to the Killing Fields, about 15km out of Phnom Penh and the site of mass murder by the Khmer Rouge. The centrepiece of the place is a giant enclosed temple with clear glass in the centre encasing hundreds and hundreds of skulls, many of them with gunshots, cracks from beatings with blunt objects and hacking from machetes. It was bloody horrible. The actual site is beautiful, surrounded by trees and lush green grass, but everywhere there are sunken holes where mass graves have been unearthed. There's not much in the way of information there, except for here and there a sign next to a tree stating that it was used for tying up children to beat them, or to rig up a sound device to drown out the sounds of the victim's moans. It was bloody horrible.

When we were leaving our tuk tuk driver told us that he didn't really like going out there because his father had to flee Phnom Penh during the regime because he was a university lecturer and anyone with any education was persecuted.

After this we went to the genocide museum, which was even worse if such a thing is possible. It's at the site of an old school which was converted into a detention centre by the Khmer Rouge and all the old classrooms were used for interrogation and torture. It's been pretty much untouched since and it's a horrible feeling to wander through rooms that saw so much cruelty. There was another room that went through the entire history of the regime, and it's hard to believe that all of this happened in our lifetimes (well, partly in mine - 1975-79). But the worst part for me was the rooms filled with the 'mug shots' of the victims. It was forbidden for them to cry, protest or complain, but you could see the fear and hopelessness in their eyes because they knew what was in store for them.

And then to top it all off when we came out and got back into our tuk tuk we were approached by a beggar who looked like he'd had acid thrown in his face or something, because all his skin was gone and half of his face with it. We didn't give him anything, because you're not really supposed to, but I felt worse than shit as we drove away and shed some tears as we continued on to our next destination.

After this we were in dire need of a beer or 10 to get over this whole experience, so we bid our driver goodbye and, with a bit of difficulty, eventually found a French restaurant recommended by the Lonely Planet Guide. This was definitely the highlight of the day - the food was absolutely awesome and better than anything we had when we were in France! George had a steak that was apparently very tasty, and I had grilled fish, and we also had some great desserts afterwards. Very very good, and highly recommended.

By the time we got out of there it was about 4.30 or thereabouts, so we decided to find a bar and settle in somewhere. Once again we fortuitously turned up right in time for happy hour (75c beers) and, although we'd only intended to be there for a drink or two, we got talking to a dude from Canada who has been working on a community project in Siem Reap with Habitat for Humanity, building houses for the poor. It sounds really interesting and something we might look into doing on our next holiday.

After many beers we stumbled on to another bar that had awesome $3.50 cocktails, so we had a couple of these each before deciding it was probably time to get back to our hotel and crash out (particularly since we hadn't had any dinner after our very big and very late lunch). We're a bit slow this morning, but we've only got a few more things to see today so we're going to take it easy. This is our last day here and we're sorry to leave, because we love it here. Although we loved Vietnam, we've decided that Cambodia kicks its arse all over the place. We were expecting it to be far less developed as a tourist destination than Vietnam, but it's heaps better, and easier, and friendlier, and this city is really beautiful - there's such a big French influence, and some of the boulevards wouldn't look out of place in Paris.

Tomorrow we get a bus to Battambang for another four days, but no doubt we'll check in again before we leave. The internet here might be slow, but it's free, and you can't kick a gift horse in the mouth as one slightly imbecilic person once said.

Seeya