Cambodia's Capital

When we arrived at Phnom Penh airport we had to get our visas sorted. So we went to queue up and gave in our passports with the forms we had filled on the plane with one photo. One person took this, the cashier took the payment, someone put the visa in the passport and another person handd the passports back out. It was all quite efficient. We didn't have to wait too long at all.

We then collected our bags and got a taxi into town as the only other alternative was to go by motorcycle. The taxi driver took us to a hotel we had asked for. We had a look at the rooms, but didn't like what we saw, so we proceeded on foot to check out some more. It was getting dark by this point, so we didn't want to be hunting for rooms for too long. Luckily the 4th hotel we looked at was nice so we took a room there. We were on the 4th floor and there was no lift, so lots of going up and down the stairs.

We settled in, freshened up and went out for dinner. We only got as far as the restaurant next door, but the food was delicious. We both tried the Khmer speciality Amok, which is a kind of catfish (or meat) steamed in a savoury coconut based curry. After dinner we had a walk around the area to get our bearings. Reena wanted a foot massage, so we went and found a place. I didn't have one, but sat and drank green tea whilst she had the massage. Afterwards we went back to one of the places we walked into earlier when looking for rooms and had a drink and chatted to the owner. There was a pool table in there. We only had one drink as we were tired. So off to bed it was.

The next morning after breakfast we arranged a tour with a taxi driver who worked for the hotel. First he took us to Choeung Ek - The Killing Fields, which is just outside Phnom Penh. Many of the Cambodians who perished under the Khmer Rouge regime ended up in varous killing fields scattered across the country. The killing fields were ad-hoc places of execution and dumpiong grounds for dead bodies during this period. Prior to 1975 Choeung Ek was a chinese orchard. After 1975 it became the site of brutal executions of more than 17,000 men, women and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and depravation in the S-21 Prison (Toul Sleng).

Choeung Ek is now a group of mass graves and is dominated by a tall, white, hollow stupa (memorial) that commemorates all those tha died between 1975 - 79. We walked up to the stupa and went inside to look. There were skulls of the victims inside, displayed on glass shelves. Apart from the bottom level they were stacked all the way round on shelves going up right to the top as fr as the eye could see. On the bottom shelf was ragged clothes of the victims. It was so weird to see. There was some information written outside on a nearby wall about it all, which we went to read. We then had a walk around and saw some mass graves and bones of victims.

After the fields we were taken to the Russian Market - Psar Tol Tom Puong. All sorts is sold here, souvenirs, clothes, shoes, CDs, fake designer items & handicrafts etc. We had a wander and both ended up buying a fake designer bag each and Reena bought some flip flops.

The next stop was the S-21 Prison (Toul Sleng Museum). Toul Sleng literally means "a poisonous hill or a place on a mound to keep those who bear or supply guilt." Prior to 1975 this place was a school. However when the Khmer Rouge came to power, they used this place as a prison and interrogation facility. Corrugated iron and barbed wire, which was electrified, were instlled around the perimeter and classrooms were divided into individual cells or housed rows of prisoners secured by shackles. Teachers, students, doctors, monks and peasants suspected of anti-revolutionary beahaviour, were brought here, often with their spouses & children. Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months, to extract confessions, after which they were executed at the killing fields.

S-21 processed over 17,000 people. The building is now a museum, a memorial and testament to the madness of he Khmer Rouge regime. Most of it has been left in the state it was undr the regime. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. The weapons are also on display. On the first floor there is a gallery, where families of the victims have put up photos and details of how their loved ones were never seen of or heard from again. Words cannot describe how we felt. We wandered around taking it all in and were silent for a lot of our time there, deep in thought. We really felt for the Cambodians who suffered and to think that this all happened 30 years or so ago, so within our lifetime.

After the museum we went for lunch at the restaurant across the road called Boddhi Tree. There was a nice calm atmpsphere. We sat in the garden and relaxed. We both drank fruit shakes and had some Khmer cuisine, yum. It was nice to relax afer the horrors we had seen.

After lunch we were taken back towards the city. On the way I stopped to take a photo of the Independence Monument -  Vimean Ekareach. It was inaugurated in 1962 to clebrate Cambodia's independence from foreign rule. It also serves to Cambodia's war dead. The momument was designed by the Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann.

We were then dropped off at The Royal Palace (Preah Barom Reachea Vaeng Chaktomuk). This is the principal residence of their Majesties the King & Queen and the Royal Family. The Palace complex was huge, so many buildings within. Most of the buildings include magnificent sculptures and are characterised by many tiered roofs and topped by towers which are symbols of prosperity. The Royal Palace is regarded as a symbol of the whole nation and all pavillions are adorned and painted yellow and white. The yellow represents Buddhism and the white represents Brahmanism.

The 2 most well known buildings are The Throne Hall (Preah Tineang Tevea Vinichhay) and The Silver Pagoda. The Throne Hall is the primary audience hall of the King, used for coronations and official meetings. It was constructed in 1917 and inaugurated by King Sisowath in 1919. The stairway is guarded with Naga figures having many heads. We went into the Throne Hall which contain the thrones of the King and Queen inside.

We walked around the complex taking photos where we could and going into some of the buildings. We went into the Silver Pagoda building. It is so named because of the silver used on the floor tiles (5329 exactly). Cambodians believe it is good luck to step on these tiles and often wish for something whilst stepping on them. There is also an emerald Buddha image kept inside here, a gift from the French in 1885. A gold life size Buddha statue stands in the centre dias inside and is decorated with over 2000 diamonds and precious stones.

We wandered around some more and saw a few stupa's and Buddha's carved from gold hug on walls. We stopped for ice cream near a fishpond. There was a model of Angkor Wat on display nearby. After wandering round the palace grounds we headed back towards the hotel. We walked near the river. We couldn't walk along it as there was some work going on and sheeting was put up at the roadside. Traffic was mayhem by this point as it was rush hour. It took us ages to cross the road. Eventually Reena just walked out in front of traffic and I followed on a while later.

Later that evening we visited Wat Phnom. A small hill crowned by an active Wat (pagoda) marks the legendary founding place of Phnom Penh. Legend has it that in 1372 Lady Penh fished a floating Koki tree out of the river. Within the tree were 4 Buddha statues. She built a hill and small temple at the site now known as Wat Phnom. There is an altar of Lady Penh at the temple and it is said that she is of particular help to women. It was too dark for us to see.

After this we both went to get a maasage by the institution run by blind masseurs. It was called Hands See Massage and is well known in Phnom Penh. All the masseurs are partially or totally blind. It was interesting. After the massage we went back to the hotel to freshen up and then went out to dinner to Sharky Bar a pub, where we enjoyed mexican food. Then we went onto a club called Heart of Darkness. We sat at the bar and enjoyed our drinks. There were other tourists in there, but also locals. When Punjabi MC's Mundian To Bach Ke came on we went to dance. We stayed dancing for a while, but soon called it a night. It had been a long day. We got a tuk tuk back to the hotel and crashed out.

The next morning after breakfast we made a quick dash to the market. Reena needed to get her watch sorted as it was too big for her and she needed a link taking out. We also went to buy some fruit for the bus journey to Battambang. We checked out and got a tuk tuk to the bus station. We had already booked the tickets via the hotel. We arrived early at the station so had to wait for the bus to arrive. The bus was air conditioned and we had seat numbers. We put away our luggage and climbed on board. There were a couple of other tourists, but mostly locals. The locals kept staring at us so I stared back on a couple of occassions, they would then laugh and turn away for a short while. We had 2 stops for the bathroom and to get some food/drink. It was quite hot out, so it was nice to be in an AC bus.