Phnom Penh

Hi everyone!

We are currently in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. We arrived here on Wednesday and have a lot to do, so we haven't had the chance to post about our experience here thus far.

Firstly, Phnom Pehn is a beautiful city where stark contrasts abound. Having the heaviest French influence in all of Cambodia, Phnom Penh is characterized by the large boulevards along the river and architecture which is more reminiscent of Nice than anywhere else. Conversely, the city was also the center for activity, torture and authority under the Khmer Rouge. On April 17th 1975, the Khmer Rouge told residents of Phnom Penh that Americans were likely to bomb the city again, and that they were hence enforcing an evacuation plan which, they said, would last only three days. Of course, many people did not return to their homes in Phnom Penh, three days later or ever and the city was virtually a ghost town for the first forty-eight days before Khmer Soldiers began to settle in.

As we rode in our tuktuk to our guesthouse, we had to wonder how a city like this - so bustling and crowded - could possibly be evacuated and kept empty for such a long period of time. But I digress...(this isn't a history lesson blog after all)

We tried a few guesthouses upon arrival in the city but most were booked - saving the most expensive rooms, of course! - and since we are attempting to maintain a low daily budget, we trudged around the steaming hot city with our packs on until we found a lovely little guesthouse with a prime location for only $6 a night...aah sweet victory. The first order of business in Phnom Penh was to have our Vietnamese visas sorted out and so we decided to head to a travel agency around the corner instead of trekking out to the embassy, which was a good 20 minute tuktuk drive away. The travel agency said they would gladly take care of our visas, and that they would be ready the next day! Hurray! Only $35 and the convenience ensured we left with big smiles on our faces.

Until I realized neither of us told the woman exactly WHEN we needed the visa for, and considering we aren't planning on going to Vietnam until mid-late March, I grew concerned...

In the mean time, we decided to visit Tuol Sleng a.k.a S-21 (Security Prison 21). The building, originally a high school, was converted into the biggest center for torture and murder under the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that some 20,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng and considering only 7 people ever survived, it is obvious what kind of brutality took place behind these walls.
There are four main buildings - A, B, C and D. Building A was used to keep "political prisoners" - using that term loosely, as anyone could have been considered a political prisoner who had had any political inclination opposing that of the Khmer Rouge's - and most of the rooms in this building simply posses a large, rusty bed with a black and white photo over of a corpse found when Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979. The other buildings were used to house the hundreds and thousands of people who were captured by the Khmer Rouge and each floor had hundreds of little cells, many still splattered with blood. On the base floors of the buildings are thousands of pictures of prisoners, hands tied behind their backs looking both stunned and petrified to be kept in such a horrific place. Many of them were children, and the aforementioned number of captives did not include the children who were taken with their parents, as many as 20,000 children may have been killed on top of those 20,000 adults held at the prison. One photo is particularly stunning because a young woman looks blankly into the camera...in her arms she holds a newborn baby, no more than two months old. One can only assume the fate of mother and child.

Most disheartening of all is knowing that these people were innocent Khmers, who perhaps were "too educated" and as a result an entire family would be killed. Anyone educated past grade 3 was liable to be arrested for being an intellectual.
The experience was altogether very moving and saddening. Truthfully, I have been having some terrifying dreams as a result of our trip to Tuol Sleng but waking and knowing that I have the comfort of realizing it was only a dream makes me that much sadder that thousands of people lived the nightmare.

Otherwise, we took a trip to the National Museum yesterday, which showcases the beautiful and incredible art and sculpture from before, during and after the Angkorian period - ancient pieces which shed a positive light on the dark history of Cambodia.

We then went to pick up our passports and, lo and behold, the Vietnamese visa was set to expire on February 22nd. Ohhhhhh great. We explained our situation to the woman, who was confused and annoyed why we didn't tell her initially (yeah, I feel you honey - it is my money that you are taking!) SO she told us she could "refund" $10 of the original price if we were going to change the date, otherwise there was no refund. We changed the date to appropriate our travels, coughing over an extra $50 in the process. Ah ha ha. Lesson Learned there!

Today we are set to explore the markets of Phnom Penh, and find out about getting to Kampot and Kep - two small towns we are going to explore before we head back to Phnom Penh and fly out to Bangkok.

Can't believe we've been here in Cambodia almost three weeks (at least, we will have when we leave). Time is moving too quickly!

Much love from Phnom Penh,

Maeve/Jay