14th December 2014 The Killing Fields Phenom Penh CAMBODIA

Phnom Penh-Cambodia 14th December 2014

Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia was known in its heyday as the pearl of Asia, so we were keen to see if it lived up to its name.

After arriving late evening dusty and sore from our long car trip, we headed out for dinner. Paul had a recommendation from the hotel for a restaurant a couple of streets away and we had the most fantastic dinner. It was only this morning we realised it was the No.1 Cambodian restaurant in Phomh Penh (and still only £10 a head including drinks !) Yum !

This morning we started off with a trip into Cambodia’s recent hellish violent history with a visit to the "Killing Fields".  It is impossible to come to this country and not share the experiences with the Cambodians especially as our guides' father was murdered by the brutal regime of Pol Pot in the late '70s and it is remiss not to mention it although for us, it was difficult.  Many of us remember this on our TVs as children and young adults but the truth is significantly different to my recollections.

This was one of 183 killing sites across Cambodia where people were brought after being imprisoned and tortured to be executed. It is hard to describe the scale of the slaughter. Of a population at that time of around 9 million, 2.7 million Cambodian people were killed in 3 years. Just unbelievable and amongst the hundreds of people that were on the site - just stunned silence. As you walk round the site, even keeping to pathways, bones are clearly visible, slowly emerging due to rain and soil movement and as they come to the surface they are collected stored.

Below are pictures from the Killing Fields Memorial Site - Nothing needs to be added except the world never learns!!

 Janette obviously in reflective mood

Self explanatory sign

 The human bones visible on the footpaths around the site due to the large number of people murdered here.

National Genocide Museum and its unknown contents to remind us

Probably the most god forsaken place to visit - lots of people and total silence.  The notorious prison of S21 - now the National Genocide Museum. 

hundreds of boards like this give the details of the people that never returned from this prison.

One ex prisoner (of only two survivors as at 2014) sells his book to tourists.

One of the only 2 survivors alive now supports himself by buying his book

4 children also survived by hiding in old blankets at the time of the Vietnamese invasion

We then went on to the genocide museum in Pnomh Penh which is housed in S21 prison where so many of the prisoners executed at the killing fields were imprisoned & tortured.

We met one of the only 2 survivors from that time, he was saved because he was a portrait painter and Pol Pot wanted to have his portrait records. The paintings of the scenes at S21 are more shocking in some ways than the photographs, somehow more graphic. Just haunting the rows upon rows of photographs of the disappeared & their torturers.

It is so hard to reconcile the fact that this is such recent history with the charming, kind and gentle people we have met in this country. Our guide today had lost his father when he was only 2 ½ years old and talked about it so movingly.

After all of this we needed a beer and some levity ! We took ourselves off to a Mekong river view restaurant and had a few beers – much restored !

The Royal Palace - Home of the King (whose father was incidentally a Pol Pot and China supporter but signed an amnesty)

We went off to the Russian Market where everything under the sun is for sale you see Phnom Penh daily life in all its glory !

 Janette and Mandy doing "bowls"

Baby dead crocs for sale perfectly legally here

If you want a pound of carrots and a new scooter engine, you can get it all here

We also wanted to see what the difference was in the Cambodian people going from Siem Reap to the largest city and we have to tell you absolutely none !

Everyone in the market was charming and negotiations were gentle and reasonable, the tuk tuk driver quoted us exactly what we had been told they should & was sweet & courteous. What a difference from Bangkok tuk tuk’s where you always end up in someone’s brother’s shop !

We leave Cambodia much smitten with the place but especially the brave people.