The first part of our trip was spent in Phnom Penh, a city of about 2 million people - all of whom seem to be born with an innate ability to dodge each other as they hurtle along the streets on motorbikes, tuk-tuks, trucks, cars and bicycles while carrying something thats hard to balance. At one point we saw a bunch of motorbikes each carrying three large mattresses on the back. Bizarre.
We started our first morning with a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum followed by a visit to the Killing Fields. While far from cheery places to go, they are considered "must-see" options for tourists so along we went to find out about the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge in the late 70's. The genocide museum used to be a school before the Khmer Rouge turned it into an interrogation/torture prison. We saw one horrible sight after another as we were led through the buildings. We stood in the stark white rooms where it all took place and saw photos of torture, heard stories of the horrific treatment dealt out to innocent people and kept experiencing those moments where you wonder how one person can do such a thing to another. It was pretty tough going. Over at the Killing Fields where thousands of people met a horrible end we saw endless rows of bones and skulls and heard more stories of the cruelty of the Khmer Rouge and their 3 and a bit years in power. I could write heaps more about all this but think its sad enough without rehashing it all in a travel blog.
The rest of the day was more fun. We wandered the local streets looking for a store that had fish that would eat the dead skin off our feet while we drank a free beer (all for $3) but we couldn't find it. We also strolled along the riverside where locals like to walk in the evening, fish and kick soccer balls. We knocked back countless offers of a tuk-tuk ride (a motorcycle pulling along a chariot basically - a great way to cool off as they are quite open to the wind but we weren't going far enough to justify it). We also found some quality Cambodian food. I'm pretty sure I worked in a short nap during the heat of the arvo too. It's been about 30 degrees or so but humid too so mid-afternoon is a bit tough going.
The following day we checked out the National Museum. So many Buddhas. Just when you thought that there couldn't be another statue of a serene looking Buddha, you'd round a corner and there was another one, smiling happily as if to say "Gotcha!". We also saw plenty of the Indian gods as they too have had a big influence on Cambodia. There were a few spots where someone gives you an incense stick to place in front of a Buddha and we did that the first time but then found they expect a donation so I got good at respectfully saying no thanks after that.
After the museum it was pretty chilled. We managed to track down that place where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet but it had obviously been closed and was completely gutted. Very disappointing. My feet had so much to give! :)
After two days in Phnom Penh, we boarded a bus for the 6 hour ride to Siem Reap, the home of Angkor Wat. I'll write about that in another blog post.
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