Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The only bad thing about getting here was that we had to get up really early. To be fair, it wasn’t too bad. It took us only four hours to get from Kep to Phnom Penh. While it’s a big city, it doesn’t seem as dirty and grotty as Bangkok. There is a lot of new developments with some housing fancy shops. 'Mad Monkey' where we stayed was nice with a lot of young people, especially Canadians and English. One of the hardest things we have done so far was visiting the Killing Fields where so many Cambodian people were brutally tortured and killed under Pol Pots, 'Khmer Rouge regime.' His regime forced people out of there homes, forcing them to work for nothing. Most of them worked 12 hour days and all they got to eat were a couple of grains of rice each day, which resulted in 25% of the population dying from malnutrition. 'The Cambodian Genocide' is one of the most catastrophic events of the 20th Century. From there, we went to 'The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum,' or simply, 'S-21.' In what used to be a school for children, was turned into a torture camp where thousands of people including women and children were tortured and killed. Most were locked with chains. The most heartbreaking thing of all was seeing the little cells and the tiny chains on the floor that were used for children. One of the buildings was covered in barbed wire so desperate victims couldn’t commit suicide. It was very well preserved but it was one of the most horrific places I have ever visited. Our Tuk Tuk driver for the day who was only 19 was forced to quit school at a young age and find work as his family are very poor. I don’t think I will ever moan about silly stuff ever again! When myself and Jason got back to our dorm we got chatting to Ellie from England who was really friendly. She even came with us to the Grand Palace. We had to do something happy after such a sad morning. It was really nice to see and there were amazing gardens that even my own mother would be impressed with. Later on that evening, the three of us went for a nice massage. I was even able to get my phone fixed which had been broken since Chiang Mai. The next day and our final day in Cambodia we spent visiting some markets which were really big. We all had a great time looking around! All in all, I really enjoyed my time in Cambodia. It’s a really nice country to visit which is diverse in so much culture. Although the Cambodian Genocide only happened 40 years ago, it hasn’t consumed the locals and they are very friendly and welcoming towards tourists. We will definitely be visiting Cambodia again!

By Andrew

#city #killingfields #genocide #s21 #grandpalace