Anyway, Google India had a long weekend, so we took full advantage by spending 5 days in Cambodia. We went to Phnom Penh for one night, two days. After a nap in our hotel, Indochine 2, we headed to lunch, I don't remember the name of the place, My took us, as it was one of her favorites when she was living there--comfy red pillows, Elephant coffee pots--sadly not the size of elephants
...and Lok Lok.
Lok Lok was definitely my favorite Cambodian food--stir fried beef in a really good sauce--I am down for that. Esp in this beef deprived body.
After lunch we tackled the depressing part of the day and the trip. We headed to S 21 and the Killing fields. I learned so much in that afternoon about Cambodia's recent past and why it is the way it is now. Basically, Pol Pot came to power, told everyone they should be rice farmers and killed all the people that were educated and into art and culture. He was kind of like Stalin in that if he didn't trust you, he killed you. And, if he thought you knew something, he tortured you. Pol Pot took people from the cities and brought them to prison--we visited one such prison-It's now called Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a primary school converted into a prison and interrogation center. Classrooms were used as cells, some were divided into multiple cells. It was eerie, in some rooms there was still blood on the floors. And Pol Pot and his regime took pictures of all their inmates. So lining the walls and rooms full of black and white headshots of cambodians young and old who spent what were for many of them, their last days starving in harsh treatment in this prison simply because someone thought they were traitors. Really harrowing. The other thing that was harrowing to me was that the structure of the school and how much it reminded me of the second school we visited in Chiang Mai, where all the girls were happy and in their uniforms smiling and telling us what they were learning about. How could a happy place with so much hope become a prison for people who didn't do anything wrong?
Well, After that happy trip, we headed straight out to the Killing Fields. A site outside the city where they brought people to dig their own graves, and then bludgeoned them to death--this was of course to save ammunition. Again, harrowing, and scary how much it reminded me of the way the Nazi's killed the Jews on death marches at the end of the Holocaust. How can things be so planned, so methodical? And how can it happen in many places all over the world with different dictators.
...I never said all my entries would be happy. If you're depressed keep reading, it will get better.
Exact numbers of how many people were killed during Pol Pot's reign are uncertain, anywhere from the high hundreds of thousands, to over a million. Most people assume it was about 1/3 of the Cambodian population. That's a lot. (I didn't say it would get less depressing right away).
So what was left? Well, the Cambodian people feel a strong tie to their Khmere heritage, they are proud of the Angkor Wat temple and palace complex and are some of the friendliest people you'll meet. So now they are working on recovery. After all, this only ended about 20 years ago, and it took some time with UN occupation and unstable leadership. It also doesn't sound like the current leader is the most, umm, straightforward of leaders.
The rest of Phnom Penh was spent seeing the city, meeting a few of My's expat friends from her time working for Pepy Ride. There is a large expat community in Cambodia and especially Phnom Penh b/c there are so many NGOs that have come in to try to solve the problems in many different ways: Teaching kids and women how to make money from the local crafts they make, teaching them to be waitors and waitresses, leading bike trips across the country to raise money for schools and the environement. A pretty big range, most of them focusing on using what makes the Khmere the Khmere to make money--I like it.
We went to the FCC for drinks. FCC stands for Foreign Communications Center (I think)--it's where all the journalists used to hang out and write and file their stories. The newsie in me was a big fan, especially of all the photojournalistic pics on the wall. The french fries with aioli did not hurt either ;)
On to the Friends Restaurant. One of the NGOs both teaching waiting skills as well as handicrafts. Decent meal, but worth it b/c you knew you were doing good--and the waiters were great and trying so hard to impress!
The next day in Phnom Penh was spent at a long breakfast with 16 coffees among the five of us (yeah, we like good coffee when we can get it), and wandering around the markets before hopping on our plane to Siem Reap. Shopping is fun.
Fattest fat monkey hangin out in the park
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