Old Faces, New Places...

After hearing from so many people that Phnom Penh was only good for a days lesson in the history of Cambodia I left the unspoilt beauty of Monkey Beach behind with mixed feelings. It wasn't such a long journey, I spent most of it exchanging bananas for tastier snacks with the lady next to me whilst her poor son was throwing up whatever he'd eaten that day, showing the Khmer distaste for bumpy bus rides. It was just after dinner time when I arrived and whilst hurtling around in a tuk-tuk i caught sight of a familiar face - Aussie Geri! It turned out she was staying just round the corner from my chosen guest house so we arranged to meet when I'd had chance to unload the rucksack and wash away the bus grease. It seems it's hard to not bump into people when everyone's doing such a similar route!

Wandering round the city the streets were eerily quiet. P'chum Benh, a Buddhist festival that involved the blurring of worlds and feeding spirits sticky rice, had brought the whole city to a stand still.

A couple of guys from the hostel joined us for the obligatory Phnom Penh sightseeing, first the killing fields and then Tuol Sleng (s21). The Killing Fields proved to be utterly horrific. It was unbelievable that such mass brutal acts of violence were able to continue for years without interruption or critique. Most shocking was the visible remnants of bodies that surface to the ground after every rain, even thirty years on - teeth, clothes and ones were uncovered demonstrating the sheer amount of people killed.

Tuol Sleng, for me, was even harder to bear. We had a guided tour around the former school to better understand how and why it became a prison. Classrooms were converted into cells and torture/interrogation rooms, furniture from the school was implemented as weapons, even the playground equipment had a macabre history. The stark contrast between the image of happy children and ignorant brutality was overwhelming. This feeling hit a peak on the way out as we met one of only two survivors from the prison, wordlessly he mimed the horrors he had been through. Apparently everyday he sits there, across from the place he was tortured, smile on his face ready to tell his story.

After such an intense and emotional experience I was craving something a little more fun. For the guys the answer was a shooting range, whilst the experience of witnessing gun-shot was exciting it wasn't quite what I had in mind! Instead I sought out my favourite tuk-tuk driver and bounced my way over dusty dirt tracks to Phnom Tamao, a 10km wildlife reserve. Phnom Tamao is an incredibly beautiful and well kept zoo that defies all Asian stereotypes of animal cruelty. Three dollars got me a guided tour from the lovely Anay who must have spent half of the money buying me snacks! A guided tour meant I got up close and personal with the animals, stroking monkeys, springbok like creatures and even elephants!

Phnom Penh was a surprisingly beautiful city and I could have happily stuck around longer, but time, as always, was ticking and I had plans to visit one last Cambodian destination before getting back to Laos.