One Month to go!
On arrival in Phnom Penh we managed to dodge a lot of the hassles and slip down the street and into a café. After a drink we headed to the Boeng Kak (lake) area to look for accommodation. While it was clean and cheap, $4 for a room with 3 people, the building and the area were both a bit run down. Instead we grabbed a tuk tuk and found Chan Trea guesthouse which was still only $7, nicer and in a better area.
After a rest in the room, we headed out to the central market hoping to find something for dinner. The market was closed, so after looking at all the fast food in the shopping mall we headed back home. Along the way we stopped at a restaurant called ‘Best Beef Soup’, which seemed to have mix of locals and tourists. We ordered the beef soup. After ordering, the staff bring out a little gas burner for the middle of the table. The soup is then bought out in a pot and put on the burner, steamboat style. We also ordered extra beef, mushrooms and some green herbs and spices which we gradually added to the soup. It was huge, we ate about four bowls each, it was so good, we may have to go back another night!
Our first day in Phnom Penh we decided to do the Khmer Rouge memorials. We tried to walk to the first stop for the day, but ended up giving in to a tuk tuk drivers plea’s, we needed one later anyway. He drove us to Tuol Sleng Museum (S21). This used to be a school however it was taken over in 1973 by Pol Pot’s security forces and used as a prison. The classrooms were turned into cells and torture chambers which were used to interrogate, inflict pain and murder prisoners. It is not dissimilar to the concentration camps in Europe.
On arrival in Phnom Penh we managed to dodge a lot of the hassles and slip down the street and into a café. After a drink we headed to the Boeng Kak (lake) area to look for accommodation. While it was clean and cheap, $4 for a room with 3 people, the building and the area were both a bit run down. Instead we grabbed a tuk tuk and found Chan Trea guesthouse which was still only $7, nicer and in a better area.
After a rest in the room, we headed out to the central market hoping to find something for dinner. The market was closed, so after looking at all the fast food in the shopping mall we headed back home. Along the way we stopped at a restaurant called ‘Best Beef Soup’, which seemed to have mix of locals and tourists. We ordered the beef soup. After ordering, the staff bring out a little gas burner for the middle of the table. The soup is then bought out in a pot and put on the burner, steamboat style. We also ordered extra beef, mushrooms and some green herbs and spices which we gradually added to the soup. It was huge, we ate about four bowls each, it was so good, we may have to go back another night!
Our first day in Phnom Penh we decided to do the Khmer Rouge memorials. We tried to walk to the first stop for the day, but ended up giving in to a tuk tuk drivers plea’s, we needed one later anyway. He drove us to Tuol Sleng Museum (S21). This used to be a school however it was taken over in 1973 by Pol Pot’s security forces and used as a prison. The classrooms were turned into cells and torture chambers which were used to interrogate, inflict pain and murder prisoners. It is not dissimilar to the concentration camps in Europe.
These days it is used as a museum which contains photos of the inmates, torture equipment, art works showing the torture and murder, profiles of the Khmer Rouge leaders and updates on their trials for war crimes. Only four of the senior officials are still alive, as the cases have taken so long. There was a documentary which gave extra information on the site and Khmer Rouge.
When we met with our driver he told us a bit about his family. His name is Vann and was one of 12 children, only four survived the regime. When he was only 10 days old their house was bombed. His mother became so sick at the time that she stopped producing baby milk, he had to be fed by other mothers in the community to survive. He believes that the reason any of his family survived is because neither of his parents could read or write, which is how the Khmer Rouge wanted to structure the country. (In a skeptical way, we hope this is true and not just a ploy to get sympathy money from tourists)
As he drove us to the Killing Fields of Choeung are big tropical storm hit. We huddled at the ticket box for 15 minutes before making a dash to the museum on the site. This contained similar types of displays and a documentary as S21, but focused on the Killing Fields which is where the prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves. At the site is a memorial stupa which is filled with the skulls of the victims. It was very sad and a bit graphic in parts.
Our last stop for the day was Psar Tuol Tom Pong (Russian Market). On the way Vann, our tuk tuk driver, tried to convince us to visit an orphanage. Of course, the girls were instantly interested, he told us it was free but we could by a bag of rice for the children, 50USD, no thanks! At the market we headed straight for the food stalls, but again Tunde wasn’t happy, so we headed back out to find a café. An hour and a half later, after a slow lunch, we returned with only half an hour until the market closed. A bit rushed but didn’t matter too much, the girls looked at bags and jewellery while Damien bought an Angkor beer singlet. The highlight was the fresh fruit and meats. They were selling all sorts of things in there! We bought a watermelon, oohhh, adventurous!
We got up a bit earlier as we had a busy day ahead of us and headed to Sunday Guesthouse for breakfast. We then walked to the Royal Palace which sounds easy but involves politely refusing a Tuk Tuk’s every 5-10 meters. This can become a little irritating especially when they have seen you say no to someone else. We arrived at the palace at about 10:30 and discovered it was closed until 2pm. So it was off to the National Gallery. This is full of artifacts from Khmer history and showed the marriage of the Buddist and Hindi religions through the art works.
We had lunch at a tourist café then walk along the river to the Royal Palace watching some locals washing their clothes in the river. We sat for a while under a large pagoda with some of the locals to escape the hot sun where we watched the children playing. Then it was off to the Palace. Tunde was very excited to be at the palace and had worn her nice clothes so she would have nice pictures. Luckily she had also packed a shirt which she was made to put on before they would sell her a ticket. We thought the Palace was nice but very similar to the one in Bangkok but not as big or as impressive. The highlights were the Silver Pagoda which has a floor tiled with silver engraved plates. There were only a few sections visible as carpet was layed over most of it but you could feel the tiles clicking under your feet. The Silver Pagoda houses the emerald Buda made of green crystal and a golden standing Buda which is studded with 2085 diamonds which are both very famous. 
After the Royal Palace Damien and I headed to the mall to get some photos printed. Tunde had met some Russian guy and had other plans for the evening. On the way we walked through a local food market full of fresh fish and chickens (all still alive) and various cuts of meat we couldn’t recognize. We love how colorful, smelly and vibrant these types of markets are, so different to home. It is always a case of having a look and trying to stay out of the way of the locals on push bikes and motor bikes. We continued on to the mall but they didn’t have what we needed, but we did get some directions. Back out into the heat, humidity and chaos of the street we found a photo printing shop and managed to understand that we should return at 7pm to collect the prints. With a couple of hours to kill we headed out to dinner and on the way spotted two adorable children in a recycling collection cart that their father was filling. I very happily gave them both a jelly cup and helped them to open it. They were so different to so many of the children we have met. They didn’t ask for money and neither did their father, he was just happy to let us know they were his children with a very proud smile. 
We had dinner at café where we had dropped our bags the first day in Phnon Peng when we were trying to find accommodation. The staff were very happy to have us and gave us lots of smiles but they didn’t speak much English. By drawing pictures and with a bit of help from another customer we were about to communicate we wanted a plate of mixed vegetables with our meal. They found this all very entertaining and rewarded us with some free watermelon at the end of the meal. Then it was back to the photo printing shop got her young daughter who spoke very good English translated for her what we needed. We had a chat and then headed home, again being offered Tuk Tuk’s at every second step.
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