Phnom Penh

Writing from Bangkok, I can now appreciate the small quaint aspect of Cambodia's capital. It took the bus rolling into the city just 20 minutes or so to reach the center from its outer most limits. No need for over passes or underpasses. No real bumper to bumper. On a hot day, its a bit too big for walking around the center but a 2 dollar tuk tuk will get you where you need to go in the shade of the carriage.

Phnom Penh was our introduction to Cambodia and, in many ways, it was a good first impression. It was there that we met up with a friend of mine that I worked with in Peace Corps Romania. Now working for Peace Corps Cambodia, she put us up in her spare room for the few nights we spent in Phnom Penh. Having a place to stay in that was actually a home, whether it was ours or not, was amazing. After all the cheap guesthouses in Vietnam, staying in a nice apartment with AC, a bathroom, kitchen, and living room brought an unexpected feeling of home despite it not being my own.

The tuk tuk rides were a nice experience for the most part. We had avoided tuk tuk rides in Vietnam because they involved older Vietnamese men pedaling a wheel that was situated behind your chair. There's just something that feels wrong about an elderly man huffing and puffing in the midday heat to get you from point A to point B for a buck or two. Cambodian tuk tuks however, are covered carriages attached to scooters.

“Tuk Tuk” the man to the left utters as we leave the apartment. Another one down the street, we can barely see him, yells out the same, “Tuk Tuk Sir”. We turn the corner and the driver reading the newspaper looks up and again we hear “tuk tuk”. After a couple of days of this we started counting our steps between offers.

Our driver for the day

With no real public transportation within the city, we were forced to take a tuk tuk on a number of occasions. The haggling always started with the driver telling us that it would cost 4 dollars per person. Meanwhile, we knew that it would be 2 dollars for both of us. I tell him just that, “2 dollars for both of us” and he laughs. “OK, we'll find another driver.” I respond. As we walk away the driver lowers his offer 2 or 3 times before settling on 2 dollars for both of us.

One very important thing to note about Cambodian hawkers, they are not as persistent as their Vietnamese counterparts. They don't get angry, and they always smile. The smile goes a long way in being able to tolerate the extra, unwanted attention. This was a pleasant surprise coming from Vietnam where, though things are cheaper, the people selling them can dampen your mood.

The more memorable part of Phnom Penh was what I like to call, "the depressing day". A day where the visitor learns about the cruelty of human beings, and how history can repeat itself. It starts where the lives were ended, Cheong Ek Killing Fields. The Killing Fields are just outside of the city and the site itself is quite small. A monument, packed with the bones of those who died there, stands tall at the site's center. The audio guide, narrated by a survivor of the terror, leads the visitor around the complex. The audio guide is a great way to inform the visitor while allowing the visitor to forge a personal connection with the place through the narrators voice and emotion. In addition, it keeps the site silent, allowing for reverence for those that perished there.

In the late 70's, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot sent between 1 and 2 million victims to their deaths at Cheong Ek and other killing sites around the country. Those are the people killed by execution, others died of starvation. I found it particularly fascinated that the Khmer Rouge, immediately after taking control of the country, emptied the cities of people. All city dwellers were sent to the country-side to work in collectives. I tried to image walking the streets of Phnom Penh with nobody around. No tuk tuks, no restaurants, cars, buses, or markets. Continuing around the site we learned from testimony of one of the killers at Cheong Ek. They brought in truck loads of bodies and killed them immediately by beating them against the head with various instruments. Bullets were too expensive to use. The bodies were then dumped in mass graves. At times, walking around the compound, signs come up in front of you telling you to not step on the bones. Looking down, you can see that there are still remains of bodies in the ground beneath your feet. In locations around Cheong Ek clothing and bones periodically surface.

There was one more site to see, Toul Sleng Prison, also known as S-21. The sound of it is haunting enough. Toul Sleng is where those who died at Cheong Ek were kept and interrogated before being sent to their deaths. A museum at the prison shows the mug shots of those who came through, much like displays at Auschwitz. It also shows the different interrogation methods used. The commander of the prison Kang Kek Lew or “Duch”still lives in prison, convicted of crimes against humanity. Other culprits are awaiting trials.

Phnom Penh Central Market

Aside from the depressing day, there are a couple other sites to see in Phnom Penh. Another day was spent walking around the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. We tried to see as much as possible in a day but real feel temperatures over 100F deterred us from spending too much time outside. We ended up getting a good amount of rest in our time in Phnom Penh. After a stellar introduction to the country we were excited to head south to the beach.