Goosebumps in Phnom Penh
Even the locals aren’t sure how to pronounce it. Some go for Nom Pon, Some manage to pronounce the ‘P’ at the start. I tend to go for Nom Pen. Our journey here was by bus from Ho Chi Minh City. If you believe dirty-haired wannabe-hippy backpackers (there’s a whole post on these to come at some point) then land boarder crossings in this part of the world are adventures in their own right with dodgy motorbike drivers taking you across, officials demanding bribes and visa issues. I would love to have some sort of boarder trauma to tell but the fact is for $12 each our super-comfortable bus took us all the way across with just a brief stop at the boarder to go through a very smooth immigration with the coach peeps having filled in all our paperwork for us. No pre-arranged Cambodian visa and just a $25 standard fee to pay. It was very uneventful.
Once we found a place to stay we set about exploring Phnom Penh taking in the Royal Palace and a few local bars Cambodia is very wet at this time of year and it’s not unusual to become stuck in a bar for an hour or so waiting for the monsoon to pass. I always try to taste the local brew and after a couple of Angkor Beers I jumped ahead of myself and discovered he Laos lager, BeerLao. This has the chance to become my favourite beer of all time.
The Khmer people are among the most friendly and chirpy we’ve come across, particularly the younger generation who know of their history through learning only and didn’t experience first-hand what went on here just 30 years ago. I’m not sure whether it’s an attitude of ‘always look on the bright side of life’ but Cambodia is the poorest country we’ve visited to date; just yards from the entrance of the Royal Palace there are beggars, deformed children and hundreds of amputees thanks to the mines left by the Khmer Rouge.
This is the reason why no visit to Cambodia can be complete without a trip to the Killing Fields. There are various sites around the country but the largest and easiest to get to is Choeung Ek due to its proximity with Phnom Penh and the S-21 prison where many people were tortured. The government have preserved this place really well; the first thing you notice when you get there is the giant Stupa in the centre. Cambodians use these Stupas to hold the remains of the dead – most people wont have one as they are generally regarded as a status symbol – Cambodia made sure this one was a big, significant Stupa. As you approach it the goosebumps start to appear on your arm as you realise what’s on show inside.
Choeung Ek Killing Fields
We bumped into an English girl who had been on our bus from HCMC and we shared a guide around the site who pointed out the mass graves and described what went on here. The most chilling aspect for me was the tree that soldiers would use to kill babies by swinging them by their legs and crushing their heads against the trunk. Bullets were deemed too expensive.
It is incomprehendable to think what went on here as you walk by the mass graves and see clothing, teeth and bones underfoot. I felt a bit dirty walking through taking pictures but we were encourged to by the guide who told us that the Cambodian government want people to see this site to understand what happened in their country. It was one of the things I was ‘looking forward to’ the most before the trip and it will genuinely live with me forever. I didn’t know too much about all this before we came here other than the Killing Fields existed and Pol Pot was a bit of a c*nt (the word ‘tyrant’ seems too jolly these days). The movie is top of the list, unless The Simpsons do an episode (all of my history knowledge is from The Simpsons and Eddie Izzard).
We had one more night in Phnom Penh before moving down to Sihanoukville where the plan was to kick back for a while and enjoy the sun. That hasn’t gone entirely according to plan but I’ll fill you in on that in a day or two.
Loads of Phnom Penh pictures to see the Photo Page, a great album.
Show on mapEddie Izzard on Pol Pot…
Pol Pot killed 1.7 million Cambodians, died under house arrest at age 72, well done indeed! And the reason we let them get away with it is because they killed their own people, and we’re sort of fine with that. “Ah, help yourself,” you know? “We’ve been trying to kill you for ages!” So kill your own people, right on there. Seems to be… Hitler killed people next door… “Oh… stupid man!” After a couple of years, we won’t stand for that, will we?
Pol Pot killed 1.7 million people. We can’t even deal with that! You know, we think if somebody kills someone, that’s murder, you go to prison. You kill 10 people, you go to Texas, they hit you with a brick, that’s what they do. 20 people, you go to a hospital, they look through a small window at you forever. And over that, we can’t deal with it, you know? Someone’s killed 100,000 people. We’re almost going, “Well done! You killed 100,000 people? You must get up very early in the morning. I can’t even get down the gym! Your diary must look odd: “Get up in the morning, death, death, death, death, death, death, death – lunch- death, death, death -afternoon tea – death, death, death – quick shower…”
So I suppose we’re glad that Pol Pot’s under house arrest… you know, 1.7 million people. At least he – we know where he is – under house arrest! Just don’t go in that fucking house, you know? I know a lot of people who’d love to be under house arrest! They bring you your food… “Just stay here? Oh, all right. (singing laconically ) Have you got any videos?” You know, you just sit there all day… And Pol Pot was a history teacher. And Hitler was a vegetarian painter. So… mass-murderers come from the areas you least expect it. I don’t know how the flip comes over, but it happens.
Eddie Izzard – Dress To Kill [1999]
Mentioning the Killing Fields, you should check out the film of the same name. A lot of the guest houses in PP show it but you can get it anywhere. I think i won a few Oscars, and it’s definitely worth watching.