Cambodia (Part 2)

Sorry, this may take some time....

Before leaving Siem Reap we decided we should take a trip to the Land Mine Museum. Initially, we thought it was quite close to where we were staying- but our book was a bit out of date and it had actually moved nearly 2 years previous to about 25km's out of town. So, we negotiated a price with the tuk-tuk driver and headed out there. WOW! During the 1 hour journey we were both sitting there with our mouths just gaping! The sights, the scenes, the colours... just everything! It absolutely blew us away. Cambodia is such a beautiful country- especially when you get out to some of the more rural areas and see it 'raw', so to speak.

The Land Mine museum itself was rather small and quite uninformative- a few grisly pics, horrible stories and lots of UXO's lying around! But, the journey alone made up for it and we both came away feeling really, really pleased for taking the trip out.

The next day we jumped the bus to Phnom Penh with apprehension.... after the journey into Cambodia we just weren't sure how bad it would be. However, we got on the bus and it was really nice! We had a great 6 hour journey there, and again, saw some amazing scenery en route.

When we arrived in Phnom Penh, we were shocked at just how mentally busy it was- it was seriously crazy! It made Bangkok look like Nantwich Town!! Crossing any road is a serious hazard to your health- you really do just have to step out and hope that everyone is going to swerve around you- or, you'll never cross... or end up squashed!

The first night we headed down to the Quay and had a bit of an explore around the river- where it meets the Mekong. It was a brilliant area and just sitting there letting it go dark and watching the craziness of everything around you was ace! However, there were some really sad sights- lots of mothers with very disabled babies, amputees and very hungry looking children. It puts everything and anything into perspective. We've heard so many different things with regards to the begging situation out here- you shouldn't' give them money as it encourages them to not work, never give children money as it makes them not go to school, the amputees have done it to themselves on purpose as it gets more sympathy from tourists.... However, even with all these stories (and obviously some make more sense that others), once you are here and see everything it is so hard to just be cynical and turn a blind eye. It really does make you wonder what you can do to help.

Having fallen so madly in love with Cambodia (I hope I'm making that really clear!), we were not looking forward to going to the Genocide Memorial at Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields) and finding out more about the disgusting atrocities that befell the country in the 70's and 80's by the Khmer Rouge.

Again, it was a lovely ride out there- as the monument is about 14km's out of the city- but as you near and start to see the signs, it suddenly becomes a terrible reality what you are about to visit. We entered the grounds, and the silence that would normally be a welcome relief having come out of such a mad city, was really, really eerie.

We went inside the stupa (that holds thousands of skulls) to pay our respects and to try and truly feel the magnitude of the horror that occurred here.

Words cannot really say the right thing about all of this, and hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves.

Whilst the Killing Fields were a very sad place to go- we had a nice encounter while we were there. As we were walking around the area, 2 children ran up to a fence and started singing a song to us- 'one, two, three... smile!' They wanted us to take their picture- obviously once we did this we knew they would want some money, and no matter how difficult it is to try to listen to the 'apparent' right thing to do (and not give them any)- it is hard in reality. We spoke to them for a couple of minutes and their English was really good, and Trace asked where they lived. They pointed to a decrepit little hut about 1/2 mile away. Anyway, the little girl told us we could take a picture of them and 'I can look sweet.' We think she did a good job :)

Our next stop was to head to the Tuol Sleng Museum, which was a former Khmer Rouge prison (the most famous one formerly known as S-21) where the prisoners were sent before being taken out to the Killing Fields. We thought that we had already visited the most harrowing place- but we were so wrong. From out of the 30,000 prisoners that passed through the gates, only 7 lived to tell. All in all, it is estimated that up to a quarter of Cambodia's population were killed during the Khmer's rule, and it is really true that you do not see many 'old' people here.

The place itself was on the outskirts of the city and whilst wandering the grounds you could hear the noises from a nearby school and chants from a nearby monastery. It created a very surreal ambiance. We saw thousands of photos of prisoners who were brutally murdered- with no real favouritism towards male or female, young or old. Seeing face after face of the people- some of whom you could see knew their fate by looking at their scared eyes, and others who managed a smile- perhaps through not knowing or just hoping. Again, words cannot do any kind of justice to the magnitude of the events that took place in Cambodia, and I could never claim to have really understood the situation before coming here- I still don't understand why it all happened, and I doubt I ever will. I do know how it made us both feel though.



It was a very sad day, but also a day that made us realise just how special Cambodia and its people really are to have been able to come through so much and still be smiling.

The next day we wanted to try and do something positive and so went to a local orphanage with some food, pens, paper etc. for the children. It was fantastic! The orphanage is called The Lighthouse Orphanage and receives no support from the government whatsoever. It is managed by a Cambodian called Mr Lee who gave us a tour and introduced to some of the naughty little things! He told us that the children were there because maybe their parents were dead, too ill to look after them, had HIV, or simply just couldn't afford to take care of them. How kids with so little could be so happy was just unbelievable! They really were amazing!

As soon as we got there the whole classroom turned around and shouted 'Hello' to us. Then, we made friends with a few who held our hands and showed us where they slept and convinced us to wear bracelets they had made. It was brilliant and they were just so damn cute! I've always been a major cynic when it comes to the whole Brad and Angie thing- but having seen an orphanage and met some of the children, I can completely understand it! We wanted them all!

If you get time have a look at the link above, it tells you a little more about it and how to help etc. Its not advisable to send money for obvious reasons and also you're not always sure where or who it goes to. If anybody did want to donate anything you could let us know because we'll be making another visit before we leave Cambodia in a weeks time and we could buy the food, toys or toiletries etc for you. It's just a thought...