We have landed in Phnom Phen, Cambodia!

We flew from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, then Bangkok to Phnom Phen, the capital city of Cambodia. We had 20 days to travel around Cambodia, and we hoped to see the main sites, such as Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, experience the city life of Phnom Phen, explore some of the river and coastal towns, and spend some relaxing time on an island before jetting off to China. 

We have arrived in Cambodia!

Traffic in Southeast Asia is notoriously bad and nothing like the rule-inforced driving back home! The main rule here is "if you can go, you go". Tooting (continuously) is reserved for asking someone to move, or because someone did something wrong, or if you want to say “hello”, or just because you feel like it. After ~30 days in Thailand, we thought that we had South-east Asian driving sussed; we liked to think that we were not novices at crossing roads or scooter-riding. However, after our first tuk-tuk ride in Cambodia, we decided that the traffic in Thailand had been timid, polite, and cautious in comparison. 

Let us tell you about our tuk-tuk ride from Phnom Phen airport to our guesthouse, a total of 10 km. We were assured that we were given "good price", and upon arrival at our destination, we believe that for the adventure we had just endured, it was a great price! We were piled into the back with our bags, we set off, narrowly missing the wing mirror of the nearest taxi. A sharp turn through a narrow gap and we were out of the airport and straight onto the sidewalk. We soon bounced back onto the road, in front of 10 oncoming scooters, and leapt forward towards central Phnom Phen. We exchanged a look of “Wow! We are now in Cambodia… and somehow there are 5 times more scooters than in Thailand!”. Scooters narrowly shot past us, without the scooter or tuk-tuk driver flinching. Upon reaching traffic gridlock, all scooters bounced up onto the sidewalk and skipped past the blockage of cars and tuk-tuks. 

In a tuk-tuk (and so pleased that we aren't driving!)

Then our driver suddenly pulled over, got out, said something to us in Khmer, and left us sitting in the tuk-tuk on the side of the road. Cool, no biggie. He returned about 5 minutes later with some water for himself and we continued down the main road for another 2 minutes. Then a sharp right turn took us down a congested alley. We twisted and turned through the busy, skinny suburban dirt streets. Due to a recent torrential downpour, the roads were like slick mudslides with deep puddles and potholes everywhere. After crossing a temporary and unplanned urban river, we jolted back onto the same main road we had started on. We have no idea why we took such a large detour, but it made for an interesting welcome to Phnom Phen! Eventually, we arrived at our accommodation in the early evening and found ourselves somehow suffering from mild culture shock. 

Left stranded on the side of the road on our way into Phnom Phen in Cambodia

Pool table at our accommodation

We had three days and four nights in Phnom Phen. Our first day was spent wandering around the local area and getting a feel for Cambodian city life. Colourful three-story apartments lined the streets, linked together by balconies crowded with washing lines and pot plants. Knots of power lines strangled every lamppost like something out of an electrician's nightmare. Tuk-Tuk drivers calling out “You need tuk-tuk, madame?!” while lying in a hammock suspended in the carriage. There was an orchestra of endless tooting, droning from megaphones hooked onto carts selling marinated snails, people yelling out to each other across the road, and the dinging of a sugarcane juice cart being pushed past. Piles of rubbish on the side of the road was a common site, wafting an unpleasant smell into the air; street food stalls and small noodle kitchens were often directly next to these piles. Stall vendors pulled out wads of cash from tattered pockets, a mix of US dollars and Cambodian Riel, while their child played on a tablet behind the soup pot. There were pockets of wealth, beauty, and cleanliness, usually near an embassy, Wat, or the Royal Palace, but right next that was filth and people doing anything they could to get paid. Regardless of where we went, people smiled and seemed content with their lives, which is not something you experience in many western cities. 

Colourful buildings, ringed with balconies, and tuk-tuks everywhere!

So many power lines!

On our first day in Phnom Phen, we visited the National Museum. It was full of Buddhist and Hindu statues taken from the Angkor complex near Siem Reap and some other ancient temples. The exhibition collection was huge, and some of the pieces were extremely old (pre-dating Angkor Wat). The museum building and grounds were beautiful and a peaceful place to sit and relax before taking on the bustling city streets.

Hindu statues taken from temples and displayed in the National Museum

Center courtyard of the National Museum

Erin at the National Museum

Grand Palace in Phnom Phen

Grasshopper (resident of Phnom Phen)

Dennis got a haircut in Phnom Phen.
The hairdresser wasn't expecting such fine, fluffy, blond hair!

Posted some postcards from the Phnom Phen Post Office

When exploring the vibrant city of Phnom Phen, it is easy to forget Cambodia’s recent violent and heartbreaking past. The rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975-1979 left the country in social, financial, political, and emotional ruin. After years of poverty, and repercussions from civil wars and the Vietnam war, the Khmer Rouge rose to power, promising equality and removal of foreign influence. Pol Pot, one of the primary leaders of the Khmer Rouge, idolised the mountainous hill tribes for their primitive communism and proceeded to "create a completely communist society without wasting time on the intermediate steps". This meant that everyone living in the cities or towns, including any refugees that had fled war-torn areas, were forced to evacuate to the countryside and join agricultural communes. Due to a complete lack of farming knowledge by city people, famine was inevitable. Further bans on collecting wild fruits or vegetables, or any type of fishing, as these were considered "private enterprises", encouraged the famine. All books, money, religion and valuable possessions were abolished, and teachers, religious leaders and monks, elite members of society, and anyone considered an intellectual (or anyone wearing glasses) were killed. The Khmer Rouge not only overworked and starved the population but also killed thousands of their own citizens under the suspicion that they were spies or as punishment for minor wrongdoings. In the four years of power, the Khmer Rouge claimed the lives of an estimated 1.4-2.2 million citizens, most of whom died due to starvation or disease, in what is now known as the Cambodian Genocide. 

Unfortunately, many of the promoted tourist attractions in Phnom Phen are areas or relics of the Cambodian Genocide. We hired a tuk-tuk for US$15 who took us to the Choeung Ek Genocide Centre (killing fields located about 15 km out of Phnom Phen) and to the Tuol Sleng (S-21) Genocide Museum. We were taken to the killing fields first, and on our way out there, our tuk-tuk driver tried to encourage us to go to a nearby shooting range (presumably he would get a small cut for taking us there). He told us that you could shoot AK47s, throw grenades, and if you paid enough, then you could shoot a cow. Horrified, we said no (again), and after that, he seemed to get the message that we were not interested. 

Our tuk-tuk driver was not impressed with the rain,
so we had to pull over while he put on his poncho

Upon arrival at the Choeung Ek killing fields, we were given an audio guide and shown the path to follow. At first glance, there is not a lot there, only a tall central stupa. However, once we began walking around the site, learning what atrocities had occurred there, and listening to personal stories on our audio guide, the holes in the ground, particular trees, and sitting areas suddenly felt so much more ominous. People were brought to this site, usually at night on the back of trucks and blindfolded. 

Looking out from the Choeung Ek killing fields towards rice fields

Central stupa at Choeung Ek killing fields

Many large burial pits had been excavated and most of the bones and clothing removed, but after every rainfall, new pieces emerge from the ground, providing a visual reminder of what had occurred there. Various sections of the trail around the Choeung Ek killing fields were extremely saddening and it was so hard to imagine how such crimes could have been committed.

Bones still emerging from the burial pits

One of the most upsetting sites we have ever visited

The audio guide tour finished at the central stupa. This is a large tower-type building that was built to house some of the remains of the people who were murdered at the Choeung Ek killing fields. Some shelves held rows of skulls, while others were laden with arm and leg bones. Several marked bones showed the injuries that had caused that person’s death. It was an extremely sombre site to visit.

Central stupa at Choeung Ek

Skulls are held within the central stupa

After the Choeung Ek killing fields, we were taken to the Tuol Sleng (S-21) Genocide Museum. Although this building was originally a school, it was converted to the Security Prison 21 (S-21) and an interrogation centre during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Comrade Duch, a notorious member of the Khmer Rouge, ran this prison. The classrooms were converted into crude cells and torture chambers. The Khmer Rouge were extremely suspicious and paranoid, leading to the arrest of innocent people who were tortured to reveal the names of innocent family members or close associates. As the Khmer Rouge’s paranoia rose, purges of party members also occurred; their family members were also brought in for interrogation and killed as well. Of the ~17,000-20,000 inmates held at the prison, only 7 survived. 

Classrooms were converted into cells using concrete block walls and wooden doors

Long corridors of classrooms filled with cells and torture rooms

The Choeung Ek and S-21 Genocide Museum were extremely saddening to visit, but they are important sites to remember the violent past of Cambodia. It was a long and emotionally draining day. Needless to say, we had some dinner and had an early night. 

Central stupa at Choeung Ek

River around Phnom Phen in the evening

While in Phnom Phen, we had a few interesting meals, some of which have been mentioned in our previous blog about the food in Southeast Asia. One evening we walked down the road and saw an above-average-looking food stall that sold eggs cooked in small ceramic bowls over an open flame. We were interested in trying these, as we had seen them throughout our four days in Phnom Phen. We were ushered to a tiny table with tiny 20 cm high stools (rather difficult for 6-foot Dennis). A plate of herbs and some small sauce dishes were delivered, followed by an egg dish and some pork meatballs. A Khmer lady instructed us how to eat the dishes and what sauces to put with each thing (all without a word of English). It was pretty tasty, but nothing that blew our socks off; the experience was pretty fun though! We also had a frog stir-fry after it was recommended by our tuk-tuk driver. He said that the frogs in his homeland were the best in the country. Frog tastes like slightly fishy chicken, and the stir fry was pretty good too. 

Public exercise equipment (yes, we did give it a try)

Monument in a round about in Phnom Phen

After four days in Phnom Phen, we booked a bus ticket and headed out to the coast. We were looking forward to a break from the busy city and hoping for a more typical look at Cambodian life.