Khmer Country - Exploring Phnom Penh and Siem Reap - Part 3

The overnight bus journey was extremely cold. Wearing shorts and slippers is a no no. I wondered what was I thinking taking an overnight bus wearing minimal clothing especially near the leg area. My balls were literally freezing themselves off.

The bus occasionally stopped along the road side for people to answer mother nature's call. Hard time for the girls I'd imagine. Around  7 hours later we arrived back in the capital in the wee hours of the morning and our guide was already there waiting for us at the bus station. He took us back to our budget hotel which costs around USD 15 for the night. We also got to check in early and freshen up before we continued to explore the city.

The rules.

These were the rules imposed at Tuol Seng Political Prison. This madhouse was a former school that was converted by the military into a torture encampment. Prisoners that were brought in were usually detained without reason. If there was any reason it would only be that they were a threat to the regime. Doctors, teachers, government servants you name it. Those that were considered educated were thrown in here for torturing and suspected for treason. From books I read and from the places I visited, it was either you were thrown in prison, or sent to work hard labour in the countryside until you died. Either way you were screwed.

Entry into the prison was around USD3, and how depressing the money was spent. In the prison, they displayed pictures of the original condition of each room when the prison was first uncovered after the regime had ended.

before

after

prisoners of tuol seng

prisoners counting months inside

cell block

Being inside the prison was a really depressing but humbling experience. The amount of suffering these Cambodians had to go through. Really makes you appreciate your life more and stops you from bitching about all these small petty things in life.

Based on information displayed in the prison, there were only 10 survivors from this prison. And they survived by luck. When Vietnam was invading Cambodia, the last 10 were already on a truck on their way to the killings fields. Only by chance did the transport lorry got attacked and the remaining prisoners managed to escape. 7 of the survivors had already passed away due to old age. 2 are now working as lorry drivers. 1 of the survivors is now working in the former prison to educate and share his experiences with visitors to the Tuol Seng prison.

mr survivor (showing himself in the picture)

 Mr survivor has lost most of his hearing and eyesight on the left side due to being electrocuted through his ear during his time of capture. Most of his fingernails have been pulled out during the torturing process. He was merely a lorry driver during the time of capture. Without warning he was took from his family and brought to the prison for interrogation and suspect of being a rebel.

He was forced to build his own cell with his bare hands and was given just one small box for him to shit and pee in. If the guards found his floor dirty with his shit, he was forced to lick it clean by the guards.

You could really see the pain in his eyes when he tried to relate his story to us. All the suffering he had endured just because he was suspected and never tried as a opposition member.

Prisoners were then brought to the infamous killing fields to be executed. As the name suggests, it was merely a field were mass executions and murders were conducted by the Junta. The killing went on until the extent of killing the whole family, including babies, as they feared that if not killed now, when grown up these babies would take revenge for their families.

Babies were smashed into trees, shattering the skulls. They were also thrown in the air and would fall on the soldier's bayonets. Adults were lined up behind each other so that only one bullet would only be used to execute them. Heads were sawed off using palm trees bark, all inhumanely methods to end a human life.

When the regime had ended and the new government had taken over, hundreds of mass graves were uncovered around the killing fields. There were so many graves that the government had uncovered, they stopped halfway and just sealed off the entry.

fragments of teeth between the trees

Stupa@tower with the skulls that were uncovered

Full view of the Stupa with the skulls inside

After visiting the Tuol Seng prison and the killing fields, we headed back to the hotel and started to head for the 'Central Market' (which was just in front of our hotel) for some souvenir hunting. We also headed to Russian Market as well. The name Russian Market came about because during the 1980's, the soviets liked to come to the market to shop. Both markets sell similar items, jewellery, cloths, shirts, etc. Prices are considered quite cheap and also depending on your bargaining skills.

Please also take note that for muslim travelers, there is a muslim restaurant located somewhere near the waterfront. Must try dish : the snakehead soup @ sup ikan toman. Costs around USD3 per serving.

Nightlife in Phnom Penh is mainly similar to most towns that are filled with expats. Bars, irish pubs, ice cream parlours, etc. Nothing spectacular and most of the pubs are filled with both locals and expats just looking for a good night out.

Cambodia is famous for its underage sex tourism. I do not condone this disgusting exploitation. Please help spread the word to stop this act of violence against children.

All in all my expenses cost around USD150+ (RM400+) for the whole 4 days in Cambodia. A country worth traveling to simply to admire the stunning and mysterious temples in Siem Reap or the humbling experiences which brings you back down to earth in Phnom Penh. Too bad didn't have ample time to travel to more remote locations such as Sihanoukville. Maybe next time. Maybe next time.

Khmer Country - Exploring Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Part 2)

Day 2
Day 2 started quite early as we only had the whole day left to go to the infamous Angkor Watt before taking our bus back to Phnom Penh the same night.

Before reaching Angkor Watt, we stopped by at Chong Khneas, a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. We made our way down to the pier, paid around 5USD for the boat fees, boarded a small boat (fits around 10 people) that took us through a canal and through the floating village.

It was a bit touching seeing how the villagers live their life dependently on the river. Most of them have never ventured out and will grow old the same way they grew up. The tourism industry actually helped the villagers live a better life. It created job opportunities, new infrastructures. The village now boasts floating schools, a floating church, a floating mosque and even a floating futsal court.

Putting the touchy feelings aside, after passing through the village, we were soon greeted by a vast scenery of endless water. No end could be seen from where we were standing. On the lake itself were other floating houses, fish farms, restaurants, and even a crocodile farm. I shit you not! Hahaha! It was quite stunning just sitting at a floating restaurant and admiring the beauty of the Tonle Sap Lake.

breeding crocs like a boss

After touring the lake for a while, we headed back down the canal and to the pier to continue our way. It was time for Angkor Wat.

Khmer Country - Exploring Phnom Penh and Siem Reap

Before I start rambling about my travels to Cambodia, let me share some general information about the country. Cambodia is bordered by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam and the country's population is estimated around 15 million. Only recently in 1993 that the Country was reunited back under the ruling monarchy. Like its predecessor Vietnam, the country has been at war most of the time. The French ruling, the Vietnam War and then the Khmer Rouge ruling. Since the end of the Khmer Rouge ruling, the country has been slowly rebuilding back its foundations from scratch and is now currently expanding and progressing economically by an astonishing average of 6% every year. The main currency used is Cambodian Riels and the exchange rate is about 1USD = 4,000 KHR. Also keep in mind that USD is also an acceptable currency in Cambodia.

There has always been a magical element attached to Cambodia. Either being lost in wonder inside the vast mazes of temples in Siem Reap, or experiencing death at the killing fields in Phnom Penh, the stories that the country portrays are both heartbreaking yet inspiring at the same time and can be one of the most humbling experiences you can experience.

Day 1 :
Me and a group of friends took an early flight from KL and reached Phnom Penh International Airport around 9am. The flight took around 2-3 hours from KL. Arriving in Phnom Penh's airport was just as expected. Airport looked quite shabby and a bit run downed. It kinda looked like the Penang Airport before it was renovated. After going through customs and having my bag opened for random checks (I don't understand why this always happens to me), we re-grouped back at the exit hall of the airport and were to make our way to Siem Reap by bus. On the way out of the airport, we were greeted by our native language. Some one actually greeted us in Malay. Hahaha something we didn't quite expect, in Cambodia. The random guy who greeted us was actually a taxi operator there and used to come to Malaysia during his younger days to learn Islam. He is the head of the mosque in his village and is accustomed to bringing Malaysian travellers around Phnom Penh due to his familiarity with the Malay language. Later on I learned that most of the Muslims in Phnom Penh can actually speak the basic Malay. We told him of our plan that we would be going to Siem Reap first for two days and then only be coming back to Phnom Penh for another two days. If you're wondering why we didn't book our flight to Siem Reap, because the air fare was way cheaper going to Phnom Penh at that time. So there.

The 'ustaz' made some calls and told us that his friend would meet us in Siem Reap. He then asked his friend at the airport to send us to the bus stop because he had to pick other people somewhere else.
The 6 of us squeezed into one small tut-tut and made the 20 minutes journey to the bus stop. Please note that Phnom Penh does not have a centralized bus stop. Different bus companies would depart from different areas. Usually most of the taxi and tut-tut drivers would know which station to drop you off at.

One thing I noticed, unlike Saigon, Phnom Penh actually has a lot more cars on the roads. Like all tut-tut drivers around the world, ours was no exception at being skilled in weaving through traffic, occasionally banging other cars, going up dividers, stopping in the middle of the road just to cool the engine, etc. It was all worth the RM2 I paid. Hahahaha.

After making our way to the bus stop, we headed to the counter and proceeded to buy the 6 hour bus journey to Siem Reap. The ticket was around RM20. The next bus would be around 2 pm and since it was only 10 in the morning, we decided to explore the area just to kill time. While we just started walking, the ustaz from the airport showed up out of no where with his van. After telling him of our bus time, he suggested that he could drop us off at the Phnom Penh's Waterfront area for free and we could board the same bus which would also pass through there. Since we really had nothing to do, it seemed like the best plan at that moment.