Phonm Penh

We made it to our next country, Cambodia.  Our first stop in Cambodia was the capital, Phonm Penh.  It was a big city without the extremely large buildings.  This city is where a great deal of tragedy happened in the late 1970s, but it also had some great museums.  A group called the Khmer Rouge, led by a man named Pol Pot, became the dictator and was very paranoid and began genocide against his own people.   Over three million people were killed in four short years.  

On our first day we went to two places where some of the horrific tragedy took place.  The first place was called Tuol Sleng, or S21.  This was a prison were many Cambodian people were held and tortured by the Khmer Rouge soldiers.   There were many of these prisons, but this one is the largest and most famous.  More than 20,000 prisoners were killed there, only seven survived.  We got to meet one of the living survivors, and we bought his book, in which he describes what he saw and heard while being contained.  It was a powerful moment.  Here are some of the sights that we saw. 

Blood stains on the ground

Interrogation rooms

Rules used during interrogation

Toilets for prisoners

Clothing of the prisoners

Photographs of prisoners when they first entered

Pol Pot created forced labor camps outside the city

The size of the stalls.  Each square was about 6 square inches  

Children came with their parents when they were arrested

Shackles

The walls of the small stalls

Key rack 

Before it was a prison, it was a high school

One of only 2 living survivors of this prison.  There were seven but they have passed away.  

After we saw were many prisons were held, we headed to the place where many Cambodians were murdered for no reason, the Killing fields.  Originally these fields were a Chinese burial ground, there were still burial markers where the original burials where.  But, the Khmer Rouge decided that this was a good place to kill their fellow Cambodians for no reason, besides Pol Pot’s vision of a "pure" society.  There are hundreds of killing fields like this all over Cambodia.  This one is the largest and is a national monument to the genocide.  We were given an audio tour narrated by a survivor from the time, and he explained the history of the regime and the events that took place.

The building were no longer there because after the Khmer Rouge were stopped the people were so poor that they took the material from the buildings.

The sugar palm tree 

A burial sight that they don't excavate in order to let the people rest in peace.  

The burial sights are covered to protect them from the elements 

A Chinese grave that was here prior to the Khmer Rouge

On the top of this box are remains that people have found around the grounds.  Material and bone still comes to surface after heavy rains

Some clothing still in the ground

We learned that the Khmer Rouge didn't use guns to kill people because it was expensive and loud, so they used whatever tools they had.  The audio told us that they used farming tools that were previously there from when it was a farmland, and they also used branches from sugar palm tree to murder the innocent people.   It was very sad to think about how all these people got murdered, but it is very important to remember what happened so it doesn't happen again.  It gave us a new admiration for all the Cambodian people who lived through such horrific times.

 

The next day we went to the national museum and learned about the history of the country.  I was not allowed to take photos inside the museum, but we learned about the religious background of Cambodia and how it has influenced their art.  We also knew about a show, where young adults perform traditional Cambodian dances that are held at this museum at night, so we bought tickets.

A beautiful sugar palm

   

 Before the show we went to the show we went to the Kings palace.  It was a beautiful place that is fit for a king.  HAHAHA.  We got a personal tour and our guide knew many facts about the palace, down to where the carpet came from.  There were many gifts from other countries in the palace and also many grand stupas, traditional burial place for a Buddhist person,  for past kings and other family members of the King.

This is a tree that is the same as the tree that Buddha was born and died underneath  

The flower of the tree

Buddha looking in all directions to protect the king

There is a color that is worn by the people who work at the palace for each day of the week.  

The King's crown (in a photo)

One of the stupas of past kings and family members

The show as very well put together and we had a front row seat.  The young adults were very good and seemed to enjoy performing the traditional dances.  I took lots of photos of the traditional clothing while they danced.  The first dance was about how the Cambodian people used to hunt.  The second dance was about how they used to fish.  Thirdly, the dance was about a mermaid and a monkey god falling in love. This type of dance is one of the most famous Cambodian dances, Apsara dancing.  Lastly we learned about the traditional scarf that many Cambodians workers still use today.  It was a lovely show and we were very happy to enjoy the traditional dances.

The next day we were headed to Siem Reap.  Can’t wait to see Angkor Wat!!!