Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Sihonoukeville....

OK, let's try this again. You would never believe what happened! I wrote a piece of work the other day on this blog...It was so good! I even used big words and I think they were spelled correctly. I was so proud of myself as you know my brain is not working as well as it was a few months ago. We have to make math everyday to stimulate the brain these days! Ha Ha! Anyways, I wrote so much about wonderful Cambodia and when I was almost finished, the computer decided to turn off. I guess I blew a fuse with my creativeness, but it was frustrating. I guess that sort of stuff happens in a third world country like Cambodia. Anyways, so let's try it again.

We started in Siem Reap which I briefly explain Angkor Wat. I was very tired and hot that night, so it was hard to type a lot. Siem Reap is a small country town in the Northwestern Province of Cambodia. This town has grown so much of the last 10 years. It's gotten very developed with guesthouses and fancy and expensive hotels for the rich people, unlike us, who decide to venture out to see Angkor Wat. I can't even imagine how much that town will change in the next 10 years as I'm sure it changes year by year. Angkor Wat is a huge area that consists of many temples. It's about 10 minutes in a car to get to the main entrance. The road is a cute, little paved road that's shared with motorbikes, bicycles, cows, buffalo, sheep and people. We spent 2 full days exploring Angkor and playing with the children. The Cambodian children are so friendly and unbelievably smart. They don't go to "real" school, but they are so intelligent. I can actually sit down and have full conversations with them in English and I was never able to do that with my students in Korea. The children know so many languages also. They are so cute and affectionate. Always hugging and kissing you. They do try to sell you their goods, but they are smiling about it.

After Siem Reap, we took a very amusing bus ride to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. We wanted to make it to Phnom Penh before they started the Khmer New Year which lasts for 3 days plus the weekend. The bus was on a dirt rode most the time and the bus driver was beeping the horn at everything that moved, so sleeping was out of the question most of the time. We had to detour a big hole in the rode and almost hit another car while trying not to tip over. Fun stuff, huh? We finally got there after 7 hours or so and found a cute little guesthouse on the lake for $1 a bed. We just chilled out there for the day since we were so tired from being very active in Siem Reap. We watched movies and talked with the family who ran the guesthouse. The next day was our tourist day. This is the hard part to write about.

30 years ago, in 1975, a crazy man called Pol Pot decided that he was going to create the perfect country. He lead the Khmer Rouge to kill Cambodians who were educated in order to teach all the non-educated ones his ways of life. Khmer Rouge (KR) took over the country when the US bombed the borders during the Vietnam War and it was easy to over take the Lon Nol government. Basically, KR forced families out of their homes and forced them to work camps and then started killing them all. From the years 1975-1979, thousands if not millions were massacred for no apparent reason besides their families or education. Teachers, monks, scholars, doctors, ect. and their families were attacked and eventually killed.

First, Tanya and I got on some motorbikes and the others got on a tuk-tuk to get to S-21. A tuk-tuk is a cart that's attached to a motorbike. It can fit more people than a regular motorbike. S-21 is Pol Pot's secret prison. Tuol Sleng is the other name of the torture chamber. Here, the interrogated and tortured thousands of people.
S-21 used to be a high school until the KR came into power and banned all education, money, and books. They barb wired the outside and made cells and torture chambers in the classrooms. It was so sad going through this genocide museum. The first building that was used for interrogation and torture showed us the metal beds and pictures of the torture. The second building was dedicated to the prisoners mug shots and death shots. The KR documented everything that went on in the prison. They have pictures of everything that they did and most of the people that they killed. Walking through the classrooms and seeing the mug shots of these poor lost souls was bvery heartbreaking. There were men, woman, grandparents, children and babies. Each mugshot showed different expressions though. Some people looked so scared, some looked so angry, some looked lost, and some look as if they had already given up. We saw lots of gruesome pictures of the deaths of some of these people. I can't believe that it's possible for someone to be this cruel. The next building consisted of the cells that the prisoners we held. Some were held with 30 others on a pole with their feet chained together. Some were held in small, closet sized cells that were made with bricks in the rooms. It was very disturbing. An eary silence and feeling was with us the whole time. One room was dedicated to some of the KR soldiers that were found and said they were forced to be aq soldier or they would be killed as well. So, who knows if the soldiers wanted to kill or were saving their own lives. I'm reading a book on the who tragedy now, it's very interesting. Some survival stories are amazing.

After the depressing hours we walked around S-21, we get back on the motor bikes thinking how sad everything was and head for The Killing Fields. Then, a wake up call...It's Khmer New Years! Road blocks were in effect and they would cover us with baby powder and let us go. It was so much fun. All the kids were out with their powder and stopping every car or bike that went by just to powder them and let them go past. The road to the Killing Fields, a major tourist attraction, is just a bumpy dirt road going through a little village. It's about 20K outside of Phnom Penh, so it took awhile to get there. After being covered in powder we all walk through the fields. The Killing Fields is where most of the prisoners from S-21 were killed as well as thousands of other people were killed and buried in mass graves. It's not a big field, but there are huge holes everywhere that mass graves were dug up and remains were excavated. One hole was a mass grave that held over 500 people. Others were smaller or held just women and children. There are still bones and clothing from 25 years ago littering the ground as you walk through. It didn't have that eary feeling like S-21 did. It was very tranquil and animals were roaming around. A man was chanting in the corner of the field most of the time. I don't know why he was chanting, but I know that Cambodians believe if one does not have a proper burial, they roam the earth as a ghost until a proper burial is given. Maybe he was trying to find a lost soul??? In the middle of the field stands a monument about 3-4 stories high. When you squeeze your way through the little entrance way and look up, skulls are stacked from the floor to the ceiling. There must be thousands or skulls that they found in the fields and placed in the memorial.

After that, we decided we need some fun. We got dropped off by the river front and had some lunch and powder fighting with the little kids that sell books, powder, postcards and anything else. We sat for hours with these kids and it was so fun. By the end of the night I was covered in powder. My hair looked like it turned gray. They also water fight, but that night we just got powdered!

We went to the palace the next day...blah blah...I am not cultural enough for this! Then we walked to the river front again where we got bombarded with water balloons. Phnom Penh is a great little city. It's not what I expected. I really enjoyed myself there. The people are so fantastic around this country and just a few years ago it was in a guerilla state. Also, something to mention. US currency is more widely used that Cambodian currency, the Riel. It's very stange to be using US dollars again. Or, sometimes we will have to pay with half Riel and half dollar, now that's making math.

The next day, we got up and took the bus to Sihonoukeville. It was a horrible ride for me since I came down with a bit of food poisoning or something like that. But, we made it and this little town is so cute. It's a beach town on the southern tip of Cambodia. The beach is very different than most beaches. It almost feels like it was made for backpackers. Drugs are very open here and "happy shakes" are offered everywhere. One crazy Italian guy is running around in his speedos offering people free joints and telling us he poops in the sea. It's very refreshing to go swimiming now! Ha Ha! We will be here for a few more days I think. I had to postpone my birthday this year, I was too sick yesterday to recognize it, so it may be today to tomorrow. I feel better today, but not too sure yet. We'll be heading to Vietnam next, I'm really excited for that, but I love Cambodia so much!

This was not as good as the first masterpiece I wrote. Sorry about that, I tried to capture the moment. I guess you will never be able to read my masterpiece...It is lost somewhere in internet land. Ha Ha!