Taking the Long Way Home

After our visit to Siem Reap and Angkor we had intended to head straight to Trat, Thailand and catch a boat out to the islands to hang out on one of the less populated beaches in the Gulf of Thailand off of the east coast (most likely Ko Chang.) Catt wasn't feeling too hot, though, so we decided to extend our stay in Siemp Reap for an extra day so he could rest up and make the sojourn to Thailand the following day. Making use of our extra time, Kate and I got a tuk-tuk and made a trip out to some of the more remote temple locations, the temples of the Roluos group. Our tuk-tuk driver actually spent his childhood in that area, so after checking out the temples, he drove us through his old village and we got to briefly meet his family. We also made a stop at an awesome NGO that helps street kids earn money by carving and producing artistic creations out of tanned, dyed buffalo skin. The NGO gives the kids food, accommodation, and school, plus the proceeds of the sale of their creations. They make the carvings after school in the afternoons. Kate bought several of these as gifts for friends back home. Very cool organization. Once I get the name of it, I'll post it here.

The next day we made arrangements to take a bus from Siem Reap back to Bangkok. We had heard horror stories about the condition of buses and roads within rural Cambodia, but had been lucky so far in our journeys from and to Phnom Penh, so didn't worry too much.

It's safe to say that this was the worst bus we travelled on in our entire time in Asia. It was extremely cramped, dirty and small- like a miniature version of a school bus, with bench seats- and there was zero leg room (I sat sideways with my legs jutting out into the tiny aisle almost in the lap of the poor Japanese girl next to me.) A taller guy sitting in front of us would periodically turn around and moan "this is almost unbearable." On top of that, the roads are in pretty serious need of repair, and so you can only travel at maximum about 30 mph. The potholes are intense, and within about five minutes of travel, everyone in the bus, including the luggage, piled sky-high at the rear, is covered in a thin layer of red, dusty soot. This is really no fault of the bus driver or transport man, but just the reality of the situation when travelling within Cambodia. Due to the poor condition of the roads, the journey just from Siem Reap to the Cambodian border at Poi Pet took about six hours. Six, jarring hours during which I pondered the potential of getting a head concussion by simply being a passenger on a Cambodian bus. The countryside out the window was lifeless, flat, barren; the earth a reddish-brown hue, and nothing to interrupt the meeting point between sky and land but the children, oxen, carts, motorbikes, overturned vehicles, semi-collapsed and rebuilt bridges and general remnants of life-as-normal littering the road and fields. At times the bus would completely detour off of the road and into the fields to avoid massive, lake-sized puddles of mud, rocks and dirt. It is a grueling, sanity-testing, new-threshold-discovering journey that is probably best not be undertaken by non-adventurous, open-minded travellers. Oh, and don't forget your dramamine.

We were extremely relieved to arrive at the border, which is only, really, a reflection of how horrid the bus journey is. Poi Pet, Cambodia is rumored to be a pretty lawless, "wild west" sort of place, so we made haste passing through customs and getting the hell out of there to the Thai side and village of Aryanyaprathet. We encountered minimal hassle in Poi Pet, but according to just about every other traveler I've met, we should count ourselves lucky. Here's a small blurb from another traveller's blog I found online about the place:

For my bright and cheery outlook on travel, I cannot find one good thing to say about that abominable hellhole this side of the planet. Poipet is a crossing point that opened to foreigners in 1998, and it instantly built up around the opportunities that presented. It's described as a Wild West town, and the lawless atmosphere this implies is not exaggeration. Children cling to your sleeve and pursue handouts en masse, then kick your backpack as you walk away. Motorbike drivers crisscross insistently in front of you, undeterred by NO in Thai, Khmer, English. A growing mafia with the singular objective of scamming a deal aggressively harass travelers and are outright belligerent when refused. . . . And that is the tamer part of the scenario. Where normally I'd push positively onward, in this town my optimism reduced to irritation then alarm as darkness approached. I was actually disappointed to the brink of tears to see the last foreigner leave for Siem Riep and was tempted to talk my way again onto one of their groups.

I wanted OUT of Poipet ASAP, but the next means out to the part of the country I was bound for did not leave until morning. In my years of living in Harlem or traveling new cities, I'd never felt my sixth sense buzzing, not to be ignored, even in the dead of night, like it did in Poipet in broad daylight. I bought my bus ticket, hurried to my room, jammed the nightstand against the door, and rearranged the layout to maximize my advantage in case of intrusion. I lined up what belongings I could use as a weapon on the bed, near reach. It's the kind of place where you keep your clothes on and sleep alert with your hand wrapped around a sharp object ready to spring the commotion rather than wait for it to happen to you. Taken from http://kampucheacrossings.blogspot.com

The rain began to pour as we finally made it through customs and were rushed to a make-shift bus station where we would catch our onward transport to Bangkok. We ran like hell through the parking lot to get some of the last seats on that bus. I cannot tell you how modern, clean, and efficient Thailand seems after weeks in Cambodia. When our double-decker bus pulled up, tell-tale karaoke soundtrack pumping with colorful curtains bedecking the windows, I felt like I was home again. Everything in Thailand seemed new and wonderful, almost to an aseptic point. That's not to say I don't appreciate the organic grittiness of Cambodia, but it certainly does reinforce that central ideal of living and travelling: it's all relative. I've heard so many travellers bemoan the dirt and chaos of Bangkok, but I can't even begin to explain to them how orderly and manageable it is compared with some other parts of this planet we've explored.

Anyway. We dozed and rested through the uneventful journey back to Bangkok for a few hours. We arrived just after dark, and were pleased to find that we still knew our way around the Koh San Road area quite well. We hiked with our packs back to New Siam II guesthouse- we had stayed at New Siam I before- and got reacquainted with the joys of showering and air conditioning. We were anxious to take Kate out for a wander on the streets of Bangkok, and did a loop, getting more fisherman pants, delectable Thai street treats, jewelry from the "frog ladies," and so on. Pictures of our time in Bangkok with Kate to come...

The next day, Kate headed off to check out some of Bangkok's sights while Catt and I headed to the internet cafe to do some serious planning for the next big leg of our journey: Australia. We were flying to Brisbane on November 26, and had no accommodation, plans for onward travel, or anything else under our belts, plus we would be there during the peakest of peak seasons, Christmas and New Year's. After several bleary-eyed hours, we met up again and did some shopping and dinner on Ko San Road. We ate a meal of Western food (first in a while, which was actually really nice), which also as a bonus included live music performed by an older Thai guy in a cowboy hat. Pretty sweet.

The next morning Kate woke up early to catch her flight out of Asia. As we said our goodbyes, we felt a pretty solid pang of home-sicknesses. Kate was the first familiar face/reminder of home we had had in almost half a year, and despite the novelty of travel and new places, the process of constantly being on the go gets tiring and morale can get a bit apathetic after months without friends and family (and Chipotle). We decided we need a pick-me-up, which is how we came to meet a memorable guy named Joe, and discover a gem of a small island...

Originally we had thought about travelling to Ko Chang as our final island escape in Thailand, but after doing more research, decided that Ko Kut, an even smaller and less touristy island, might be just our thing. We grabbed a bus for the three hour journey to Trat, a lovely city perched on the gulf of Thailand, and stayed the night there at a wonderful, small guesthouse. Trat is very quiet, peaceful, and restful- miles away from the tourists and hawkers of South Thailand. We had a great dinner at a restaurant down the street, and stopped in for a visit to the home of a local Frenchman/travel agent who let us browse through his collection of brochures on the islands while his little girls played on the floor next to us. We decided on Ko Kut, rang up the boatman, and called Joe, a fantastic character who runs a great bungalow operation on a remoate, beautiful beach.

The next morning we grabbed a sawngthaw (pick-up truck taxi, very common in beach areas of Thailand) to the jetty. A motorboat sped us through emerald-green water out to the islands, and the sun beat down on us brilliantly. We made stops at the most random, tiny docks and jetties, dropping off supplies to Thai families, and picking up the odd boat-hitcher or tourist. When we finally got dropped off at our island, Ko Kut, we were met by a tiny Thai woman, who bade us to follow her. Somehow, despite the boat lacking a time-table (and the island having very unrealiable phone service) she lead us through a coconut grove, over a hill to Joe's place. We never really exchanged words, nor did she know our names, but somehow she knew who we were, and where to take us. We never cease to be amazed by the miracles of travel in SE Asia.

Joe's place was so relaxed and laid-back- I could have spent weeks there, decompressing from the hustle of life, a seeming million miles away back on the mainland. We got our own simple bungalow, with palm-frond hammock, clean, neat sleeping mat, mosquito net, and surprisingly nice private (cold) shower and toilet. Like every Thai bungalow operation, Joe had a restaurant and bar on the property (more like an extension of his kitchen) where he cooked up delicious fish that he would catch during fishing trips during the day. He was originally from Bangkok, but came to Ko Kut seeking the simpler pleasures. He had travelled very extensively, too- I think he had been to the States twice (Las Vegas and Florida). We spent three days here on a patch of white sand and an almost deserted beach, relaxing, sunning ourselves, and eating some great curries and noodles at the restaurant nextdoor. We also rented bikes one day and cycled around the island checking out waterfalls and local life. It was fantastic.

Here are some pictures of paradise Ko Kut:

our bungalow's hammock, with Megan's Balinese sarong drying in the background

Our bungalow at Joe's place on Ko Kut

Ko Kut beach

Catt at Ko Kut

Megan on Ko Kut... if I ever publish a Danielle Steel-esque trashy novel, this pic can go on the back inside flap...

Swimming in the clear, warm water at Ko Kut

After all that relaxation, we caught a boat back to Trat for our journey to Bangkok, and finally, Australia. The boat trip back to shore was extremely choppy- almost scarily so. It's amazing how a bright, sunny day can completely bely the reality of rough surf and the condition of the water. One girl on our boat started having a nervous breakdown out of fear (I guess of capsize?) and was inconsolably sobbing and wringing her hands for the hour and a half journey. I'm not going to lie; it was pretty harrowing.

All was well once we were back on solid ground, though, and we took another pick-up truck back to town and grabbed a bus to Bangkok. In just two short days we would be back in a "Western" country more similar to our own country than any other place we had ever been before...bring on Australia.

From Phnom Penh, we packed our bags at Fancy Guesthouse and prepared ourselves for one of the most highly anticipated portions of our travels in all of SE Asia: a visit to the unbelievably atmospheric, incredible temples of Angkor. "Angkor" refers to the region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the 9th century to the 15th century A.D. (The word "Angkor" itself is derived from the Sanskrit "nagara," meaning "city.") More precisely, the Angkorian period may be defined as the period from 802 A.D., when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself the "universal monarch" and "god-king" of Cambodia, until 1431 A.D., when Thai invaders sacked the Khmer capital, causing its population to migrate south to the area of Phnom Penh. Reason number 3,442 why Cambodians are suspicious of Thais and generally dislike them.

A very interesting factoid I learned while doing some background research on Angkor for this entry is that based on satellite photographs taken by an international team of researchers in 2007, Angkor has been concluded to have been the largest pre-industrial city in the world, having had an urban sprawl of 1,150 square miles at its height. The closest rival to Angkor in terms of square mileage is Guatemala's Mayan city of Tikal, which was only 50 square miles in size. This helps one appreciate the sheer scale and grandeur of this place. It is home to over one thousand temples built amid forests and farmlands, and including the principle (and magnificent) temple of Angkor Wat, constructed from 1113 to 1150 under Suryavarman II which is said to be the world's largest single religious monument. The temples are in a range of repair and disrepair, and perhaps one misfortune (or benefit, depending on how you look at it,) is the unbelievable access you, the visitor, have to them. It is literally possible to crawl and climb all over them, which certainly cannot be good for their preservation, but does make for some unbelievable photo opportunities. It would be impossible to properly explore this amazing place in a month, but we gave ourselves the most time which we had; about three days. I'd like to think that we made good use of our time!

Map of the Angkor Archaeological Park

Our first impression of Siem Reap, the closest town of significance to the ruins at Angkor, was one of being almost in a desert-like environment. The tuk-tuk kicked up clouds of red dust in the heat of the late afternoon as we made our way down the half-dirt, half-paved road through town to our guesthouse. Siem Reap is also very touristy, and generally there is less rubbish around than in other parts of Cambodia we visited. There were foreigners everywhere.

The evening of our arrival we checked into our very comfortable triple room at the Hotel Golden Angkor ($20 per night) and had some dinner. We wanted to leave enough time to watch the sun set from atop the hill at Phnom Bakheng. On our hike up Phnom Bakheng (amidst hordes of tourists,) the rain began to fall, but the clouds drifted away in time to reveal a beautiful sunset, with a rainbow. It was a good omen for us, weather-wise. We had three gorgeous days here.

Sunset over Phnom Bakheng:

Kate and Meg at Phnom Bakheng watching the sunset at Angkor

Catt and Kate waiting for the sun to set

That night we made arrangements to get a tuk-tuk to take us back to the temples first thing in the morning. First thing we had to do the next day once we set off was get our passes to visit the temples. These are really serious badges (especially by Asia standards,) that involved a scary, driver's license-esque photo and laminating. Mine was horrendous, so here's a picture of Catt with his newly-minted ID. Whenever we visited the temples, we had to show these to the guards:

Once that was finished, we were off and ready to go. The anticipation in our tuk-tuk on the way to visit Angkor Wat was palpable. We had our cameras at the ready:

Megan in a tuk-tuk headed to the temples of Angkor

Psyched for some ancient history

Our first visit was to Angkor Wat, the principle temple of Angkor (and the temple for which the site is probably most famous.)

Angkor Wat
Synopsis below thanks to Wikipedia.com

The principal temple of the Angkorian region, Angkor Wat, was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Suryavarman ascended to the throne after prevailing in a battle with a rival prince. An inscription says that in the course of combat, Suryavarman lept onto his rival's war elephant and killed him, just as the mythical bird-man Garuda slays a serpent.

After consolidating his political position through military campaigns, diplomacy, and a firm domestic administration, Suryavarman launched into the construction of Angkor Wat as his personal temple mausoleum. Breaking with the tradition of the Khmer kings, and influenced perhaps by the concurrent rise of Vaisnavism in India, he dedicated the temple to Vishnu rather than to Shiva. With walls nearly one-half mile long on each side, Angkor Wat grandly portrays the Hindu cosmology, with the central towers representing Mount Meru, home of the gods; the outer walls, the mountains enclosing the world; and the moat, the oceans beyond. The traditional theme of identifying the Cambodian devaraja with the gods, and his residence with that of the celestials, is very much in evidence. The measurements themselves of the temple and its parts in relation to one another have cosmological significance. Suryavarman had the walls of the temple decorated with bas reliefs depicting not only scenes from mythology, but also from the life of his own imperial court. In one of the scenes, the king himself is portrayed as larger in size than his subjects, sitting cross legged on an elevated throne and holding court, while a bevy of attendants make him comfortable with the aid of parasols and fans.

Some pictures of us with Angkor Wat:

Catt and Meg in front of Angkor Wat

Detail of Apsaras (nymphs) at Angkor Wat

Kate, Catt and Meg with Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Apsara detail at Angkor Wat

Kate and Meg at Angkor Wat

We were definitely impressed with Angkor Wat- it is one of those places that is so hyped, photographed and visited, that it's easy for it to be a let-down. Despite the flocks of tourists, though, it is a large enough temple that it doesn't feel crowded as you're exploring it. Pretty amazing.

After Angkor Wat, we made a trip over to the walled city of Angkor Thom (reference the map of the Angkor Archaeological Park, above) which is home to some of the most impressive and unique temples and structures in the Angkor Archaeological Park, including the Bayon, the Terrace of the Elephants, and the Terrace of the Leper King. The five gates to Angkor Thom are amazing- you feel like Indiana Jones walking through them, and into the walled city. It was at the south gate that a segment for the film, "Tomb Raider," was filmed. We did our best Angelina Jolie impressions for some photos, not posted here. The results were dubious. Anyway, here is a blurb on the history, construction, function, and features of some of the structures inside of Angkor Thom, including the Bayon:

Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.

The Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The main current conservatory body, the JSA, has described the temple as "the most striking expression of the 'baroque' style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the 'classical' style of Angkor Wat.

The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor, and the only one to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist temple dedicated to the Buddha, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm. It was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of monumental construction and public works, which was also responsible for the walls and naga-bridges of Angkor Thom and the temples of Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei.

The similarity of the 200 or so gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII himself. Others have said that the faces belong to the bodhisattva of compassion called Avalokitesvara or Lokesvara. The two hypotheses need not be regarded as mutually exclusive. Angkor scholar George Coedès has theorized that Jayavarman stood squarely in the tradition of the Khmer monarchs in thinking of himself as a "devaraja" (god-king), the salient difference being that while his predecessors were Hindus and regarded themselves as consubstantial with Shiva and his symbol the lingam, Jayavarman as a Buddhist identified himself with the Buddha and the bodhisattva.

The temple is orientated towards the east, and so its buildings are set back to the west inside enclosures elongated along the east-west axis. Because the temple sits at the exact centre of Angkor Thom, roads lead to it directly from the gates at each of the city's cardinal points. The temple itself has no wall or moats, these being replaced by those of the city itself: the city-temple arrangement, with an area of 9 square kilometres, is much larger than that of Angkor Wat to the south (2 km²). Within the temple itself, there are two galleried enclosures (the third and second enclosures) and an upper terrace (the first enclosure). All of these elements are crowded against each other with little space between. Unlike Angkor Wat, which impresses with the grand scale of its architecture and open spaces, the Bayon "gives the impression of being compressed within a frame which is too tight for it."

Pictures from Angkor Thom and the Bayon:

Stone faces lining the south gate entrance to the walled city of Angkor Thom

South gate entrance into the walled city of Angkor Thom... very impressive

Terrace of the Elephants

The Bayon... check out all of the faces. They're always looking at you...

Kate and Meg with the Bayon

The next day we decided to rent bicycles from a shop near our guesthouse and explore some of the more distant temple sites on self-powered transport. This is a wonderful way to see the ruins- just try to budget your time so that you return back to Siem Reap before sun set. We ended up pedalling through trafficky darkness, helmet-less, through a maze of Cambodian-style rush-hour: motor bikes, dogs, tuk-tuks, trucks and cars. It was definitely an adrenaline rush (although probably not all that safe.) Anyway, having our own wheels afforded us the freedom needed to explore the temples at our leisure, which was great. We returned to Angkor Thom (the walled city,) to check out more of the sites within, and also visited the temples of Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, and Pre Rup. Ta Prohm was one of our favorites- it is an incredibly atmospheric temple. Giant tree roots have slowly strangled the temple; a profound example of mother nature taking back what is rightly hers. Here is a blurb on Ta Prohm,

Ta Prohm is the modern name of a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray near Tonle Bati, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

After ascending the throne of Cambodia in 1181 A.D., Jayavarman VII embarked on a massive program of construction and public works. Rajavihara ("royal temple"), today known as Ta Prohm ("ancestor Brahma"), was one of the first temples founded pursuant to that program. The stele commemorating the foundation gives a date of 1186 A.D.

Jayavarman VII constructed Rajavihara in honor of his family. The temple's main image, representing Prajnaparamita, the personification of wisdom, was modelled on the king's mother. The northern and southern satellite temples in the third enclosure were dedicated to the king's guru and his elder brother respectively. As such, Ta Prohm formed a complementary pair with the temple monastery of Preah Khan, dedicated in 1191 A.D., the main image of which represented the Bodhisattva of compassion Lokesvara and was modelled on the king's father.

The temple's stele records that the site was home to more than 12,500 people (including 18 high priests and 615 dancers), with an additional 80,000 souls in the surrounding villages working to provide services and supplies. The stele also notes that the temple amassed considerable riches, including gold, pearls and silks. Expansions and additions to Ta Prohm continued as late as the rule of Srindravarman at the end of the 13th century.

After the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 20th century, the École française d'Extrême-Orient decided that Ta Prohm would be left largely as it had been found, as a "concession to the general taste for the picturesque." According to pioneering Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize, Ta Prohm was singled out because it was "one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet to the point of becoming a part of it". Nevertheless, much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain "this condition of apparent neglect."

The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple's actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.

Here are some photos from our day of cycling around the Angkor Archaeological Park, including Ta Prohm, Kleang, Ta Keo, Pre Rup, and other, smaller temples:

An example of strangler fig roots growing over an ancient gate. This particular gate was used in the filming of "Tomb Raider"

Massive tree roots at Ta Prohm

Bargaining with the locals... it is a sad fact that most of the vendors at the temples of Angkor are kids. They are real characters...

Cambodian school children playing at a temple

A giant tree growing at Ta Prohm temple

Ta Prohm

We climbed up... more like scaled... this temple. The climb was scarier than it looks, but the view from the top was incredible.

Prasats Sour Prats in Angkor Thom

Pre Rup temple... I think

While we were at Siem Reap, we also had a chance to check out the bar/restaurant, the "Red Piano," which was one of Angelina Jolie's favorite haunts while she was in Cambodia, filming for the movie "Tomb Raider."

The next day we were supposed to depart for the long-haul journey to Trat, a city in eastern Thailand, but Catt wasn't feeling well, so Kate and I hired a tuk-tuk and took the chance to visit some of the smaller and more remote temple sites (and see a photo shoot for a Cambodian wedding from afar- bonus!) We'll add more pictures once they are uploaded.

All in all, our visit to the temples of Angkor far surpassed our expectations. It is a magical place that definitely deserves more than a day. If you travel to SE Asia, you are definitely doing yourself a disservice if you don't take out three days or more to explore this incredible spot.

Next up, a long, tiring journey to the border, and Thailand Round 2!

That day we made the pleasantly straightforward bus journey from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We were unsure of what to expect- we had heard from many travellers that Cambodia is the epitome of "roughing it," and that the country still exhibits many scars from its horrific history in the '70's under the Khmer Rouge. What we found was nicer than what we anticipated, and wonderfully hospitable and friendly locals. Phnom Penh has some very quaint parts, although it is still streets behind Vietnam in terms of infrastructure, garbage disposal, etc. Cambodia also uses the US dollar (it even dispenses from ATMs,) which makes for another Lao-style confusion when changing money or paying for anything. The Cambodian currency is the riel, and at the time of our visit in November, the exchange rate was roughly $1 to 4,000 riel.

There are many beautiful examples of traditional and classical Cambodian architecture in Phnom Penh, most notably the impressive Royal Palace, but undoubtedly the most famous sites to visit are the Killing Fields and the S-21 (or Tuol Sleng) Prison. These place are horrific and chilling to visit, but necessary to truly comprehend the damage and destruction wrought on this small country in the name of revolution from 1975- 1979.

We ended up staying at a brand new guesthouse called "Fancy Guesthouse" a few blocks off of the waterfront. The streets on our walk were clogged with garbage and had a bit of a rotting smell. The guesthouse itself, though, was run by a very friendly guy named Joe, and the rooms were spotless. They had never even been used before, as we were the first guests. We settled into a great triple, and headed to the waterfront for some dinner.

Signs of the Khmer Rouge period and Pol Pot's brutal regime are everywhere in Phnom Penh. Everyone you meet lost friends and relatives during those terrifying years. Because it was Pol Pot's aim, specifically, to destroy urbanites and the educated class, this is especially felt in the city, which was famously completely evacuated in the '70s when he turned the year back to "Year Zero" and closed all hospitals, post offices, and schools in the aim to transform the society into an agrarian collective. Cham people in particular and also other members from ethnic minority groups suffered greatly under Pol Pot's rule. Here is a quick historical blurb regarding the city, although there are doubtless many fascinating books you can pick up on the subject:

Phnom Penh first became the capital of Cambodia after Ponhea Yat, king of the Khmer Empire, moved the capital from Angkor Thom after it was captured by Siam a few years earlier. There are stupa behind Wat Phnom that house the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family as well as the remaining Buddhist statues from the Angkorean era. There is a legend that tells how Phnom Penh was created.

It was not until 1866, under the reign of King Norodom I, that Phnom Penh became the permanent seat of government, and the Royal Palace (pictured) was built. This marked the beginning of the transformation of what was essentially a village into a great city with the French Colonialists expanding the canal system to control the wetlands, constructing roads and building a port.

By the 1920s, Phnom Penh was known as the Pearl of Asia, and over the next four decades continued to experience growth with the building of a railway to Sihanoukville and the Pochentong International Airport.
The exterior of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh
The exterior of the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh

During the Vietnam War, Cambodia was used as a base by the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong, and thousands of refugees from across the country flooded the city to escape the fighting between their own government troops, the NVA/NLF, the South Vietnamese and its allies and the Khmer Rouge. By 1975, the population was 2,000,000, the bulk of them refugees from the fighting. The city fell to the Khmer Rouge on April 17. Many of its residents, those who were wealthy and educated, were forced to do labor on rural farms as "new people". Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot's forces and was turned into the S-21 prison camp, where Cambodians were detained and tortured. Pol Pot sought a return to an agrarian economy and therefore killed many people percieved as educated, "lazy" or political enemies. Many others starved to death as a result of failure of the agrarian society and the sale of Cambodia's rice to China in exchange for bullets and weaponry. Tuol Svay Prey High School is now the Tuol Sleng Museum in which Khmer Rouge torture devices and photos of their victims are displayed. Choeung Ek (The Killing Fields), 15 kilometres (9 mi) away, where the Khmer Rouge marched prisoners from Tuol Sleng to be murdered and buried in shallow pits, is also now a memorial to those who were killed by the regime.

The Khmer Rouge were driven out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese in 1979 and people began to return to the city. Vietnam is historically a state with which Cambodia has had many conflicts, therefore this liberation was and is viewed with mixed emotions by the Cambodians. A period of reconstruction began, spurred by continuing stability of government, attracting new foreign investment and aid by countries including France, Australia, and Japan. Loans were made from the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank to reinstate a clean water supply, roads and other infrastructure. The 1998 Census put Phnom Penh's population at 862,000;[3] by 2001 it was estimated at slightly over 1 million.

Joe had offered for his brother to take us around to the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison the next day, so we decided to go for it. We visited the Killing Fields first. There is really nothing you can do to prepare yourself for a visit to a place like this. Over 17,000 people were killed here, usually by being forced to first dig their own graves, and then beaten to death by blunt objects. Bullets were viewed as expensive, and were "not to be wasted," so most were killed in beatings performed by poor young peasant men and women. Pol Pot sought to exterminate entire families, so babies and the elderly were killed here is well. Perhaps one of the most disgusting parts of the visit is a stop at the tree against which babies were killed. It's simply horrifying.

The Killing Fields have been maintained, though, as a reminder of what happened, and are pretty much in the same state they were before. Due to erosion, new skeletons and bodies are revealed each year from the many mass graves. As you walk around to the different mass graves, you can easily see human bones and remnants of clothing poking through the earth. At one point, our guide simply stooped down and pulled out a tooth. There is a Buddhist monument in the center that is filled with skulls of the victims. It is a very, very sobering spot.

Here are some pictures... not for the fainthearted:

Remains of human skulls at the Killing Fields

Monument at the Killing Fields... the inside is entirely filled with skulls... extremely sad

Bones and clothing coming through the earth as a result of erosion at the Killing Fields

Our tour guide at the Killing Fields

After our visit to the Killing Fields, we ventured back into Phnom Penh to visit S-21 Torture Prison, or Tuol Sleng Prison, which used to be a highschool before the Khmer Rouge regime. The building has been left largely as it was when the Khmer Rouge lost power in 1979, and knowledge of this fact makes the visit extremely eerie. Here is some history of this horrific, terrible place. It is the most disturbing spot we visited during our travels, but it is important to understand what happened here:

Formerly the Tuol Svay Prey High School, named after a Royal ancestor of King Norodom Sihanouk, the five buildings of the complex were converted in August 1975, four months after the Khmer Rouge won the civil war[2], into a prison and interrogation centre. The Khmer Rouge renamed the complex "Security Prison 21" (S-21) and construction began to adapt the prison to the inmates: the buildings were enclosed in electrified barbed wire, the classrooms converted into tiny prison and torture chambers, and all windows were covered with iron bars and barbed wire to prevent escapes.

From 1975 to 1979, an estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng (some estimates suggest a number as high as 20,000, though the real number is unknown). The prisoners were selected from all around the country, and usually were former Khmer Rouge members and soldiers, accused of betraying the party or revolution.[1] Those arrested included some of the highest ranking communist politicians such as Khoy Thoun, Vorn Vet and Hu Nim. Although the official reason for their arrest was "espionage," these men may have been viewed by Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot as potential leaders of a coup against him. Prisoners' families were often brought en masse to be interrogated and later murdered at the Choeung Ek extermination centre.

Upon arrival at the prison, prisoners were photographed and required to give detailed biographies, beginning with their childhood and ending with their arrest. After that, they were forced to strip to their underwear, and their possessions were confiscated. The prisoners were then taken to their cells. Those taken to the smaller cells were shackled to the walls or the concrete floor. Those who were held in the large mass cells were collectively shackled to long pieces of iron bar. The shackles were fixed to alternating bars; the prisoners slept with their heads in opposite directions. They slept on the floor without mats, mosquito nets, or blankets. They were forbidden to talk to each other.

The day in the prison began at 4:30 a.m. when prisoners were asked to strip for inspection. The guards checked to see if the shackles were loose or if the prisoners had hidden objects they could use to commit suicide. Over the years, several prisoners managed to kill themselves, so the guards were very careful in checking the shackles and cells. The prisoners received four small spoonfuls of rice porridge and watery soup of leaves twice a day. Drinking water without asking the guards for permission resulted in serious beatings. The inmates were hosed down every four days.[1]

The prison had very strict regulations, and severe beatings were inflicted upon any prisoner who tried to disobey.

Most prisoners at S-21 were held there for two to three months. However, several high-ranking Khmer Rouge cadres were held longer. Within two or three days after they were brought to S-21, all prisoners were taken for interrogation[1]. The torture system at Tuol Sleng was designed to make prisoners confess to whatever crimes they were charged with by their captors. Prisoners were routinely beaten and tortured with electric shocks, searing hot metal instruments and hanging, as well as through the use of various other devices. Some prisoners were cut with knives or suffocated with plastic bags. Other methods for generating confessions included pulling out fingernails while pouring alcohol on the wounds, holding prisoners’ heads under water, and the use of the waterboarding technique (see picture). Females were sometimes raped by the interrogators, even though sexual abuse was against DK policy. The perpetrators who were found out were executed.[1] Although many prisoners died from this kind of abuse, killing them outright was discouraged, since the Khmer Rouge needed their confessions.

In their confessions, the prisoners were asked to describe their personal background. If they were party members, they had to say when they joined the revolution and describe their work assignments in DK. Then the prisoners would relate their supposed treasonous activities in chronological order. The third section of the confession text described prisoners’ thwarted conspiracies and supposed treasonous conversations. At the end, the confessions would list a string of traitors who were the prisoners’ friends, colleagues, or acquaintances. Some lists contained over a hundred names. People whose names were in the confession list were often called in for interrogation.

Typical confessions ran into thousands of words in which the prisoner would interweave true events in their lives with imaginary accounts of their espionage activities for either the CIA or KGB. The confession of Hu Nim ended with the words "I am not a human being, I'm an animal". A young Englishman named John Dawson Dewhirst who was arrested in August 1978 claimed to have joined the CIA at age 12 upon his father receiving a substantial bribe from a work colleague, also an agent. Physical torture was combined with sleep deprivation and deliberate neglect of the prisoners. The torture implements are on display in the museum. The vast majority of prisoners were innocent of the charges against them and their confessions produced by torture.

Tuol Sleng Prison from the outside

Rules sign at Tuol Sleng Torture Prison

Pictures of victims at Tuol Sleng. May they rest in peace...

After our sobering morning, we decided to visit some of Phnom Penh's beautiful spots. The Royal Palace was our choice. The kings of Cambodia have occupied this complex of buildings since it was built in 1866 (except for during the Khmer Rouge Period.) It is a beautifully constructed, atmospheric spot:

Kate and Meg at the Royal Palace

Royal Palace grounds in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Acting silly

Catt and Meg at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Catt and Kate at the Royal Palace

Meg and Catt reviewing our pictures at the Royal Palace. Hey, that's a good one!

We also checked out a great place to eat in Phnom Penh, called "Friends Cafe." This is an awesome place to grab a bite to eat, not only because the food is delicious, but because it is for a great cause, too. You can check out their website here: http://www.streetfriends.org/. Phnom Penh, and Cambodia in general has a huge, sad problem of street children, small children begging, working, and homeless on the streets. Street Friends is an organization that strives to protect, care for, and empower young people and children through training programs and education. The servers and hosts at the Friends restaurant are all being trained through this great organization. Did I mention that the food (and smoothies) are also phenomenal?

We love Cambodia!

In a tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh

After spending the night at the atmospheric street market in Phnom Penh and doing some shopping, we arranged to continue by road onto the hub of Siem Reap the next day, and the awe-inspiring temples of Angkor Wat.