Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After all the sleepy, beachy, relaxing places we've been recently, I am completely ready for Phnom Penh. I miss fast pace, the noise, the dangerous driving and the chaotic everywhere-there's-lights-and-action feeling that can only be found in southeast Asian cities. History places the Khmer Rouge all over this city. They infamous former school-turneed prison S21 is in the centre of the city. just outside is the even more infamous Killing Fields. There are actually over 300 killing fields throughout Cambodia, but this site is the source of all the films and documentaries, this site is where the serious atrocities (as if the atrocities could be any less serious) were comitted. More on this later. right at he meeting of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers, Phnom Penh is a bright, bustling and beautiful city full of the glaring contradictions so indicative of the metropolis' of this part of the world. All at once rich and growing, and desperately poor, mothers and newborn babies living on streetcorners begging for food. We feel like we being really horrible when we don't give money to little childern following us for blocks begging for money, but we know these kids should be in school, not begging, and we have been told repeatedly that giving money to these kids only keeps them out on the streets. We know that what we are doing is the right thing, not supporting or encouraging begging, and considering that basic primary school is free, there is no good reason why these children should be being exploited by their parents like this. But does my refusal to donate actually help? Does it make anyone look at the long view? Or are they just thinking about eating tonight? I don't have answers, so sometimes we give, and sometimes we don't. Siobhan saw a young mother sitting on the sidewalk with one child sleeping at her side on the pavement and another at her breast, feeding. Siobhan is suddenly gripped by the urge to do anything to make this baby's life better, and gives the mother $20. We don't know what the woman did with the money, but she knows she did what she could. Guilt assuaged for the time being. The hotel we are at is called the 240, as it is on 240 St. the streets here are numbered strangely, only naming every 6th street on the evens and the odds run perpendicular and tend to be lower numbered. We are told there is a pool we can use, but we find the balcony of our room, and lo and behold we have our own little pool! Amazing what 5 extra pounds will buy you here. So there is exploration of the markets and the streets, a trip to the royal palace, and once around the wats and temples. The lure of night life is too much one night, so we get a babysitter for Dominic and go out to a bar which has some live music. Wow. I had no idea the what Nirvana was missing was a Keyboard player and female singer. These people bleed all the life out of the songs for as long as we can stand, then we can't stand no more. We have heard about a little hole in the wall place run by a Taiwanese guy who genuinely lovess rock music and plays his record collection (and a fine collection it is too) every night to a small but appreciative crowd. Everything we asked for we got, and a truly good time was had by all. The diet cokes I had ensured I was up three times in the night for a slash, but worthwhile. Now for the serious stuff. Siobhan, Dominic and I go to S21 to see the former Khmer Rouge prison. The Khmer Rouge believed that city dwellers were drains on society, and only the farmers, the workers, were of any value, so they emptied the cities and made everyone work, sometimes at gunpoint, in the fields. They closed the schools, and killed the intellectuals, the educated, the French speaking older generation, the artists and free thinkers. They even killed children and babies. There are paintings of the methods of death the Khmer Rouge used. One struck me to the core. the picture is of a Khmer Rouge soldier, holding a baby by the ankle and swinging the baby headfirst into a tree. I felt sick. I felt anger. I wanted to start screaming in peoples' faces, demanding to know why they would let this happen. It's not just here though, it's happened all over the world. Someone gets a big idea about how their country should be, they see corruption, decadence and evil everywhere and want to help their country and eventually the world, but the idea must be compromised in order to make it work on a large scale. The idea is loved by the downtrodden and oppressed, but the intellectuals have seen this before and know where it will lead. they speak out and protest, but now the majority says that these people are dangerous and exile is not enough because they can still speak, they can become martyrs. They must be made examples of, if they cannot be disappeared. Revolt must be crushed outright and the protesters must be killed and shown to the world to be evil and against the will of the people. The idea becomes a twisted, horrifying version of itself when put into practise because the idea should remain an idea. So long as one person is dissatified or disagrees, the idea can not work in reality. There are photographs of the emaciated dead lying on the still present beds. No mattress, just the springs. there are the implements of torture and death behind glass. Just horrible. I have been to Dachau and Auchwitz and now S21 and the killing fields. I feel like it is my duty to go to these places, learn more and pay my respects to the dead. Siobhan can't face going to the killing fields, so Dominic and I go. The most obvious thing is a pagoda dedicated to the victims of the killing fields. Not an ordinary memorial spire though. Only when you get closer do you realise it is a glass spire filled with the skulls of the murdered. Over 17000 of them. That was quite sobering, These were not plastic or foam, they were real skulls, real bones and actual clothes worn by actual victims. That was pretty intense. The whole area is very quiet, peaceful, almost serene. Sugar palm, trees and a small lake fills the landscape, and next to each is a sign indicating the terrible purpose each fulfilled. Obvious graves and pits dot the scene, but it's the more innocent looking things which are most jarring. A rough pen marks out the space where a chilrens' mass grave was found. The sharp edges of the sugar palm stalks were used to slit throats. The lake... well you can guess about the lake. The audio guide is exerpts from a survivor's tale, ahrrowing doens't quite cover it, but the most harrowing fact is that bone and cloth still surfaces through the dirt paths throughout the site and the most cursory of inspections proves this. I found bits of bone all over one particular path, and cloth, whether clothes of victims or blindfolds are everywhere all over the site. It's impossible to leave the site feeling good about human nature. On another note, Phnom Penh isn't just about suffering and misery. Fun, adventure, food and bright, tinkly trinkets are a Tuk tuk ride away. Transportation within the city is dead cheap. A dollar or three will get you to most places you'll want to go. Tuk tuks are everywhere, some drivers have a better command of English than others, but they all understand the haggle. Suddenly the English improves when money is involved. The haggle is everything. It determines how strong your will is. They already know what the thing is worth, and you'll never get it for that, but you can get pretty close. Be prepared to walk away. Even if you really want it, don't show it. Walk away saying you don't like it that much, the ride isn't worth that much, you don't like the colour. Even if the guy you're haggling with doesn't come down, the guy next to him has heard the whole thing, and will be more wiling to play ball. If the cab wants too much, let him go. There's another one right behind him. I've seen a load of drivers harrassing the one who took me because they all had a price they wouldn't budge on, and this one guy went lower, cutting them all off and getting the fare. They were angry, but they also didn't get paid. The food is plentiful and delicious, if you want Khmer food it's cheaper than the western alternatives, but all your fattening favourites are here too. If you wake early enough, you can go to the river just in front of the royal palace and walk the retirees doing tai chi or aerobics, sometimes one group right next to the other with loudly competing tunes as the sun rises over the Mekong to the east. Phnom Penh is one of very few places we'd actually return to, not just because we liked what we saw, but because we'd like to see more. That's hard to come by, if you've been as many places as we have. We feel we've got the gist of most places in a few days, and have no real interest in scratching beneath the surface, but here, there's more than enough history, culture and cool vibe to make us want to come back at least once more. First is a couple of days in Bangkok, near the feared Khao San road, said to be as mad as any place we've shied away from. I can tell you, it's a very clean and pleasant place, and Khao San is no more mad than Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, or the souks in Marrakech, but with added scorpions on a stick, for which they charge 20 baht per picture. I'm not sure anyone actually eats them, no matter how drunk or stoned they get in the dive bars littering Khao San. The only marginally disturbing thing about the street is the number of bars advertising the fact that they don't ask for ID. The river cruises are expensive, but like Budapest, if you get on a river taxi for locals, you can see the river from both sides for 15 baht. There are a couple of very impressive sights here, the royal palace and the gigantic reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, and the iconic Wat Arun,Bangkok's most famous temple, but the view of the whole city from the Sky Bar is pretty impressive too, and in fact, the whole city is very cool. Naturally, there are areas we didn't need to be in, so we didn't go, but the city is pretty cool, although crossing the road is perilous at best. The part of the trip Siobhan has been holding her breath for is up next however. Mystical, magical, mysterious India beckons.