On our third attempt, we were finally able to be tourists in Phnom Penh. Our first and second visits to the capital concerned a motorbike burn and a stomach parasite, so this time we planned to avoid the SOS Health Centre entirely!

We decided to avoid the main backpacker strip along the Riverfront, with the idea of finding some local, cheaper eats and mixing a little bit with the locals. We found a homely, family-run guesthouse near the Olympic Stadium. After Siem Reap, it was nice not to have three year-old children pestering us to buy cheap tacky bracelets and we cut down our number of daily offers of 'Hello! Tuk-Tuk, OK?!'

Our priority for Phnom Penh was to broaden our understanding of Cambodia's tragic modern history with a visit to the sobering Killing Fields, as well as the haunting Tuol Sleng Museum. We wouldn't describe these 'sights' as entertaining or nice, but they definitely brought the brutal, murderous Khmer Rouge regime into perspective. These places of mourning shed some light on the sufferings felt by the Cambodians under the misguided revolutionist known as Pol Pot. We were embarrassed that this black mark in history is not taught in schools back home!

In the late 70's, Pol Pot ordered mass evacuation from the cities and turned the whole kingdom of Cambodia into an agricultural state. Essentially, the Cambodia was thrown back into the stone age. In an attempt to 'purify' the nation, up to two million people are estimated to have been killed under this regime, of which academics, the educated, foreigners and anyone bold enough to have a contrary opinion were targeted. As a result, the country is still struggling to stand strong on their own two feet and have one of the weakest economies in Asia.

To make things worse, with such weak political force or will, the Khmer Rouge leaders responsible have been able to escape persecution. A UN sanctioned court was only recently established to trial the few remaining leaders who have not yet died peacefully of old age.

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng Museum give tourists and relatives a glimpse of what life was like for so many unfortunate Cambodians in the late 70's. The Tuol Sleng Museum was originally a school, and later transformed into a prison named S-21 during the Khmer Rouge regime. Essentially, this prison was used for mass torture. When the Vietnamese entered in 1979, the prison had been abandoned, with fourteen dead and tortured bodies decomposing in their cells. Thankfully, the bodies were cleaned up and given a proper burial in the prison yard. Otherwise, many of the rooms remain in the same state they were found. Torture utensils still lay on the beds and photographs of the tortured, decomposing bodies cover the walls. Disturbing.

Next we visited the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. This is one of the places where prisoners from S-21 prison were taken after torture and is literally a huge burial ground. Thousands of bodies, women and children included, were brutally murdered and thrown into mass graves. Rising from the soil around the sinking pits we could see small pieces of victims clothes and bones. A memorial stupa has been constructed, which contains over 8000 human skulls. It was pretty hard to believe that humans could be so brutal and insensitive.

The next day, we set out to visit the 'Save Children in Asia' orphanage, where Aidan's brother, Jeremy, spent a month volunteering in 2010. The owner, Mr Sath Samith, is living proof of the purity of the Cambodian spirit (well, the overwhelming majority anyway). While traveling around Cambodia with the Department of Forestry, Mr Samith noticed the huge amount of orphaned, poor and uneducated children in Cambodia. Since then he left his job and started an orphanage. On top of housing, educating and caring for 20 children, he has since built an English-teaching school for volunteers to come and help. The surrounding village children are welcome to attend and at present, over 300 children are enthusiastically learning English here, for free! It was great to see kids so healthy, happy and eager to learn, although when we mentioned Jeremy, none of the children seemed to remember. Later we realised that he was known as Jimmy (because Jeremy is too difficult to say) and their faces lit up with excitement.

Whilst in the capital, we took advantage of a few of the extensive and very cheap markets. Preparing ourselves for the cold European weather, we did some serious shopping for some warmer clothes, at 10% of the cost back home! Hopefully they last the winter.

With our bags substantially more full, and our admiration for Cambodians stronger than ever, we are now on a bus back to our beloved village-SB!