01/01/14 - 01/05/14

The week on the beach had ended and it was now a new year. Maxine and I were now heading to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. We had a long bus ride ahead of us, but we still had the morning to relax, enjoy the beach and to say goodbye to Sylvain. This, obviously, meant a lot more to Maxine than it did to me, however, after spending some time with him, I thought Sylvain was a really nice and interesting guy, so it was sad for me too.

The bus ride was long, a little uncomfortable and uneventful, but we finally arrived in Phnom Penh. Not wanting to run the gauntlet of tuk-tuk drivers again, I had emailed our hostel and requested a driver to pick us up at the bus station. This time, the driver showed up and we were whisked away to our hostel. Kirin, was our driver's name and he would basically become our personal driver for the next few days. He was a really nice kid and did everything he could to help us out. He even gave us a free ride once and over time, started calling us his brother and sister. And so, he was the one that we would hire to take us to the Killing Fields.

The Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979. Led by Pol Pot, they were brutal with their tactics and with their rule. They believed in an agrarian society and so when they came to power, they forcibly emptied all of the cities of its inhabitants and forced them to work in the fields. Cities, like Phnom Penh became ghosts towns, while the population were basically forced into slavery to work the rice fields. They usually didn't get any training and were punished if the worked didn't get done. There were enmasse weddings where people were forced to marry people they had never met. Babies were taken from their parents and murdered right in front of them. Intelligence and education was considered harmful to the State and so even someone wearing glasses would be at risk for execution. They closed off the country and laid land mines along the borders and in key areas around the country. Mass executions followed, including women and children. It was a very dark period for Cambodia. Finally, in 1979 the Vietnamese invade Cambodia, ending the Khmer Rouge's rule, but the scars still remain. The Killing Fields is a sobering reminder of these dark times.

Nowadays, the Killing Fields is in a peaceful orchard, with a few reminders of the atrocities that occurred here. All the buildings on the area had been razed and all that remains is a pitted field. The pitted areas are, however, where the mass graves were. And there are still fragments of bone and clothing laying about in parts of the field. Thousands of people were killed in this field and a huge pagoda, filled with the skulls of the dead, had been built to honor those slain. It is very sobering walking around in this pitted field and imagining the atrocities that occurred there. We were given an audioguide to listen to as we walked around the field. The audioguide had several first-hand stories of survivors of the death camp and they are heartbreaking.

After the Killing Fields, Kirin then took us to Tuol Sleng, which was a former prison during the Khmer Rouge's rule. Before it was converted to a prison, it had been a primary school. Since education was harmful to the State, there was no need for schools, so now, where children had learned reading, writing and arithmetic, there were only prison cells. Barbed wire was spread across the front of the buildings and crude doorways were made in the walls between classrooms to better connect the cells. Classrooms were converted into smaller cells with bricks and wood. Some of the cells were tiny and you could tell that the living conditions were atrocious. Throughout the prison, haunting photographs of all those who had passed through the prison, most of them executed, were hung on the walls. It was a very disturbing and surreal experience. And it makes you wonder just how a human being could treat another human being in such an horrendous way.

Suffice it to say, Maxine and I were sobered by the experience. It is a terrible thing to see that these atrocities had occurred, however I believe it is something that should be witnessed and remembered; for if history is not remembered, then the chance of history repeating itself only increases. You do have the give the Cambodian people a lot respect, though. They lived through such a dark and terrible time and have emerged from it scarred but not broken. Despite, the pain that has occurred in their past, they are very warm and friendly and some of the nicest people I have ever met.

As we arrived in Phnom Penh, there was a little tension between Maxine and I. She thought I was being distant. Maybe, I was, I really don't know. I wasn't trying to be, however I tend to live in my own head sometimes and don't realize just how quiet I can become. We had a small argument the night we arrived and so even though we went out to the Killing Fields together, we didn't really walk around together. Of course, the atmosphere of the area also led to our separation, but the tension didn't help. We just needed a little time apart, if only for a few hours. Later in the evening, things would get better and by the next morning, it was like nothing happened.

The next day was Maxine's last day in Phnom Penh and the last day of her holiday, as she was to be flying back to Germany the day after. We spent the day in relaxation mode. We checked out the Russian Market in the morning, where Maxine bought some last minute gifts and then in the afternoon we headed to a hotel that had a pool. We sat out by the pool all afternoon, just relaxing, eating and talking. All the tension from the previous day was gone and so we just hung out for the last time. Then finally that evening we found a massage parlor and got some foot massages. Yeah, it was a pretty relaxing day!

Finally, on her last day, Maxine wanted to walk around and get some last minute photographs of the markets and temples and then had time for one last massage. And yes, massages in SE Asia are very cheap and usually very good! We headed back to the hostel and she got on a moto and after saying our goodbyes was taken to the airport. And then I was alone again.

It really was amazing meeting and traveling with Maxine. She is a warm and friendly woman and I will not forget her. We spent nearly three weeks together, with ups and downs, and I feel that I have really made a good friend. We still keep in touch over Facebook and, amazingly enough, I will probably see her again before my trip is done. This is because I just recently learned that she is taking another holiday to Indonesia in late April/early May, which corresponds to about when I am planning on be there! When that happens, it will be good to see her again!