Before I got to Cambodia I'd known roughly what had happened in the civil war and I had learned a great deal more since arriving. It wasn't until Phnom Penh however that it really struck me. On the surface the city seems perfectly normal and despite the poverty, most of the people seemed friendly and happy. The longer I stayed and the more I saw however, the clearer the reminders of the Khmer Rouge's presence became. From the killing fields and prisons to the amputee's injured by landmines it was impossible to forget it was a city devestated by what had happened.

I teamed up again with Ana who'd reached the capital a few days before and joined her on her visit to Tuol Sleng, one of the largest Khmer Rouge prisons in the country. Once a school the place was transformed into a prison, holding 1000's of people for crimes such as wearing glasses, being educated and for not working hard enough during their 14 hour shifts with practically no food. The scratches on the cell walls and the portraits of the prisoners taken by the guards as they first arrived made the place extremely depressing, making the signs instructing visitors not to laugh rather uncecessary.

The day didn't exactly get any more upbeat as we followed the route so many of the prisoners made to the largest killing fields in Cambodia, just outside the city. Thousands of innocent people were slaughtered here and many of their remains have been built into a memorial temple in the centre of the fields. The grounds around the memorial are uneven due to the mass graves that bodies were dumped in but the most disturbing thing for me was not the number of people killed but the way they were killed. In order to save precious bullets many of the victims were hit on the head with stones, sticks or the butt of a gun. It got even worse when we arrived at the Killing Tree, where children were picked up by the legs and swung head-first into the trunk.

We left feeling utterly drained and but on the way back to the hotel my wallet (with every penny and card I owned) was swiped by our pesky tuk-tuk driver. I'd usually be pretty frustrated but after what we'd just seen I couldn't bring myself to getting too bothered. Ana kept me topped up with curry while I had to ruin the surprise that I was coming home for Dad. Until this point he, like Mum, believed some half-baked tale about me picking apples in New Zealand and believed that the lack of signal was the reason he couldnt get in touch with me! After he found out I was in fact not living on a farm but in fact penniless in Cambodia he was awesome enough to give me a hand.

Despite being so affected with the events of the revolution Phnom Penh really was a fun place to hang around and we spent the next day or two exploring the happier side of the city at the Grand Palace and countless impressive temples as well as trying some fried spider, snake and beetle. Though the evidence of the past is everywhere the people are so friendly (thats right Joanne, they've forgiven but not forgotten,) and I could have happily stayed longer. Time was beginning to run out though so I left with Ana for some well deserved recouperation for the beach and the good life at Sihanoukville.

James.