Phnom Penh

Luckily we still have some credit with a website (Hotelclub) Mark had told us about so we used some of it for 2 nights accommodation in Phnom Penh. It wasn't anything fantastic it but it was clean and comfy; a novelty for us!
The reason for coming to the capital is to see Tuol Sleng Museum and 'The Killing Fields". We could give some of you a history lesson now on the war and destruction that Cambodia has suffered but it's late where we are and the internet is too expensive!!
It was really interesting visiting both of these places but also extremely sad. Tuol Sleng used to be a school but got turned into a prison when Pol Pots took over the country under the Khmer Rouge Regime. He was basically a very sick man whose actions killed over 2 million people, mainly Cambodians. He starved, interrogated and tortured millions of men, women and children, especially those he deemed intelligent; for example, a doctor, lawyer, teacher, someone who wore glasses, etc. The museum was made up of different buildings with several floors and rooms with different areas being used for different things. One was where the torture was committed, another was used to interrogate people and the last was used as their office. It was so eerie going round the rooms where stains, weapons, clothing, etc from over 30 years ago still stood. What was even worse was seeing the photos of those who fell victim to Pol Pots.
Having been to the museum and got a better understanding of what happened from 1975 to 1998 (when Pol Pots died) we got a tuk tuk to 'The Killing Fields'. As the name suggests this was one of the sites where thousands, possibly more, of people were taken to be killed. We decided to get a guide for this which was worth it, although his talk was very explicit. We won't go into any more details but anyone who is interested in what happened during this time should DEFINITELY read "First they killed my Father". Sal has read this, and again, despite the horrendous images it conjures up, it is very interesting and makes you realise just how bad things were in Cambodia. A lot of people who weren't directly killed by Pol Potts either died from disease, starvation or suicide. For those that survived, they are left traumatised.

Definitely gets you thinking about things differently and appreciating how lucky we are. There are so many homeless families throughout Cambodia and lots of orphan children living on the streets. We knew this was a problem before we got to Cambodia which is partly the reason we contacted Cambodians Childrens Trust to do some voluntary work. We're really looking forward to getting to Battambang where the orphanage is but also a bit apprehensive; it's going to be difficult not to get attached...