We got the bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phom Pehn which took about 7 hours.
When we arrived at Phom Pehn, we checked into our room that Fenning had already booked for us as he arrived the day before. The hostel was called Top Banana and had a cool rooftop bar.
We got some grub that evening, but due to the fact I'd had an early hospital appointment that morning I decided to call it a night and get some sleep for a busy day of sightseeing the next day.
The next morning, we got up and met a Tuk Tuk driver, called Marly, downstairs who would drive us around for the day for $10 each. We first of all went to the Killing Fields which was about 20 minutes out of the town centre. On the way, we stopped off at a market so we could buy another pair of rayban sunglasses and Marly got us masks for us to wear as the roads were really dusty!! We looked well fit.
We did the audio tour round the Killing Fields where it highlighted how brutal the killings were in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge in 1975. We saw all the mass graves dotted around the fields where people were killed brutally then thrown in. You could literally see people's bones and teeth in the ground. It was pretty horrific. There was also a memorial building where inside stored 8000 skulls of those who died at the Killing Fields. Apparently 1 in 4 people in Cambodia were killed at this site.
Afterwards, we went to the S21 prison which was a school that was turned into a prison where they detained, tortured and killed up to 100 Cambodian people a day. If I'm honest, that was probably the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life. It was like stepping into a horror film. The prison looked completely untouched so you could still see the blood stains on the floor, as the Cambodians decided they wanted to preserve the prison so you could remember the pain and torture that happened there. The worst thing is you could really imagine what it must've been like. There were photos of all the detainees and all the weapons of torture used there to see. I didn't like that visit at all and felt pretty disturbed by it, so I was very glad to leave.
We decided to go to the market for some retail therapy to help restore some normality and help lighten the mood. And my god did we do just that!! I bought some more little travellers bracelets, a tiger beer vest, a same same vest and a beer lao vest. Each vest was only $2 so I couldn't say no!! It was a good little shopping spree.
Later we headed back to the hotel for dinner and then Marly took us to a nightclub called Pontoon which was pretty lively. There was a show on which was awesome but later on it turned into a seedy club with Cambodian prostitutes chatting up men in the club so we decided to head home.
I think it's fair to say that Phom Penh is definitely my least favourite place I've been to so far. I didn't like it at all, and wouldn't go back there if I was given the choice.
Let's see what Siem Reap has to offer!!