First we arrived in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, so much quieter and less chaotic than the big cities of Vietnam. We didn't have much time but visited a few of the sights in the city, Wat Phnom, the National museum and the Royal Palace, seeing many landmine victims begging along the way. By far the most interesting places but also the most horrific were the Killing Fields and Prison S-21, but they are places that must be seen to try and understand what the Khmer people have been through in their recent history. For those of you who don't know, the Khmer Rouge took control of the country in 1975 and ruled until 1979 when they where pushed out of the main part of the country, although civil war lasted until 1993. Their leader Pol Pot didn't die until 1998 and he was never punished for the crimes he committed. During their reign of power the Khmer Rouge murdered approximately 1.7 million people, about a third of the population. Their aim was to turn the country into a communist state, so they started their plan to kill off all people who had any form of education. This didn't just stop with the educated person though, often the whole family including children and babies were also killed.

There are things in S-21 that are too horrific to describe in this blog but as you walk around the building now you wonder how could someone be so evil and how did they get away with it? Sone of the floors still have blood stains embedded in the tiles and there are photos of dead people still chained to the beds after they died under torture. Paintings are displayed done by a survivor of the prison showing things that he saw there. Worst of all there are hundreds of individual photos of people who were brought into the camp with a look of hopelessness on their faces. All people brought in were photographed although I don't think all the photos are displayed as there would be too many. There were even photos of the children although we didn't really feel we wanted to study those too closely. Maybe the photo that stands out the most though, is one of a lady holding her little baby in her arms and a tear running down her cheek. While going around S-21 we came across an old man stood by one of the cells, our guide told us he is one of only 3 living survivors of the prison and he comes there to talk to the people visiting. Further on in the prison there is a photo of him when he was brought there as a young man. I'm not too sure how he is able to do this after all that went on, maybe this is his way of coping with it, or just the fact that this country is so poor that this is the way that he survives, on tips from visitors.

Anyone who did manage to survive the torture was then taken to the Killing Fields just outside the city to be killed. These were basically large open graves where the people were either hit on the back of the head with a large bamboo stick or had their throats cut. There is a tall glass building on the grounds now in which the skulls of about 8,000 people who have been found here are displayed along with a heap of discarded clothing from the victims. Our guide in Phnom Penh lost her Grandparents to the Khmer Rouge. Our guide in Siem Reap was just a baby when the Khmer Rouge took control and he told us how the babies were usually taken off the mothers and put into large orphanages, the families never got to see the babies again. His mother somehow managed to persuade the people in control in their area to let her keep him and she took him out each day to work in the fields with her. I asked what happened to these children when the Khmer Rouge lost control. He said that there were not really any left alive to go back to their families as they just starved to death in the orphanages.

We travelled from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap by bus. Cambodia is mostly flat but it was interesting to see some country life along the way. A lot of the houses were poor wooden buildings on stilts, children ran around naked splashing in muddy puddles, horses and oxen pulled carts and ploughs. The houses didn't appear to have running water, just a well or pump in the garden where they would also wash. We learned later that country people often earn a wage of less than $1 US a day! In Siem Reap we encountered more begging, this included children too, we also saw many children selling things like postcards and bracelets in the streets, it's sad when they should be at school. Here the landmine victims were usually trying to sell books or different items holding up signs saying they wanted to work, not beg and be able to support their families.

When in Siem Reap we went to visit the famous Angkor Wat and a number of other ancient temples and buildings. The oldest was built in the 9th century and many are in quite a good state considering how old they are. Some have been restored, others like Ta Prohm have been left as they have been found with walls clasped in the roots of huge silk cotton trees or entwined with strangler figs. We also went to the Cambodian Landmine Museum, it was set up by a man who used to lay landmines for the Khmer Rouge after being taken as a child soldier at the age of 10 when his parents were killed by the regime. Having only ever known of war he thought it was a normal thing to do. Later he realised that it was an awful thing that he had been doing and set about trying to make amends by locating landmines throughout the country and deactivating them. A large number are on display in the museum but these are just a small proportion of those he has removed. He also has set up a children's home for orphans and disadvantaged children where they can live and receive an education. Cambodia is the 44th poorest country in the world so it's good to see things like this set up to give some children a chance. Also within the city is a charity children's hospital set up by a Swiss doctor where children can get even the simple things like vaccinations.

There are many stalls at the side of roads selling a yellow liquid in old 2L soft drink or Jonnie Walker bottles, at first we just assumed is was some sort of local drink, later we discovered it was petrol!!! These makeshift petrol stations often have a parasol to shade the flammable liquid, but sometimes they don't, leaving the petrol to heat up in the blazing sun! Our last activity was going quad biking out into the countryside and that was good fun. It had rained the night before and as the roads weren't surfaced we got very muddy! Just like in Vietnam the children came out to wave and shout hello as we drove past, big smiles on their faces. Despite a lot of poverty and a tragic and difficult past, the Cambodian people are very friendly.