As we crossed the border, the landscape and road got a bit rough. Much of the highway was mud.
The rubbish in the towns was bad. There are lots of accumulating piles on the side of the road and in the waterways. The bus dropped us off in the middle of town, and we spent the rest of the afternoon finding suitable accommodation to relax in.
The next day, we hired a taxi to take us to an important Museum in Phnom Phen.
The local taxis around the city look like this: A motorbike and a 4 seater trailer. The motorbikes have very low torque, so are very slow to take off, The bikes braking system is inadequate for such a large weight so the ride can be hair raising!
This is the destination; Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
This former school was used by the Kymer Rouge to imprison, torture and kill their own people. If you haven't heard the story, here is an abridged quote from Wikipedia:
The Khmer Rouge is remembered mainly for the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million people or 1/5 of the country's total population (estimates range from 850,000 to 2.5 million) under its regime, through execution, torture, starvation and forced labor.
Following their leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge imposed an extreme form of social engineering on Cambodian society — a radical form of agrarian communism where the whole population had to work in collective farms or forced labor projects. In terms of the number of people killed as a proportion of the population (est. 1.75 million people, as of 1975), it was one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century.
The Khmer Rouge wanted to eliminate anyone suspected of "involvement in free-market activities". Suspected capitalists encompassed professionals and almost everyone with an education, many urban dwellers, and people with connections to foreign governments.
The Khmer Rouge believed parents were tainted with capitalism. Consequently, children were separated from parents and brainwashed to socialism as well as taught torture methods with animals. Children were a "dictatorial instrument of the party" and were given leadership in torture and executions.
1/5 of the population killed in 4 years, with young children being indoctrinated into the killing. The original ideal was to killing the Bourgeois class to return to an agrarian country - A very twisted view on Marxism. This killing degenerated into near indiscriminate killings. Again, Wikipedia article:
During their four years in power, the Khmer Rouge overworked and starved the population, at the same time executing selected groups who had the potential to undermine the new state (including intellectuals or even those that had stereotypical signs of learning, such as glasses) and killing many others for even minor breaches of rules.
This prison served as one of the torture and prison facilities for this atrocity. This is the entrance on the ground floor.
The room had brickwork forming small cells.
"The pain of Mans inhumanity to Man is unbareable (unbearable)"
-- Wayne --
There was evidence of the violence that went on here.
The top floor, which used to be a holding pen now has photos and stories of people who lived through the horror.
There are memorials marking the loss of life suffered here.
This room also has a picture of how it was found. Awful.
The final rooms we visited were a museum of the pictures kept during the Persecution and Genocide.
The Khmer Rouge kept detailed photos and documentation of the prisoners. There were many walls of montages bearing witness to the scale of the atrocity.
Words to not convey the sadness of this insanity. The only thing we can do is never forget the history and learn from it.
For the afternoon, the Dutchies left us to it.
This is outside the the Royal Palace, a garden and building complex denoting the royal abode of the Kingdom of Cambodia. We queued up in appropriate attire, as it is a holy site.
The gardens were also very pretty, with lots of manicured plants.
This is the Throne Hall, the official seat of power.
The back of the Throne Hall.
In the foreground, a small model of the Silver Pagoda which also resides in this complex. Behind it is a large Buddhist Chedey - the same thing as the Thai Chedi seen in many temples.
This impressive altar has a lotus flower at the top.
There was also this model of the Angkor Wat. It was a mini version of the whole temple complex that we were going to see in the flesh when we travelled up to Siem Reap.
Phew its been a challenging and hot day - Toolman looks pooped!
On the evening menu for Toolman was one of Phnom Penh's specials: a Happy Pizza. It ended up being a novel precursor to Amsterdam.
Stay tuned for Day 2.
