Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We arrived a few days ago in Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia, a country that is the home to the temples of Angkor which are some of Asia's most spectacular temples and ruins. Cambodia is also the place where some of the most horrific crimes against humanity have occurred, and not very long ago. It is difficult to understand why the atrocities that happened under the rule of the Khmer Rouge during the later half of the 1970's took place, especially in a country where the people are so genuinely friendly and kind. Part of the experience of visiting Phnom Penh is to realize what the Cambodian people have suffered.

The last few days here in Phnom Penh have shown us the warmth of the Cambodian people, despite what they have been through. We have visited the sites of S-21, a detainment and interrogation prison set up under the Khmer Rouge, and the Killing Fields, also known as Choeung Ek, which was the genocidal extermination camp of almost 20000 Cambodians. Sadly this was only a small number of the more than 2 million people who died under the brutal regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Being here and learning about these horrible times in recent history it is hard to believe that this has happened in our life time, and to such a wonderful people.

On our first full day here we decided to visit the Killing Fields and S-21, with the hopes of gaining some understanding into why these events happened. Our day began with overcast sky's and light rain with a cool breeze, somehow appropriate for our experience that lay ahead. The killing fields, just 15Km's from the centre of Phnom Penh, was were people were taken to be executed, and then disposed of in mass graves, each containing hundreds of bodies. Under the Khmer Rouge the lives of these people were considered so meaningless that they did not even want to waste their bullets on them, so they were bludgeoned to death. Small children were sometimes just picked up and beat against the trees in an area that was once an orchard. In the Killing Fields only a portion of the mass graves have been unearthed, many human remains will stay in the ground.

As we walked around the area bits of human bone and clothing can be seen on the ground, often partially embedded in the dirt, a grim indication of what lay beneath. On the site a monument has been erected which contains the skulls of many of the victims, arranged on glass shelves according to age and sex. Strangely though, it was the pieces of clothing that we found more disturbing than the bones and skulls. I suspect this may be because the bones are somehow generic and without identity, while the clothing is a reminder of each of the victims individuality, it makes it more personal. The people who were executed on this site were transfered from the former school-turned-prison, S-21. Following our visit to the Killing Fields we came back to city to visit S-21, a site which has been preserved as a kind of museum, a solemn reminder of the darkest side of humanity which must ultimately lie within us.

S-21 is a crudely made prison, whose purpose was to interrogate and torture Cambodians who were suspected of working against a highly paranoid Khmer Rouge. The torture that happened here was a evil as one can imagine and regardless of the outcome of the interrogation many of its prisoners met their unjust end in the killing fields.

A visit to both these sites, needless to say, left us feeling pretty down and still without an understanding of any justification for what happened here. Many of the Cambodian people also cannot understand why these events happened, these were the actions of a truly evil regime. But, despite these relatively recent events, the Cambodian people remain as some of the nicest and welcoming people we have met since our travels began.

After a pretty heavy day we decided to go out to a well known local night club, the aptly named (given the local history) 'Heart of Darkness.' It was a fun night out, shakin' some bootie to a variety of disco classics and modern electronica well into the wee hour of the morning. When we arrived at the club we had a stark reminder of where we were, there was a sign at the entrance indicating that guns and knives were not welcome here, along with flip flops. Several security guards were outside to properly pat us down. Inside the club locals and tourists alike got down to some funky tracks while private body guards to some of Phnom Penh's elite stood motionless, protecting their clients. It was a good night out and a pleasant contrast to the day.

While here we have been tootling around the town, enjoying some fantastic food and certainly the best cups of coffee we have ever had, Khmer Coffee (the term 'Khmer' basically referring to 'Cambodian', not to be confused with 'Khmer Rouge') . The city is slightly chaotic and is a small, pleasant reminder of India, only fewer people, cleaner and the food is better.

The food has been very tasty and not spicy, something we were not expecting. After looking into the local cuisine a bit closer we were surprised find that much of the spicy food in Asia is due to the influence of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when they introduced the Asians to the chilly pepper. I suppose with such a small population (a mere 14 million, small by Asian standards) and the very difficult past that Cambodia has had it is not really that much of a surprise that few people hear much of Cambodian food and coffee outside of the country.

Another uniquely, although controversial, Cambodian tourist activity is paying to fire weapons selected from a virtual buffet of guns, grenades and missiles. Love it or hate it, it is a real part of what tourists can do here. After 25 years of civil war in Cambodia there is a surplus of weapons and artillery, and enterprising military personnel have created a business from the situation. So, when presented with the opportunity to check it out we agreed, more with curiosity than anything else.

We were driven out into the country and taken down a quiet dirt lane that led to a walled compound with large steel doors. A young boy, no older than 8 or 9 opened the solid gates and waved us in. Inside the compound was a long brick building with some tables outside and a small pond filled with muddy water. We sat at one of the tables, a selection of guns hung on a wall nearby. We were given the 'menu' listing what was on offer; AK47's, Tommy Guns, Grenades, Rocket launchers and Anti Aircraft guns. We were also told that we could arrange to fire a tank if we wished. Intrigued by all of this, and keen to get a few photographs, Justin decided to fire 7 rounds off on a Colt 45 hand gun. The gun was loaded and we were led inside the very dimly lit brick building, at one end was a large pile of tires and a target set up in front, the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder from the recently discharged weapons. Admittedly it was pretty exciting and the whole experience, while bizarre, was certainly unique, and this was fair from a slick and safe facility like you would imagine in Las Vegas for example. When we came out of the building we met a young British guy who, having fired a couple of different fully automatic machine guns decided to throw a grenade into the pond, this is just not your normal type of holiday activity! We were surprised when the grenade went off by the shock wave that could be felt deep in the earth below, the British guy walked away from the pond shaking but satisfied. After this surreal experience we headed back to Phnom Penh, glad that nothing went wrong and having experienced one of the more unusual sides of Asian tourism.