Day 230, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Bracelets left at the site of a mass graves

A distressing morning, I guess that's the only word to describe what we have seen.

Lin to webpage about Khmer Rouge

The first visit was to the S-21, a Genoside Museum that was a prison during the Khmer Rouge.

Chum Mey, survivor 

The prison (euphemistically called 'Education Centre') was previously a school and taken over once the Khmer Rouge took power. Arrested men and women were held here, tortured and beaten until they informed on their friends and family members and then from there taken to the killing fields (called Training Centres) The graphic details and descriptions are almost too much, although we are definitely warned beforehand about the content. There were 196 prisons like this all over Cambodia and 388 Killing fields. An estimated 1.7 people executed and a further million died of starvation. We met an 85 year old man there, who has somehow survived the prison.

Next we visited the Killing Fields, which was where the prisoners were taken to be killed and buried in mass graves. Most of the graves here have been opened and the bodies given a proper burial, but some of the bones are still there and visible in the ground. The stories told by our guide, so so sad. I had to walk away at one stage, it was too much to hear.

At the Kings Palace

I have added a link above if you want to read more about the Khmer Rouge regime, nothing too gory but it does explain well what happened during that time.

Cambodia is much different than I anticipated, still quite politically charged. There are things our guide will explain to us standing on a street corner and then there are things he will only tell us about on the privacy of our bus. He will actually add; I can't tell you about that here but will explain later. He got into quite a heated explanation over lunch about Cambodia's (lack of) education system and (lack of) health care system.

The four of us girls went to the Kings Palace after lunch, a very beautiful and opulent show piece, with a solid gold Budha.

A beautiful sunrise 

 A lovely dinner tonight at a restaurant called Friends, an enterprise started to help train disadvantaged young people in the hospitality trade. Yummy food and great service.