My trip to Cambodia began in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It’s a city with a history that dates back 14th Century.
Faced some problems at Changi Airport. Apparently I was a little too “budget” when I bought my plane tickets, and failed to predict that my backpack would weigh a little more than the hand carry weight limit on the plane. The sentence called by the Jetstar counter lady was that I pay $60 dollar to have my baggage checked in. A pricey lesson I paid indeed.
The plane touched down at 12 00hrs. It dampened my spirit a little, when I noticed the droplets of rain falling on the windows of the plane. But I really wasn’t expecting it to be sunny all day, so it wasn’t that bad. I disembarked, together with the throng of locals who probably ended their holiday in Singapore. No Singaporean in sight. I headed to the counter to have my passport stamped. All visitors are required to fill up an immigration card, and the arrival card will be kept by the customs officer, while the departure card is stapled inside the passport. Do fill up the immigration card if you are visiting. And if you aren’t from a country in ASEAN, you’ll probably need to apply for a visa! So check with your local authorities before coming. Singaporeans need not apply. I took a cab (9USD) from the airport to my guesthouse.
Accommodation: Capitol Guesthouse
One of better valued guesthouses in the vicinity. We are looking at about 8USD a night for a double bed room, with hot water. The only gripe I have about the place is the street noise right outside my room, which was situated on the 2nd level. The motorcycles are still honking their way through traffic at 3am in the morning. Not too good a night’s sleep. Quick adaptation and a tired body helped me sleep my way through the 2nd night though.
Not too shabby for a room that only cost 8USD a night yea.
The Cheuong Ek Genocide Center
Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
Rise and shine. 0600hrs local time. Drop by the bus terminal to purchase a ticket to the Killing Fields. The ride was about 45mins. Well, it could have been much shorter, but we will have to factor in the bad traffic, poor visibility, locals crossing the roads at random sections of the road. Yep.
The Choeung Ek Genocide Memorial Tower
The total entry fee with an audio guide will cost you about 5USD, and do remember to collect a brochure. It will help guide you in case you stray off course. I highly suggest you stick to the checkpoints in the correct sequence. I got confused when I skipped tracks on the audio guide, and had to listen to it again to get the story. The audio guide will help you understand the story behind each of the checkpoints. You do the whole trip in your own leisure pace.
Overall, it’s a depressing 2 hours, listening to commentaries, stories of both survivors and soldiers of the Khmer Rouge. Look out for fragments of bones on the ground, especially after a heavy downpour. Watch out for the killing pits where citizens of the the Khmer empire were thrown into, brutalised, and made to suffer a slow death.
One of the many killing pits
Box containing all the clothing from the victims.
Look out for the checkpoints where skulls and bones are collected from the ground and placed inside a plastic box. Stare into the empty eye sockets of each skull, and seek to understand the pain and suffering the innocent people of Cambodia had to go through. No I am kidding. I highly doubt anyone can imagine the pain. These tourist sites have been wiped clean from the stains of blood, sweat and tears.
This tree claimed the lives of many little ones, when the soldiers swung and smashed their skulls against this tree.
Skulls inside the memorial itself. Segmented in levels based on gender. Thousands of skulls lined up in the multi tier memorial tower.
Your trip to Phnom Penh is never complete without a visit to this grim site. It seeks to reach in, and touch you whatever way possible. The Khmer Rouge occupation lasted from 1975 – 1979. The country was renamed “Democratic Kampuchea” during that period of time. Even after the occupation, the citizens were still living in fear until 1998, where the Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was dead.
My next write up on the Tuol Sleng museum would be a continuation of this one. I highly suggest visitors visit the Tuol Sleng Prison (otherwise known as S21) before visiting the Choeung Ek Genocide Center. It will bring you on a journey similar to what the prisoners went through, as they were first brought to the S21, where they were tortured.
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