The tuk-tuk experience
Booked a tuk-tuk driver for USD20 for a whole day and set off to the Killing fields as the first destination. Located 15km away from the city centre, the journey took us 30mins on the dusty roads. After that day, we had come to a conclusion that Cambodia is extremely sunny, hot and humid. The scorching sun was burning us, every single minute out in the streets. It wasn't helped that the glaring sunlight was constantly irritating Ang's eyes. For the first time in Ang's life, he felt that Wei Yang's decision to get an Oakley shades was justified despite its expensive price tag.
The tall monument at the Cheong Ek Killing Fields is one of the first sightings upon arrival. It is a roughly 5 storeys tall monument, filled with skulls from the ground to the top. YES, its packed with 5 storeys of HUMAN skulls!
Just a brief history, these are skulls of victims during the Khmer Rouge period from 1975 to 1979, just before Cambodia was liberated from this rule. It is estimated that a maximum 3million people died during that period. Cambodians voluntarily joined the Khmer Rouge, attempting to get more food and money. However, it proved to be a regretful experience for many as they were asked to be executioners, in charge of torturing or killing fellow Cambodians. This extreme communist party was trying to eliminate the educated and bring about a better life to those in the lower income group. It was a plan failed as it brought about fear and misery to the lives of Cambodians by their cruel and inhumane tactics. Tortures like removing nails, hanging upside down and dipping into dirty water were just some means to interrogate the criminals.
Trucks of victims, blindfolded and frightened, were brought to the mass graves at the killing fields. Most of them were stabbed to death, women and young children were also not spared.
View from within the cells
Tomb of the last 14 corpses
We then proceeded to the S21 genocide museum (pictures above), house to the prison cells and interrogation centre 20 years back. The entire building was covered by barbed wires, preventing prisoners from attempting to escape. Victims were brought here for interrogation before being sent to the killing fields. It is mind-boggling to read about the victims' past and one can hardly image that this happened just 20 years ago when Singapore was already in peace and security.
Dirtiest restaurant ever!
Had lunch at a local cambodian restaurant, definitely cheapest but DIRTIEST we have had thus far! The shopowner actually asked her 'Ka-kia' ('runner' in hokkien) to change a cup of ice after spotting dirt in it. The place was rundown, with flies all around. But the good of it, we ordered 7-8 dishes of vegetable and meat, that cost us only USD 8 for everything! That's like USD1 per dish? Luxurious as it may seem to the Cambodians, the food ain't exactly great as fried chicken with onions is more like fried onions with chicken, if you get what i mean.
Russian market has nothing much to offer as it is similar to any other market in Cambodia. It has a wider variety of high end stuff, something like Singapore's Bugis street, just that this is almost entirely filled with imitations.
Weiyang @ Royal Palace
The next stop was to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. It was a place where the former Kings and Queens stayed in. Grand is the word to describe the palace, located in the heart of the capital. The Silver Pagoda is inlaid with more than 5000 tiles of SILVER. Hmm, One will wonder why the money was not spent more wisely to help increase the standard of living of the Cambodians.
Cambodia desserts
We finally tried some Cambodian desserts on our last day. Red bean, green bean, grass jelly etc with chilled milk was what we ordered for each individual. These are common desserts amongst the locals and could be seen in most places that sells food. The only drawback is that flies are commonly seen at these stalls.
The Olympic stadium
The nearby Olympic stadium depicted a nation with the passion for football. The area surrounding the stadium was entirely filled with mini soccer games despite the rough conditions of the ground. Some of them play with barefeet, something we would never do under such circumstances.
Our last day in Cambodia ended off with a wonderful sumptuous meal at the Master Suki restaurant. Believed to be a franchise of Thailand's MK restaurant, this steamboat a-la-carte has never disappointed us everytime we patronise the shop. Fresh, clean and relatively expensive in Cambodia, it is a total contrast to the lunch experience we've had. Located at the top storey of Sorya shopping centre, the restaurant overlooks Phnom Penh city. The night scene of the city is nowhere near Singapore's or Taiwan's due to the lack of attractive lighted signboards. It is dark at most parts, with bits of glitters around the city.
Generally, Cambodia is definitely not as third world as it may seem, a slightly biased opinion as we have only been to the 2 more prosperous cities in the country.
Siem Reap is much more laid back and the people portrayed a gentle and honest image. They speak with such gentle tone that makes you feel safe and welcomed. A small town with a rich Khmer and Angkor culture, that's Siem Reap for you.
Phnomn Penh, capital city of Cambodia, is very much different. It is symbolised by bustling roads filled with a constant moving traffic. One will get the impression that the people here aren't as friendly as those in Siem Reap, perhaps due to the faster pace of life and the fact that it is the capital city. Oh yes..! We were also greeted with almost 20 minutes of fireworks at Phnom Penh on our last day. Definitely one of the longest ever fireworks we've seen at such close range.
Cambodia, with its Majestic Angkor Wat as one of the main driving force of the economy, is a pleasant place characterized by the Khmer culture. However, corruption and internal strife has definitely taken a huge toll on its population.
Goodbye Cambodia.
Day 5 - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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