I’m going to borrow from the Insider Journeys website as we write our way through Cambodia, this will hopefully help to keepme on track. I’ll break it up and add our tales and thoughts as we go.
On arrival in Phnom Penh, transfer to your hotel. Get to know your travelling companions and tour leader at welcome drinks and a tour briefing on the evening you arrive. We arrived in the morning, the tour briefing and dinner wasn’t until evening so we had some time to venture out on our own for a look around. The first thing that strikes you is the vast disparity between the haves and have nots. There are people begging on the streets while next to them Bentley’s and Porches are for sale. The tour group are a great bunch, Adam our tour leader has travelled extensively, in fact he lives in Vietnam with his wife and son. The rest are the group are mainly from Perth with one couple from Cairns.
The tour website describes day one of the tour as such; Phnom Penh offers up an array of adventures. Take a cyclo ride from your hotel to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, which astound in their majesty. The National Museum is a fascinating look at Cambodia’s history with art and artefacts dating back to prehistoric times. Reflect on the Khmer Rouge legacy at Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields and gain fascinating insights into Cambodia’s confronting past. End your day at the central market observing the lives of the locals.
Let the ride begin
Cyclo time
This is a busy day, as it seems most days will be, but also one of amazing contrasts from the manic traffic on our cyclo ride to the tragedy that is Tuol Sleng prison and then the Cheung Euk Killing Fields where immeasurable cruelty took place. These last two events can’t fail to make reflect on just how much the people of this beautiful country suffered under the delusions of Pol Pot and his oppressive regime. After we left these behind Nara, our local guide, shared his families story under Pol Pot. He told of being taken from his home as a 8 year old and being forced to work in the fields away from his family. This was not an uncommon thing during this time, families were separated, the educated wee killed as they were the ones who might rise up and challenge the Khmer Rouge. These two places and Nara’s dialogue were enough to bring a lump to the throat.
The Killing Fields
S21, a barbaric place
The rules at S21