My time in Phnom Penh
After leaving Siem Reap, Cambodia I decided to check out Cambodia’s bustling capital city of Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh is a busy city with a lot to offer. I was mainly interested in seeing the Nigerian pimps and their hoes along the city’s riverfront. The first night in Phnom Penh I was very sick from my anti malaria medication, so I decided to stop taking it after not being able to keep my dinner down. I have lost several pounds here in Cambodia because while on the medication I was not able to eat anything. It completely destroyed my appetite, leaving me with the urge to eat ice-cold fruit and ice cream only.
The day after I arrived in Phnom Penh I hired a driver to take me to the killing fields and to the school that was used as a torture chamber during the 1975-1979 genocide here in Cambodia, know as the Khmer Rouge. I had heard that both were extremely depressing, but I wanted to go anyway. They are really a must see for anyone visiting Phnom Penh. The first stop was the killing fields and the first thing you see upon entering is a collection of human skulls behind a glass case. There are ropes and signs advising people to avoid walking on the mass graves, so I took a few pictures and after about 20 minutes I was ready to go. I didn’t find it all that depressing. There are really no signs of a mass genocide. The next stop was the school that was used as the torture chamber where there were pictures of some of the victims of the genocide as well pictures of some of the devices that were used to torture them. Again, I didn’t find it at all depressing. Both places felt like memorials or museums to me.
It is my understanding that about 1.5 million people were killed from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia. Anyone perceived to be a threat was tortured and murdered. It is also my understanding that anybody who wore spectacles or had a college degree was killed. Many of the victims were lured to the killing fields by people promising to take them for furhter education. Many people say that China was behind it all, but I am not quite sure to what degree.
I had a small argument with the tuk tuk driver because he tried to change the price of the ride half way through. I was firm and refused to give him the additional money he requested, so he followed me into the guesthouse where I stayed and demanded the extra cash. He kept saying that he charged too little for the amount of driving he did. I told him that I understood that it was a little money, but that was the price we both agreed was fair at the beginning of the trip. I ended up leaving the money on a bar stool and walking away to my room. I said to him as I placed the money on the stool, “I will leave the $12 here and if you don’t decide to take it I am sure someone else will.”
Hasta la próxima vez mi gente bonita,
a1globetrotter
