Phnom Penh and its survival- Cambodia.

With so much daily life conducted on the streets, Cambodia’s capital is alive with bustling commerce,  whizzing motorbikes and odorous smells from nearby markets.  With only a quick stop in Phnom Penh we felt we couldn’t truly get to know Cambodia without understanding its history.  As a once shining global hub in South East Asia, the country was tarnished by genocide and violence under the Khmer Rouge.  With an aim to reconstruct Cambodia under the communist model of Mao’s China, it is believed that over 2 million Cambodians lost their lives between 1975-1979 under Pol Pot’s systematic cruelty. Thats almost 1 in 5 people believed to have been victims of genocide at the time. For those that escaped murder, many were forced to become unpaid labourers under harsh conditions. Subsequently people became weak and quickly fell ill- a blanket of death swept across Cambodia.

To understand how Cambodia has since risen from it’s ashes, we decided to take a trip to the s-21 prison and infamous killing fields where people were systematically tortured and murdered. For $7 each a Tuc-Tuc took us to all the important sights.

Now a museum, the s-21 prison tells Cambodia’s story of survival as we remember those that suffered. With hideous precision the Khmer Rouge photographed their victims before torturing and killing them and its hard to describe how you feel when looking at the faces of people that endured such violence. The air is thickly still and the atmosphere eerily haunting as you question how people can inflict such pain upon others.  Already feeling sick to my stomach we then travelled to the Killing Fields where prisoners were loaded into trucks blindfolded before being led into a mass grave and shot dead. Today you can walk around its grounds whilst listening about it’s history on headphones. With shallow graves its not uncommon for human remains and clothing to be up-earthed over time, and whilst walking around its grounds I stumbled across a large femur bone at the base of a tree. Thinking it was a tree root I was horrified once I looked closer and it’s hard to forget the image of human teeth scattered across the dirt.  The Khmer Rouge didn’t spare anyone and babies often had their heads brutally bashed against a large tree, now known as the killing tree. “To kill a weed you must cut it from its root”- Pol Pot. Today hundreds of people come to hang  friendship bracelets on the tree as a sign of respect.

However, although it’s dark history will never be forgotten,  it’s important to see Cambodia as an epitome of survival as activity reverberates through the streets of Phnom Penh. Outside the s-21 prison I was lucky enough to meet one of the only 6 or so survivors to leave the grounds alive. He handed me his business card and wished me a good day.

With bustling bars and world class food, the capital lures travellers into its hold. Alike Kampot, I stayed at Mad Monkey hostel in a large dormitory with other travellers. With close proximity to Vietnam we were soon to be leaving Cambodia for my last and final country on my travels.

S-21 PRISON

THE KILLING FIELDS

• None of the above photos are my own- all camera equipment was sadly broken.

Kampot- Cambodia.

Sleepy Kampot is a riverside town surrounded by mountains on the east bank of the Kampot river in Cambodia. With it’s french colonial architecture and relaxed atmosphere, more travellers are visiting the area for a break away from the city.  Stroll through the town, splash in the river by Arcadia backpackers hostel and forget about the time.  Our friend Ashley would soon be joining the gang and we were excited to see him after having travelled separate corners of Asia.

From Sikhonoukville we got an unmarked ’taxi’ to Kampot for $7 after some bargaining –  a friend of our tuck-tuck driver who spent the journey eyeing us up through the wing mirror. With his limited English he did however manage to ask if we were married. Our luggage was strapped to the car with rope and it wasn’t long until we were at our destination. Kampot is pretty, in a run down kind of way, and many travellers come for the laid back atmosphere and cheap weed. Our friend Millie had strongly advised us to come and assured we wouldn’t regret it.  We eventually made it to Mad Monkey Hostel and quickly settled into our 12 bed dorm for $7 a night. With clean modern rooms, comfy large beds, a bar and swimming pool, I would advise travellers to make a stop here. Although it’s not directly on the river like Arcadia Backpackers,  we met some really good friends here- American Max was one our favourites. Max was from New York and had been travelling for over a year in both Central America and South East Asia like myself.  He called home Mexico having fallen in love with it’s charm and had dreams of opening a hostel where I was promised a job. Max also loved a splif and had plenty of stories to tell about getting in trouble with authorities and surviving hairy situations on his motorbike, so we quickly made good friends. Despite Kampot being pretty docile, it’s not in shortage of travellers looking for a good time. With news that a nearby hostel was having a closing party, we travelled in Tuc-tucs and danced through the night after one or two tequila shots. With a live band and plenty of travellers dancing on table tops, Kampot turned out to provide a great night out with no shortage of booze. Monkey Hostel also arrange a booze cruise that eventually takes you to Arcadia hostel up the river. Jump into the cool water on a rope swing and relax on the floating dock in a hammock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szF_Ack79IA – Mad Monkey youtube.