We did Yesterday’s trip on a Tuk Tuk, which was a great way to travel around. Nice and slow, you’re right in amongst the traffic and you get to see lots. Today we have taken a taxi because The Killing Fields are 15kms outside of Phnom Penh.
The Cheoung Ek Genocidal Centre, the official name of The Killing Fields was much smaller that I had expected and although there are fields around Cheoung Ek, the actual sites of where the killing took place and where the mass graves are located is only a few acres – probably less than 10.
Today there is a large memorial to the victims. It is filled with the skulls of the people whose remains have been removed from those mass graves that have been exumed. Despite the sound of it, it isn’t morbid and the actual site has a bizarrely tranquil feel to it. Most of the buildings that were there when it was in operation have been removed. They were very temporary structures – wood and iron and have not been maintained.
One of the concerning things in Cambodia is that Cheoung Ek has been sold to a Japanese company and the operation of the temples at Siem Reap is handled by another foreign company for 17% of the takings. Cambodia is a poor country, but it seems that they are selling their history and heritage.
Anyway, after Cheoung Ek, we visited the Russian Market, where we found some more silk things that we liked, oh and a silver bracelet at the book store at Cheoung Ek. We had an awesome noodle lunch at a stall in the Russian Market and then went to the National Museum. The National Museum was really cool – it’s not too big and in a fairly open building, so it’s nice and cool. The building, which you can see photos of, is built as a quadrangle round a beautiful garden, so we got some great photos – all for the price of $1US and having to wear a goofy ID card.
We had dinner on the roof top bar of our hotel – awesome.
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