Beauty and the Beasts

Hi Guys,

This is a blog of two halves hence the title the horrors of he recent past here in Cambodia and the amazing recovery and grit of a nation to return to happier times.

We caught a bus from Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. The border crossing was possibly the most sketchy part of our trip so far. Once the bus arrived at the border we handed our passports, documents and money over to the driver and hoped for the best. Two pages worth of stamps in our passports, $70 and a dodgy fried rice in 'no mans land' later, we arrived in Cambodia.

The hostel was absolutely dead which was odd but we did have a first for the trip which was a double bed in a hostel which was lovely. We left on our fist morning and we booked a tuk tuk to take us to the genocide museum and the killing fields we were both very apprehensive and concerned about what we were going to see and we were not wrong it was a horrifying eye opening experience full of pain, suffering and anguish.

We arrived at the gates of the the former S-21 Tuol Sleng prison and picked up an audio tour to try and learn as much information as possible.  Straight away as soon as you walk in you're hit with a sense of 'what on earth went on here'. The prison building was originally a large bustling secondary school until the Khmer Rouge moved everyone out of the capital and into the countryside and turned it into a prison.  The Khmer Rouge used the prison for anyone that threatened their new plan for a deeply communist society which lived off the land, so anyone who was a doctor, lawyer, politician or anyone reasonably educated were sent to Tuol Sleng.

We walked around listening to harrowing stories of torture and suffering it was very tough to take, waterboarding, electrocutions, burning and forced amputation just a few of the terrifying methods used to get fake confessions from prisoners. The leader of the prison was a man known as Comrade Duch, who later became the only member of the Khmer Rouge to be prosecuted for his horrific crimes. Everyone else involved either passed away or are still awaiting trial. This prison was 1 of 150 across Cambodia.

When it was time for the prisoners to leave they were bundled into big trucks and they were sent to an area about 15km outside of Phnom Penh, known as the killing fields. An area of land where mass graves were hidden from the rest of the public. Again we decided for a audio tour so that we could learn a bit more about it all. The shocking revelations were revealed as we walked the mass graves.

Walking round we noticed clothing and bone fragments that had risen to the surface over time it really is a eye opening sight so raw and powerful. We came to a grave that was most sickening of them all, it was next to a large tree and after reading the notes around it we found that this was called the Killing Tree.  A grave of women, children and babies were killed to prevent retaliation in the future, hundreds of young children were taken by the ankles and the skulls smashed against the tree and then thrown in the pit on top of there mothers. It was one of the most horrific sites we had ever seen and something that will stay with us for a long time to come. 

Some Estimate that 3 million people were killed by the Khmer rouge nearly a third of the entire population massacred in the time the Khmer rouge were in power and maybe most shockingly it took a further 15 years for the west to recognise that the Khmer rouge were no longer in power. It wasn't until 2009 that anyone stood trial for the crimes that were so heinous.

Now to the flip side and how we found a country not full of bitter people but kind, forward thinking communities keen to keep rebuilding and making a strong Democratic society. The one way in which Cambodia is recovering so well is tourism the wonderful temple complex of Ankgor Wat in Siem Riep that attracts millions of visitors a year and its easy to see why.

We booked on a guided tour of 4 of the main temples in Angkor Wat, so that we could learn a bit of history around it all before a second day of exploring some temples on our own. Unfortunately the tour we booked on was a total waste of our time. We did see the temples but our tour guide was crap. He raced around the place, barely explaining things and making jokes no one understood. He was more keen on getting group selfies than letting us explore the wonderful temples. Due to this, sadly we don't know too much of the history behind these incredible buildings, however we did appreciate intricate carvings in the walls and  the crumbled buildings somehow still standing with trees growing through the floors, they were all incredible. The final temple of our day was up a rather steep hill, we were told it was the best place to go and watch the sunset, our guide directed us up the hill at around 3.30pm - sunset wasnt until 7! We waited so long, but the results were really worth it. 

Day two, we hired a tuk tuk driver to take us around some other temples we hadn't got to yet. So glad we did this, we got to explore more and really take in the surroundings. Some of the temples have been restored, which is a shame as they have lost some of their character but the ones that have been left are really magical. 

Cambodia was by far the saddest country we have ever been to, the horrors of the war and the stories we heard were so shocking its something that will never leave us. Angkor Wat was incredible, but there was still a saddness in the air of these recent tragedies. Feeling fortunate to have seen this, and to realise how lucky we really are.

Back to Thailand in the morning for a week on the islands and coast, looking forward to getting back to the beach and possibly some diving.  

Next stop, Koh Tao.

Luke and Lily