Cambodia: Days 5-6 (Phnom Penh)

Day Five – Siem Reap to Phnom Penh.
This part of the trip was intended to be a straight-through journey to Sihanoukville, however one of our group – Andy – lost his passport in Siem Reap. This is not something that anyone wants to happen to them, especially in a developing country! So, upon arrival at Phnom Penh, instead of boarding the next bus, we went straight to the US embassy (“I’m an American, and I lost my passport”). Andy was told he had to wait until Thursday (tomorrow) for his new passport, and 3 working days following that for this exit visa. This means Andy will not be leaving with us on Sunday morning – he is now staying till Wednesday next week! Poor Andy!!

Postscript: Andy does not feature much in the rest of this blog – he wasn’t with us for a lot of it – owing to police and embassy dealings. Oh, and remember, if you are ever in the same situation, the police here are on less-than-minimum wage, and will ask for bribes to do their work. There is little one can do except pay it – Andy was asked to pay US$20 for the phone call to Siem Reap, and then US$5 for the police report.

I need to regress for a bit, on to our trip to Phnom Penh, which was an experience in itself. We had chosen to take the boat down the Tonle Sap (US$20), instead of the faster and cheaper, but far less scenic, bus ride (US$4). We left 13th Villa at 5:50am, boarded the boat at 7:15, and changed to the actual ferry around 8am (past the floating village). At the shore, Cambodian children kept on asking if we wanted “Bread cheese” (Baguette’s with cream cheese), however I kept on hearing it as “Frenchie” – Spanish Apartment anyone?!?

If you can, sit on the roof of the boat (with all the other tourists), and as close to the front as possible – the back may look fine, but when the boat actually starts, the exhaust is louder than anything else I have heard – ever. It was painful just to sit there. The trip lasts about 4 hours, and is fascinating. Aside from meeting other passengers (such as Bente from Denmark – a “gymnasium” (high school) teacher, whose daughter is on exchange at Washington State), you see Cambodian river-life, the lifeblood of the country. Going in the direction we were, the first 2 hours of so are quite monotonous, as the lake is so wide you cannot see the shore. However, as we neared Phnom Penh, the lake narrows considerably, and all the children come out to say hello. It’s at once endearing and saddening – such poverty, yet such resolve. Once again, I am in awe.

Nothing snaps you out of this romantic trip than the arrival at Phnom Penh. Everywhere you look there are touts, telling you about their hostel, bus service, taxi, moto, restaurant, or some combination of them all!! I knew it would be interesting, and it definitely was!! For us, it was made even more so by the fact we couldn’t just go straight to our hostel, as Andy had to make a pit-stop at the American embassy. After a brief visit, during which Andy didn’t really find out all that much, we went to our planned hostel (the Dara Reang Sey Hostel - http://www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-drs.htm). Although we had a booking (via email), the owner didn’t speak any English, and so we just started again. Not that it mattered – we got to bargain for our room (!) and saw our room in advance. I think we paid US$7/8 a night for a double – no air con or hot water, but we got a TV and fridge.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent exploring the city, visiting the Central Market (an amazing building architecturally) and purchased the obligatory “Tintin in Cambodia” tshirt. It was here that we realised Phnom Penh does not follow SE Asian customs of remaining open very late. Instead, everything closes at 5-6pm – it also opens earlier – 6-7am! Dinner was Nasi Goreng at the Bali Café, after a brief visit to the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club – the place for expats in Phnom Penh).

Day Six – Phnom Penh (pronounced P-nom Pen).
Today was a day of contrasts, with the day split in two. The morning was to be a look at the positive aspects of Cambodia’s history, and the afternoon was to be dedicated to visiting the memorials of the Khmer Rouge, who ruled in the 1970s. Such contrasts are expected of Cambodia, owing to its diverse and extreme history – most of which was spent under the rule of another country.

We began our morning at the Royal Palace (site of the Silver Pagoda - US$3), a site which, I believe, is fully functional. At least, we were not permitted to enter all parts of the compound. The buildings that were open were amazing, in stark contrast to the poverty outside. This was no more apparent than in the Silver Pagoda, with its 5000 silver tiles on the floor. Our second stop, the National Museum, was smaller, but no less interesting. It housed many artefacts from the time of the Angkor civilisation, including many recent archaeological findings.

Lunch was had at a street-side stall, and this time, we tried the chicken. Whilst we were never sick from it, it wasn’t particularly tasty . At least we tried! We also walked along to the point along the riverfront where the Tonle Sap joins the Mekong River. This is the beginning of one of the greatest rivers in Asia – the Mekong provides a means of earning a living to many farmers in Cambodia and Vietnam.

We knew the afternoon would be unsettling, but we decided that it was definitely worth it – to understand Cambodia, you have to understand its history, both the good and the bad. The trip there reminded me of the road from Poipet to Siem Reap, however this time we did it in a remoque-moto. It was an unsettling precursor to what was to follow.

Before I continue, I feel I should give some history of the Khmer Rouge. They were an extreme-left political group who took power in the 1970s, and immediately emptied the cities, forcing everyone to live in communes in the country. To ensure this, they placed landmines everywhere – a legacy which has affected Cambodia greatly. As with all extreme parties, part of their policy of maintaining power was to remove all opponents, and they did so in some of the largest purges in Asia – the Killing Fields (Cheung Ek) and Tuol Sleng Prison (aka S21) are testament to this.

Cheung Ek Genocide Centre (US$2) was an unsettling site. The ground was barren, just large pits dug randomly around a field, and in the centre was a stupa containing the skulls of all those exhumed. When it rains, new bones and clothes are revealed. It’s raw and emotional. The only thing to destroy it is the damned souvenir shop located just outside. PLEASE don’t buy anything from here – it just encourages this sort of behaviour. Note: the skull map has been removed. You can see it as a photo at Tuol Sleng.

If I thought Cheung Ek was difficult, Tuol Sleng (US$2) was far harder to stomach. Tuol Sleng is the official name of S21 – the ex-secondary school that was transformed into a torture centre by the Khmer Rouge. It has been turned into a museum, and contains the cells prisoners were detained it, before they were tortured and sent to Cheung Ek to be killed. The buildings have been kept as they were, and it is very easy to see that it once was a secondary school – it looks just like Normanhurst Boys’ – a fact which brought tears to my eyes. The Khmer Rouge were as pedantic as the Nazi’s in their organisation and documentation. They photographed everything, and many of their photos are displayed in the rooms. This makes it all the more real, and I must warn you: it’s not easy to visit here, but it is necessary. Don’t neglect it because it will be hard – that’s part of it.

From there, we visited the Russian Market – the other main market in the city – and split on different motos to make our way to Wat Phnom near our hostel. Whilst I thought we were meeting here, it turns out we were meeting at Seeing Hands – the massage place nearby. If you want a massage in Cambodia – and I mean a real one – not a ‘massage’ , then visit Seeing Hands. The massages are given by blind people, and it’s a great way to give back to the community.

My not realising this was my mistake, and I should have realised, but it still freaked me out. I had no idea what had happened to Bernd, Nina and Andy. Eventually three local guys (Yun, Len and Shrimsat (I think that spelling is correct)) came and sat with me, and began a conversation in broken English, telling me they were students here, and wanted to practice English. If I wasn’t scared already, I sure as hell was now! As it turned out, nothing happened, and everything was fine, but it was totally unexpected. I left at 7pm, and began to walk home to our hostel. I took a wrong turn, and the trip (which should have taken 10mins at most) took 30mins. Argh!!

Dinner was very very nice, at the Lemongrass Restaurant (off the Quay).

Tomorrow it's off to Sihanoukville, so until then, ciao!