Our last few days were spent in Phnom Penh.  We stayed at a little boutique hotel called, Teahouse Asian Urban Hotel.  Our tuktuk driver was waiting for us and showed us where the ATM was.  In Cambodia you can withdraw US cash which was handy.  As we drove away he warned us to hang onto our small bags and put our backpacks between our feet.  This made me a little nervous but I think it was mainly because we were travelling on a freeway and he said the motor bikes sometimes drive by and snatch smaller bags.  We arrived at our hotel without incident.  It was a lovely hotel and the best part was the room fridge had a bottle of red wine in it.  Yay!    It was late and dark and we didn't know the area so we opted to have dinner at the hotel.  Wasn't great but we were tired.

Out of respect, the only photo I took was "The Buddhist Stupa", a memorial erected in memory of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime. Thousands of skulls arranged in order of age and sex fill the memorial, many of which display visible signs of trauma.  

We only had one day to tour Phnom Penh so we hired a tuktuk driver and started early the next morning.  Our first stop was the "Killing Fields"  Choeung Ek is the most well known of over 300 killing fields throughout Cambodia.  It is located about 15km southeast of the city.  Mass graves of over 8,895 bodies were discovered here after the fall of the Khmer Rouge.  Once you arrive you are given a headset and a recorder.  There are 19 stops as you silently walk through what used to be a peaceful orchard.  Each stop tells you a piece of the horrific history of what the people of Cambodia endured during the Khmer reign.  Pol Pot was in power from April 1975 to 1978.  It's impossible to comprehend the horrors that transpired in this place which wiped out 20% of Cambodia's population and claimed approximately 1.7 million lives in a 4 year period. It's difficult to describe the incredible sadness that surrounds the site. 

Visitors wander around in silence with tears streaming down their faces.  Nothing can prepare you for this type of tour, but the reason the Cambodian people have created this site was to increase awareness throughout the world via tourists so this type of thing doesn't happen again.  We left with profound sadness realizing how lucky our lives have been.

We also decided to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or more commonly known as the S-21 Prison.  This was the secret center of a network of nearly 200 prisons where people were tortured by the Khmer Rouge.  Between 12,000 and 20,000 people were imprisoned here.  There were only twelve confirmed survivors. 

Again we were given audio sets and a map of stops to listen at.  Each room had it's own terrifying story of torture, suffering and death.  Cambodia was liberated by the Vietnamese after a 17 day campaign.  The leaders of the Khmer Rouge took refuge in Thailand 

In 2006 with the backing of the UN, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) was founded to investigate the crimes against humanity during the reign of terror.  In 8 years there have been just five indictments and one conviction.  Two days before the 23rd anniversary of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Phon Penh, shortly after it was announced that Khmer Rouge had agreed to turn over Pol Pot to the international tribunal, he died while under house arrest.

Today was very educating and sad day of travel, but it is a part of history that should not be forgotten.  As we were travelling through the city the rest of the day it was interesting to note that there were very few people over the age of 50 as most of them had not survived the horrible living condition's.  The Cambodian people are very resilient and forgiving people.  Once the country was liberated they had to learn to live among one another again.  The victim and the enemy were from the same country.  

Our lunch stop was at Daughters of Camboda.  This was an organization that helped young girls get off the streets and out of the sex trade.  

When we arrived back at our hotel we decided to treat ourselves to a spa.  Bill had a full body massage and I had a facial.  It was a great way to relax after a full day of touring.  

For dinner we wanted some good seafood.  So we chatted with a tuktuk driver out front and he convinced us to go to a local restaurant not too far away.  He said he would drop us off and pick us up in a couple of hours.

We were seated and ordered a couple of beers, which were warm so they put the next round in a bucket of ice to get cold.  

Our wonderful server was very friendly and helped us order food due to the fact there was no English on the menu.  

The food was very fresh, right out of the tank out front.  I made Bill peel them!  Tasty Tasty.

It was so much fun dinning with the locals. 

Tomorrow we start our long flight home.  Phnom Penh to Hong Kong, to Vancouver and then Kelowna,  The sleeping pills worked great and we were both able to sleep for about 5 hours.  However this did cause some issues with swollen ankles.  Next time we either have to break up the flight or wear compression socks!


Our trip was incredible but as I always say, "its good to be back home in Canada"!

Cheers!