Breakfast at this hotel isn’t quite as good as the previous hotels. Certainly not as many fruits which I really have enjoyed. But the coffee is good and that is essential.
We loaded onto an air-conditioned bus and headed off with our guide to Choeung Ek, one of the areas of mass graves found about 15 km south of Phnom Penh. During the Khmer Rouge occupation of Cambodia nearly 3 million people died – 1.7 million through execution and most of the rest through starvation. Choeung Ek alone was the site of a number of pits containing the remains of 8,895 men, women and children. Our guide described some of the horrific methods of torture and execution of the Khmer Rouge. Listening to these stories was painful but to honour the dead we need to listen so that we don’t allow anything like it to happen again. I say that but then what is happening right now in places like Syria and the Congo?
At least there is a quiet spirituality at Choeung Ek now where people wander the boardwalks and speak in hushed tones.
There is a beautiful stoupa filled with skulls and bones where we laid flowers and incense.
From there we drove to the notorious S-21, site of a former high school that was used as a prison, torture and execution chamber. Only seven people came out of that place alive out of over 14,000 that were sent there. Four of the survivors were children and we met two as we left. I bought a book, The Survivor, from Chum Mey one of the children (now my age) that didn’t get adopted.
The bus took us back to Phnom Penh where Bun directed us to yet another of his excellent restaurant suggestions. I had a delicious pineapple and pork stir-fry along with two local draft.
We all went in different directions after lunch. I just had to have a quick shower. The 38 degree heat was a bit much so I went back to the hotel.
I was hoping to meet up with the group that had chosen to go to the Royal Palace so I took a tuk-tuk after I had freshened up but I never did meet up with anyone inside. The architecture of the palace is exquisite. There were some excellent musicians playing on indigenous instruments that I quite enjoyed.
Later I met up with Linda and Deb and we walked round the Central Market just to get a feel for it. The beautiful bouquets of the flowers section has to be my favourite.
When we came across an air-conditioned mall after leaving the market we decided to check it out and ended up sharing a mango ice cream “boat” for supper.
Now I’m back in my room. I’ve just had my fourth shower of the day and ready to organize my stuff for our 6 to 8 hr ride to Siem Reap tomorrow.