A Phnom Phen street scene.Had a very comfortable bus trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Phen. When our bus arrived we were besieged by tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle taxis, and cycle rickshaw riders! They wave laminated sheets advertising guesthouses and all want your business! We heard from a guesthouse owner that they get $2us for taking you to the place and then $1 for each day that you stay there. Of course you pay for the driver to take you to the guesthouse and you pay his commission for doing so in your room rate!
The PalaceHave not had any rain for awhile but have to keep carrying an umbrella around just in case. Managed to get out and see the Royal Palace and the National Museum one day. There are many relics from the temples in Siem Reap kept in the museum.
The next day we visited the S21 prison which was a school that Pol Pot used as a torture place and prison. Some of the classrooms were used as mass torture and interrogation areas while some were converted into individual cells constructed either from timber or brick.
The film at the centre tells the story of couple who were separated and later killed. An artist who was held a prisoner but survived has an amazing exhibition of his work that he painted and shows what life was like for the prisoners and the atrocities he saw.
After this we went to "The Killing Fields". The Cambodian Government has sold the lease to a Japanese company to run this memorial site which has upset the families who lost loved ones here. The skulls in the memorial glass panels are from some of the 8,000 victims found in the mass graves. There is still a large area that has not been excavated yet. All very sobering!
Protecting the longan fruit from birds!
