This morning I meet with my moto driver and move to what I think is a better hotel, as Gavin arrives tonight, and I want to make sure we stay somewhere nice.
Greta hotel and good gym...the 6 flights of stairs then a loft stair case youhave to walk up to your room. But great view of some sort of plalace.
Arranged for my moto driver to take us both round the city highlights tomorrow...should be funny seeing gavin on a motorbike I was already nervous yesterday with the big rucksack and my little one in the city round rush hour.
Well I am killing time till lthe moto driver picks me up and takes me to the airport for 5 and then gavin and I get a cab back. Cant do any site seeing as waiting for him. We have the killing fields and a boat trip to do before we head of to Siem Reap in a couple of days. Will tell you more when I have seen the city.
I meet Gavin ok at the airport, holding a sign up with his name on it just like all the taxi drivers.
It's very easy to forget what has become natural here, and what is not for someone who's been to south east asia for the first time; as Gavin watches me do battle with the taxi driver from the airport to our hotel. The taxi driver takes us to a different lotus hotel, and I spend a frustraiting 10 minutes telling this is not our hotel even if it has the same name... I know my bags are not there... are know I am staying at a different lotus hotel no matter what he says, and I dont want to stay at this one as I am at a different place. Eventually we get to an understanding I just tell him to go to the riverside to which he charges us double because I gave him two addresses. Past arguing at this stage.
The next day is sight seeing day all around phnom penh. Our Moto driver picks us up and takes us 15k to the killing fields. Me behind him and gavin with his long legs on the back. After a very dusty journey on very bumpy roads we get there. It just looks like a large area with old pits in it. You then see pictures of all the bones and remains there that they found in these pits. Children reporting and killing people in their own families rather than being killed themsleves.
The guide tells us whast the Khmer Rouge would do was throw children high into the air and use them as target practiuce, or smash them against a tree. For their parents it was bludgeon them to death with a hoe at the back of the head.
In the centre is a large moneument full of skulls and the remains of clothes that were found at the fields. Skulls of children/people between the ages of 10 -25.
Next our driver took us to a shooting range... yep the irony after seeing that was quite surreal. The shotting range was at an army barraks where you were given the optiuon to fire a an AK47 M16, uzi 30 rounds for between $20 - 30 dollars. On the back of the card their was the option to do a rocket launcher for $200. We couldn't believe this so Gavin did the $20 option of a AK47 and I just plain refused... couldn't do the gun thing after hochi min and killing fields... sorry folks!
Next was the moto trip to S21 which was an old school converted into a torture examination centre for the Khmer Rouge. Hundreds to millions they reckon went through these chambers for the most horrible tortures ever to then be takes to the killing fields for their finaltination. Guards were made to do these obsene things under a regieme of kill or be killed, but what ever you do do not question your superiors and no one knows why... was it power, to purify a race. All the people know is that still members of this regieme go unpunnished for inhumane war crimes, and the people are only just finding out what went on, as documentation has been re-written by the Khmer Rouge.
After this we were both feeling down, its very depressing speculating "oh my god how many people ere in these cells and is that blood on the floor"... so we needed something nice.
Our tuk tuk driver took us to get our boat tickets to Siem Reap, and then he had lunch with us, in a local cafe by the market with the nicest food. Most of the time he took the piss out of us, in a nice way, and we had laugh with him.
Next was the silver pagoda and royal palace. You cant actually go to the palace but you can walk around some of the grounds. For example you can see their statue of the king on a horse. It's actually a statue of napoleon given by the french to the king but they just replaced the head.
Then after seeing some of the most beautifully done halls we saw the silver pagoda. Called that because all the floor is made of silver tiles, 567 tiles in all.
After the silver pagoda it was back to the hotel for a shower and freshen up, as we were completely sunburnt and sore from sitting on the bike. We had a typical cambodian dish for dinner while watching a taxi driver crash into a moped and then every cambodian from a 4 mile raduis seemed to come to the scene.
Posted by alexd at April 5, 2004 06:29 AM