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| We say Farewell to Our Guide and Three of Our Traveling Companions |
After a leisurely morning on our own, we are transferred back to Phnom Hanoi's PochentongInternational Airport, where we say goodbye to our Cambodian tour
leader and fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Thursday, February 21, 2013 - Killing Fields
Day 13: Phnom PenhMeals included: 1 breakfast
Activities:
A full city tour introduces you to the sights of Phnom Penh, a
city that lies near the confluence of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap
Rivers. The private quarters of the Royal Palace are home to King
Sihamoni and are therefore closed to the public; however, we are able
to visit the Silver Pagoda that lies in the palace complex, which is the
most sacred temple in the country and was previously spared from
destruction by the Khmer Rouge. Wat Phnom is the temple, which
gave rise to the foundation of the city in the 15th Century. The bloody
rule of the Khmer Rouge is a painful, but unavoidable, part of
Cambodia's recent history and visits to the Tuol Sleng Prison Museum
and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek tell the story of this tragic legacy.
(Note: These sites are a major part of sightseeing in Phnom Penh;
however, if you do not wish to visit either of them, please inform your
tour leader.) An ideal way to spend your last evening in Cambodia is
to relax in a cafe by the riverfront.
******
Please read the above itinerary. Words fail me at the horrors committed here in Phnom Penh and to the people at the hand of the Khmer Rouge. Pot Po the leader rounded up millions of people, all of the middle class, intellectuals, doctors, teachers, merchants, and their families in an effort to create a classless agrarian society.
Most of the Khmer Rouge were young teenagers, ignorant, poor, angry, and brainwashed by their leader to administer the atrocities. Their horrible legacy is still felt in this poor country. Capitalism is coming back slowly. People are very poor, but making their way up. Corruption is rampant. Few pay taxes. There are little government services and public servants to keep an orderly society.
Here are some sobering photos of our learnings today.
Tuol Sleng Prison Museum
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| Blood Stained Torture Rooms |
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| Containers for Elimination - Make a Mess....lick it up with your tongue. |
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| We meet a survivor...very few. Khmer Rouge Systematically killed families to prevent revenge killings. |
Killing Fields of Choeung Ek
It is estimated that 2-3.3 million people were killed in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. There were appx. 360 killing sites. We visited one where 9,000 skulls have been found in mass graves. A large multi level stupa filled with the bones of the dead to honor their lives.
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| Mass graves |
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| Baby Killing Tree |
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| Human Remains Are Still Surfacing |
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| Clothing Continues to Surface In Rainy Season |
After a very sobering morning, we came back to town from the killing fields which at one time were in open farm land about 16 km from the city . Nearly half of the starving and tortured people died along the march to the fields. The Chinese had sold guns to Khmer Rouge, but with no ammunition. The KR had to buy ammunition. They did so by trading Cambodia rice to the Chinese leaving no rice for the Cambodian people. Part of the Khmer Rouge killing plan was to weaken the people so they could not resist a wack on the back of the neck into the pit where they may not have died until the pit was covered over with more bodies and dirt. The Khmer Rouge did not want to waste their bullets. Simply awful, tragic, and very sad.
After a lunch which barely anyone had the stomach for, we visited the royal palace and had the afternoon free to view the sites and sounds of the city.
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| Maximum Load of Five on a Bike. |
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| Going to School Costs Money Few Can Afford |
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| Catching some Air on Roof's Ledge |
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| Pedestrians, Bikes, Rimorks, Wagons Share Streets - Sidewalks filled with Vendors |
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| Foreign Correspondence Club |
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| Happy Hour |
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