October 24th, 2006 – Fly to Phnom Penh
Fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, Cambodia with Explorer tour group
Bangkok to Phnom Penh – Bangkok Air – Oct 24th
Flight # 0920 Depart 07:25 / Arrive 08:30
Fly Time - 1:05
Princess Hotel – Phnom Penh
Genocide Museum
Killing Fields
$$$
Breakfast at Hotel
Included- Leave to early for Breakfast
Lunch Phnom Penh – Khmer Siem Restaurant
$7.00 US
Dinner – Van drives the group
$9.00 US
Bar
$10.00 US – 4 Drinks
Airport Fee
500 Baht = $15.60
Tuk Tuk Ride
$1.00 US
Wake up call this morning is a bright and early 3:30 a.m. and we are on our way to the airport by 4:00 a.m. We have a 07:25 flight and our tour leader did not want us to be late. Once checked in we needed to purchase an Airport Fee ticket. It is required for all International flights out of Bangkok and I will need to purchase one more when I leave for home.
The airport at Bangkok is a newly opened facility with many shops and places to eat once you check in and go through Immigration. I believe it has been only open for one month; September 28th was the opening day if I remember right. The airport is called “Suvarnabhumi” and I have no idea how to pronounce it, Bangkok International is much easier. Once going through the Security check there are no shops or restaurants to visit.
Our plane leaves on time and the short flight went fine. Upon landing in Phnom Penh another tour guide “Nara” meet us once we gathered our luggage. A small van picked us up and drove to our Hotel for our short stay in Phnom Penh. The Princess Hotel is home for one night, room #413. Not much to look at from the outside but the lobby is spacious along with the rooms.
We have a short time to put our luggage in our room before we are off with the van to our first destination. The Genocide Museum is our first visit and it was just a short drive from the Hotel. As we walk over to the entrance there are many men begging for money. Some of them have arms missing and some have part of a leg and some an entire leg missing from the Land Mines that they have unfortunately found. Some of them had signs hanging around their necks that simple say, Land Mine Victims. Nara tells us the story about the Land Mines and it was difficult to walk by all these people. Many land mines were scattered about during the war and once it ended, many were left live out in the country side. There was no way of knowing where all these mines were placed. Many of the workers in the fields would find these mines by chance. Some of these people lost their lives.
Genocide Museum
Once inside the Museum we find out that at one time this complex was a school that was converted to a torture chamber of sorts. More than 2 thousand people were executed in this building with only 12 known survivors.
Genocide Museum
There were pictures hanging in some of the rooms with many of the victims. Not exactly sure why they would take photos of the victims before hand, Passport type photos.
Genocide Museum
They had on display the Chair they used, a special head rest so the persons head would be at the right angle for the picture. As we strolled through the complex Nara would tell us some stories of torture and there were many more to read on the wall of some of the rooms.
Genocide Museum
In the center of this complex was a small open area with a large tree in the center with ropes hanging down from some of the larger branches. One of the stories told to us this day was that people would be stretched from this tree until they become unconscious. Once unconscious, they would then be put in a barrel of human waste where they would either be revived or they would drown.
Genocide Museum – Prisioner cells
A barrel is still by the tree and it was disturbing to actual believe this was going on not that long ago. Our Guide was a young girl at this time and told us that some of her relatives had died in the war of the Khmer rouge. She had to hide from the soldiers of the time and search for food to stay alive. I never did get a clear picture in my head on the details of how the war came to be, but the story told and read through this tour was a moving experience. I couldn't bring myself to take many pictures of the area.
Killing Fields – No pictures taken once inside
Our next stop was the killing fields 8 kilometers out of Phnom Penh. You would think that it would be a short drive but the road conditions are unbelievable. It is just a dirt road that probably hasn’t seen a grader for many months. And along with the rains that show up everyday it makes for some unreal potholes. Impossible to miss them all and as our driver weaves back and forth to miss the big ones and we just hang on tight as he hits the smaller ones. The 8 kilometer drive takes us a good half hour. As we enter the grounds of the killing fields the first site is a tall monument of about 30 feet high. We enter the inside at the base and we find many human skulls. In fact the monument is filled right up to the top with actual human skulls. We could reach in and touch them if we wanted; it was a bit surreal to see all this. Next we took a short walk to the back of this monument to see where these bones were dug up. We find many pits with small plaques beside them tell us of many bodies were found in each pit. Some of the pits were of just children; one read that all the people had been decapitated. These pits are set in a very rustic environment with the land growing back to nature with not much upkeep. As our group walks through the overhanging trees it seemed as if we could find more bones along the edges.
Our trip back to town was even longer as we hit a small traffic jam. We stop at an authentic Cambodian restaurant for lunch called the Khmer Siem. A good meal of mixed vegetables and yellow noodles doesn’t seem too much different than any of Thailand food we have experienced so far. We then stop at a local market that sold just about anything. Along with the tourist shops a local fish market was also inside this large building. The fish come in and are prepared for sale right at the market so you can just imagine the smell that lingers around, sanitation is not a very high priority. We walk through this area in mid afternoon with the temperature at its peak. And along with the humidity I was wishing that I had a mask that many of the locals wear on the street to help breathe in the pollution.
Once back at our Hotel we have a few hours of few time before going once again for dinner. Our van takes us to a great restaurant and then we all decide on having a few drinks at another Restaurant along the river. From there we are on our own and we take a Tuk Tuk back to the Hotel.