Phnom Penh

Yesterday we spent 8 hours driving on a public bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. It was exhausting to say the least, however a good trip overall. You could tell a difference between the two countries right after crossing the border. The cows were all very skeletal looking and children were walking around without parents or clothing. Some would smile as you drove by and some would just stare at you blankly.

Today we went to both the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum and one of the 443 killing fields found in Kampuchea (what most people call the country). The genocide museum was what I was expecting... lots of pictures of those imprisoned during the civil war. Tuol Seng was a school-turned-into-prison where 17,000 people were kept, interrogated, and brutally tortured. It was difficult to walk through, especially since our tour guide (someone Poleak assigned us to) kept using definitive hand gestures to describe torture, disease, death, etc. So many times he would say, “17,000 people,” then pause and do a head chopping-off movement with one hand across his neck, and finish saying...“dead.” He probably did it about 10 times in 45 minutes.

Need less to say I was a little relieved when three of us got lost from the group. We were looking at all the pictures and as our tour guide rushed through the museum, we went one way on accident when the group went another. There were three floors in one building and the tour guide only took the group to two.

The second floor held prisoner cells made of wood, as opposed to the bottom floor where the cells were made of brick. Each space was immensely small, probably 4 feet by 8 feet. While on the second floor I ventured off by myself for a minute and heard a tiny squeaking which I assumed was a mouse coming from the floor. I don’t know why, but I kept walking looking down at the floor thinking I would see the creature scurry by. But, as I approached a low leveled doorway (I’m tall here!), a large BAT came screaming out from a hole about one foot away from me and flew right in my face. I started crying out frantically and ran back to two of my friends. One of them said later that he thought I saw a dead body...yeah right!

Later in the day we went to the killing fields of Cheung Ek. This was a very strange and morbid hour. We were taken to some large grave sites first and then shown some bone still hiding under dirt right along our path. I first thought it was some sort of bark or something and I also somewhat dismissed the pieces of cloth you find buried. I noticed a very large bone a few steps later, probably an arm bone or something, and then came across three teeth. They are all just lying there and I wondered what was being done about it all. When I asked the tour guide he said someone goes around each day to pick up bones and clothing, but because an estimated 17,000 people were murdered here, it’s still hard to have it all entirely clean.

We also were explained the killing tree, of which children were executed and also the magic tree, where music would play from a branch to hide the screams and terrors of those who suffered. There were bones and clothing everywhere.

Nearby was a large pond that probably contained many other bones, but none have been excavated. I strolled around it and took a break from some of the others in my group to sit down in a gazebo type structure on my own. Relaxing nearby was a nice looking man who asked me where I was from. I told him California and we started to chat about my life and his. He told me he lived up the street and lost his whole family during the genocide. He was separated from them when we was 12. When I asked him if he had come to that killing field before he responded that he has been a few times and that he comes there when he is sad. When I saw tears running down his face I changed the subject and asked him about his children who were playing nearby. His daughters were beautiful as was his sister and nephew. I took a family picture and hoped to send it to them through email, but even the one girl who knew quite a bit of English and who went to school, didn’t have an email address. I will never forget meeting them.

From there I visited the tall temple looking building in the center of the field. I had seen pictures of this before but didn’t really realize what it was until I got up close for myself. There are probably 15-20 shelves towering above you and all contain hundreds of skulls.

The day ended a little less grim, however it’s hard to have a complete change of mood after being in mourning like that. I took a walk through a local market, bought some really comfortable pants, and then headed to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. On the way back from this visit I came across many homeless families. I know San Francisco has it’s homeless problems, but Cambodia is no comparison. To see a mother with three young children all sleeping on the ground is a common sight. However, tonight I saw what looked to be a less than one week old baby in the arms of his/her sister. It was incredibly tiny and was definitely a newborn. All you want to do is reach out and help, bring the baby to a hospital or a care center, do something, but there is apparently nothing you can do.

While today was concealed by unhappiness, our tour group attempted to smile and laugh at a great restaurant, Malis. It was rather posh, but the food was tasty and we got to ring in the birthday of Juliana.