A day in Phnom Penh

It is a hot day again in Phnom Penh and we did the tourist thing from 8.30am to 5.30pm out in the heat.  

It was interesting to see the different forms of transport.  Thousands of motor bikes of course but the Tuk Tuks here were different from those we have previously seen in Thailand.  Two types here - small and long.  Small ones hold up to 4 passengers in reasonable comfort, and the long ones with 7 planks across hold 35 plus and move many people in peak hours.  Both types are propelled by a motor bike with driver.  There are also shuttle buses holding about 20 inside, but many ride on the roof and receive a 50% discount or 80% if it is raining.  Now there is a bargain !

Although there are only 2 million in Phnom Penh city (about 14 million in Cambodia), the roads are dreadful and the drivers drive anywhere.  On the footpath if there is one, both sides of the road, make as many lanes as possible, toot as much as possible (the more toots the safer driver you are as you are warning others of your presence!!!)

After seeing temples, Buddhas and large stupas by climbing many stairs to the top of a ridge we visited a small village where silver ornaments and jewellery are made.

Then a tour of the Kings Palace.  The grounds are very beautiful, and buildings with Buddhas and statues therein were lavishly filled with gold, silver, and precious stones.  Gold was everywhere, and the complete floor of the Silver Palace was made of pure silver tiles.

The present king is aged 61 years, is not married, and has no children.  Cambodians are strong monarchists, so a new king will need to be chosen when he dies.

A most graphic and unsettling visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21) was the final stop for the day.  This was a detention and torture centre in an ex school building where prisoners were held between 1974 and 1979 before being sent to the "Killing Fields".  The photographs and paintings, chains, torture tools, and human bones on display were a graphic reminder of the unbelievable cruelty and atrocities committed by Pol Pot and the  Khmer Rouge during that time.  We met one of the lucky inmates who had survived.  He now works outside the museum telling his story and selling books which have been written by authors around the world.

This was a very sobering experience, and a gruesome reminder of the cruelty of which man can be capable.

A typical fuel station selling petrol in plastic soft drink bottles.  The owner had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth !! (Not shown here)

This is a long Tuk Tuk which holds 35 passengers, all seated on planks and happy with the situation.

Young women putting detail on a silver container in the form of a pumpkin.

Gold everywhere.

These were the rules of the security prison.

This is the way the prisoners were made to sleep, 20 per room and all locked together.

Remains of some of the executed prisoners.

One of the few survivors who escaped Pol Pot.