Phrom Penh

Saturday was assigned as a long travel day so we had a free morning as our coach wasn’t leaving until the afternoon. With some free time to kill a few of us decided to pop in to town to have a fish foot massage done. After asking a local we eventually found a place next to the night market, where for two dollars you could have a half hour fish massage and to our surprise a free beer as well. After a three count we plunged our feet into the tank and instantly burst out laughing at the tickling sensation we felt from the fish rushing to attack our feet. It wasn’t until about after 10 minutes that you could keep your feet still so the fish could do their work. I’m happy to report that our feet were indeed smoother at the end of the half hour. From flooded Siem Reap we made our way east to Phrom Penh, the Capital of Cambodia. During the journey there we could see further evidence of the damage the flood water is causing at the moment. The green rice paddies you see everywhere next to all the main roads are now under a sea of water. A lot of this current crop is now ruined meaning prices are going to have to rise.

On arriving in Phrom Penh you can instantly see how more tourist influence the Capital is, the main stretch next to the river is lined with bars and restaurants, it almost feels like a Spanish holiday resort until you dive down the back streets where familiar life returns. That night after visiting a restaurant that supports orphans a group decide to go for a night out, although at the time none of us know how mess it is going to get. After several visits to different bars and clubs we eventually head to bed at quarter to 4.

The next morning we make our way to a place labelled S 21, a former detention centre which was used during the genocides under Pol Pot only 30 years ago. Here those from an educated background were tortured and detained before being sent on to be killed. The buildings have mainly been left as they were discovered, a variety of rooms and cells to hold prisoners and some of the devices used to torture them. After a guided visit we travel to the Killing Fields were men, women and children were killed; their bodies simply chucked in pits and then covered over. Even now bodies still lay underground here; only around half of the graves have been dig up. As we walk round we have to be careful were we tread, the recent rain has pushed bones and clothes up through the ground so they are now visible on the surface. It was a sombre morning for the whole group.

We have the afternoon free so a few of us decided to go explore the city. At one point we have a tuk tuk find us a place which services local food but on arrival we wish we hadn’t bothered, it is filthy but we decide to have some food as to not offend our driver. We made a quick escape.