Phnom Penh: A lesson from history

A long, hot 7.5 hour bus journey from Battambang brought us to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city. It’s busy, full of traffic and dust and smells like bin juice 90% of the time, but it’s absolutely worth the stop to find out about Cambodia’s recent and terrifying history. We already loved the Khmer people for their friendly, joyful and helpful nature, but when we spent a day really looking into their history here, it gave us a whole new level of respect for them. We predominantly came to Phnom Penh for a lesson from history but here’s what else we got up to...

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum: S-21

Most of my blogs up until now have been a pretty light hearted read, there is however no way to make this lighthearted, and nor should there be. We visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum to find out more about what the people of Cambodia have had to endure, it was a sobering day.

S-21, as the Khmer Rouge named it, was a former high school, but when they came to power the Khmer Rouge abolished all schools and turned this one into a place of detainment, interrogation, torture and death. Pol Pot’s terrifying regime lasted from 1975-1979, meaning that anyone over 40 in Cambodia will have had to live through years of fear and suffering. The regime targeted ‘enemies’ which they claimed included anyone educated or professional- teachers, engineers, doctors, anyone with soft hands, glasses or a second language. The audio tour (which I highly recommend anyone visiting invests in) walks you round Tuol Sleng and describes how the Khmer Rouge came to power, who they were and what they did- it’s a pretty tough listen. The museum is part of the UNESCO ‘Memory of the World’ program and is therefore preserved much the same as it was found to serve as a stark reminder of what humans can do to each other. The barbed wire remains- it was used to keep victims in and everyone else out- the cells still stand, the beds used for torturing victims still sit in the centre of the room, and the gallows still stand in the courtyard. There are photographs of the thousands of innocent people murdered- of the approximately 14,000 people who entered, there are 12 known survivors. Instruments of torture sit in glass cabinets, and paintings of the atrocities by one of the survivors hang on the walls.

Whilst it was difficult to look at and listen to, it’s so important that the memory of both what was committed there and of the innocent people who were murdered, lives on so that history is never repeated.

Choeung Ek: The Killing Fields

After S-21 we then went out to the Killing Fields- it’s best to do it in this order as it gives you a more clear idea of what happened. Many of the people who went through S-21 were then brought here at night under the cover of darkness to be murdered whilst the sound of patriotic music blared out from a speaker to hide their screams. They were then buried in mass graves. Again, the audio tour walks you around the grounds, and again it’s a tough listen. There were so many thousands of people buried here, that even 41 years after the removal of the Khmer Rouge, fragments of bone and rags of clothes wash to the top of the soil when it rains.

A memorial now stands in the peaceful grounds, housing 5000 skulls from the men, women and children who were murdered here. It serves as another reminder that history should never be allowed to repeat itself.

National Museum of Cambodia

We spent an hour or so strolling round the National Museum- it’s $10 and if I’m honest I’m not entirely sure it’s worth it. It houses many Buddha statues carved from wood and stone and also many stone carvings from Angkor Thom- but we’ve seen our fair share of both of those things already. The descriptions they put next to each piece aren’t very informative and so it can get pretty dull. Would only recommend if you’re well into history- I mean I did a history degree and would still give it a miss- so I mean WELL into history.

Our first team night out

I’ve been on the road 3 months now. Early starts to catch sunrises and jam packed days of exploring have meant that the most we drink is a couple of beers in the evening, but we had a pool day planned in Phnom Penh, so out came the G&Ts. Red Bar is a great place to start- it has a great happy hour(s), good music and a pretty chilled atmosphere. The owner even let us choose the music on his iPod and let us have a little dance, despite there being no dance floor. There’s a bright red London bus opposite which also serves drinks, and any of the food outlets around there will deliver to the bus too. Club Love is good for late night dancing- any night of the week apparently as we found out- and our tuk tuk driver even stopped on the way back to our hotel for cheesy chips. Winner.

Sleep:

Scodo- we always do our research when choosing somewhere to stay, scouring through reviews. Phnom Penh was pretty impossible in that nowhere on our budget had good ones. In the end we settled for the best of a bad bunch. The location was alright, the room was clean (though it didn’t get cleaned once we’d entered) BUT rats lived in the walls and you were lulled to sleep but their scratching and squeaking. If you’re not into rats it’s probs not the place for you.

Eat:

Feel Good cafe was our go to for brunch- big portions, fresh food, pretty cheap and a good

ethos. Lots of veggie options.

The Pelican Food Company- another great one for brunch, pretty cheap, big portions and fresh food. Again lots of veggie options.

Eleven One Kitchen- good Cambodian food

Burgershack- Banging burgers AND you get to play with Lego. What’s not to like?

Drink:

Red Bar- cheap drinks, good music, chilled vibe.

Club Love- for when you just need a dance.

All Sports Bar- OBviously we had to catch England playing (and winning!) in the Rugby World Cup Semi-Final- anyone wanting to catch sports in Phnom Penh this place has tonnes of screens. And beer. Obviously.