Apologies to all about the lack of post attached to the pictures, but I recall it had been a very long day.
WeÕre now in Sapa, in the North-West of Vietnam, and weÕll try to work our way back chronologically from the first post.
If I double up on anything I apologise, but whilst writing this is Sapa, IÕm not sure when it will get posted as there isnÕt any internet up here. (edit - now in Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi - still chasing an internet connection!)
We arrived in Phnom Penh after the very slow boat trip up from the Vietnam-Cambodia border, and took a tuk-tuk straight to our hotel. Cambodia has such an horrific past and as a tourist who wants to enjoy the rejuvenated splendour of Phnom Penh and the amazing temples of Angkor, we owe at least a courtesy to the people to recognise the recent atrocities that the country suffered.
An inner city high school in Phnom Penh before the Khmer Rouge arrived quickly became Security Centre 21 (S-21.) The Khmer Rouge turned the school into a prison and torture centre for citizens who were on the radical communist hit-list; educated, urban, foreign, literate, wealthy, etc. More than 20,000 people who were detained and tortured at S-21 were executed at the nearby Killing Fields. As if the killing of that many people wasnÕt horrific in itself, even more mortifying was the use of play equipment from the school as torture implements by Pol PotÕs men.
The Khmer Rouge in their strangely efficient documentation of torture and execution took photographs of every person executed from S-21, and the curators of the museum that now occupies the buildings of the school turned torture centre have displayed photographs of the victims. Looking at the faces of men, women, children, and even babies was staring into the faces of the condemned. TV, movies and the news can imitate death at their will, but never before have I stared into the faces of people that knew a quick death was the best they could hope for. I left silent and numb, but felt I now had a far better understanding of the country that Cambodia is now, 30 years on.
Our tuk-tuk driver, called Lucky, picked us up and took us to the Killing Fields on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. At S-21 we could see the faces of the victims and at the Killing Fields we could see their bones. As mass-graves are uncovered every year the bones are exhumed and placed in a multi-story stupa on display to visitors to the Killing Fields.
There is no silver lining to the cloud; the country was ÔliberatedÕ by their old enemy Vietnam in 1979, and pushed the Khmer Rouge into the provinces. The country was left devoid of any infrastructure; farms were ruined by aggressive practices, doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, teachers, professors, builders, translators, tourism staff; all were killed. There was no art, dance, music or theatre left in the country.
After my previous few pars it sounds like I spent my time in Cambodia horrified and upset, but strange as it may seem, nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, I was ashamed that no country bar their neighbour Vietnam saw fit to stand up to the Khmer Rouge, or that the Vietnam War that Australia took part in was the very catalyst for the creation of Pol PotÕs guerillas. It feels like every other car on the street is a Toyota or Lexus with a decal of one NGO or another, and whilst itÕs great to see the International Community investing time and money into the country, itÕs a shame we didnÕt involve ourselves earlier and prevent the genocide.
We immersed ourself in the capital not even 30 years since the evil regime had been removed from power, and we found ourselves in a bustling, thriving, beautiful, developing city. The people were honest, generous, loving, and though all were affected by the atrocities they were moving forward and living for today the best they could.
The city boasts a great array of bars and we would have seen more of them if it wasnÕt for a) the potency of their drinks, and b) the cheapness of them ($1 Beer, $2.75 Long Island Iced Teas.) Phnom Penh seemed to attract a different traveller to those we have come across in most of Vietnam, whether it is the fact that it is more expensive, and doesnÕt have as many direct flights, but there seemed to be less package tour operations and more independent, intrepid travellers.
IÕve got a lot to catch up on with this blog, so IÕll finish Phnom Penh here and edit some photos and get it all online. Oh, and for the record, I went with the crepes with chocolate sauce. Twice.
The internet is really struggling here, so once we return to Hanoi on Friday arvo I will bring things back up to speed with photos.
