Cambodia: Part One

After we landed in HCMC, and spent the night, we hopped on "The Mekong Express Bus"-greatest bus we've ever been on- to Phnom Penn, Cambodia . It had great leg room, a foot rest (the best!), reclining seats that actually reclined, complimentary water and pastries, a toilet (much needed on a 7 hour journey) and even wifi (basically only worked enough to check emails but still)! Anyone heading to SEA, we would highly recommend The Mekong Express (to, from and within Cambodia). We arrived in Phnom Penh after a fairly easy border crossing and bus ride, we checked into a hostel type hotel equipped with a little pool (much needed with the extreme heat). We found out just before we arrived that the King of Cambodia had died three months prior but that this week was when they would parade his body up and down the capital's streets and later cremate him near the river for everyone to watch. Little did we know that this meant everything would be closed during those days and getting a tuk tuk or any other kind of transportation would be extremely difficult. Luckily, we arrived two days before the start of the parade and we able to go and see some of the sites. 

For those of you that are unaware (or need a little refresher), Cambodia experienced a genocide from 1974-1979 in which a quarter of their population, just over two million men, women and children were brutally murdered by a Cambodian political group called the Khmer Rouge (also referred to as the Pol Pot regime...Pol Pot was the leader). Being that Phnom Penh was and still is the capital, many of the murders occurred in and around this city. We were able to visit the Killing Fields, one of 300 in the country, where Cambodians were sent (much like the concentration camps) to their deaths. This particular killing field we went to was one of the largest with burial sites still visible to interested visitors. Once at the fields we were given a pair of headphones and a recorder that would describe in detail what we were looking at by a Cambodian who once was at this site. It was absolutely heart wrenching to listen to and to see exactly the spot where thousands were murdered and buried. There were numerous "mass graves" which essentially were  just small pits that over four hundred men were buried. Other graves, with just as many people, were for women and children only. I can't even begin to describe to you the emotions running through everyone that were at this field. On site there was also a large tower/building that was a couple of storey's high that had 17 levels in it filled with over 8000 skulls of those that were murdered on site. You could even see bullet holes in the skulls...absolutely the scariest and saddest thing to see. 

Despite the horrible history that Cambodia has been through, the people are surprisingly happy and thankful. They, so far, have been the nicest people that we have encountered on our travels and it is just so amazing to witness their positivity despite what they have been through. It was shocking to realize that this occurred only 30 years ago. 

After the Killing Fields, we went to a nearby high school that was turned into a prison for both men and women. Cambodians were thrown in jail (many of them murdered here as well) for reasons such as they had soft hands or that they were "intellectuals". Anyone who did not follow the rules of the Khmer Rouge were instantly tortured. The "prison" consisted of old school rooms being divided into roughly 30 cells (only big enough to stand up and lay down). To be able to walk through these rooms and enter the cells was something I will never forget. Just picturing in my mind what would happen in these cells was enough to make me feel sick. The history of this country is incredible and it is shocking to know that something like this could happen at anytime to any country. Outside of the buildings sat an old man who at one point was a prisoner and now selling books detailing his story. His entire family had been brutally murdered, including his children, and he was thrown in jail and tortured. He was only saved because at some point one of the soldiers had found out that he was good at fixing typewriters. Despite this mans horrific life, he was so positive and wrote in his book that he actually was not angry with any of the soldiers who had treated him so poorly and who had murdered his family. He had forgiven them as he said they were only doing as they were told  (from their leader, Cambodian, Pol Pot). It is disgusting that someone would want to start a genocide against their own people. As I later read in a history of Cambodia, the Pol Pot regime gained followers around the time when the US was invading Vietnam. Because many Vietnamese had fled to Cambodia, the US was bombing Cambodia and a result killing many people. Pol Pot had told the Cambodians to stand up and fight and from that, the genocide apparently started. 

Needless to say that day was a very somber and painful one but we are so glad that we were able to experience a part of their horrible history and learn more about Cambodia in general. 

After our day in the Killing Fields and the prison we were able to share in a day that will go down in Cambodian history-the day that the Kings' body would be paraded around the city. Everyone was dressed in white tops and black pants, in mourning for the king (even though it had been 3 months since he had passed). The streets were filled with thousands and thousands of mourners waiting to see the kings body (in a casket) paraded down the street. It was amazing to see the amount of people flooding the streets showing their respects and their absolute love for their beloved king. Despite the fact that everything was closed (including many streets), we were happy we were able to experience this important day in Cambodian history. 

I'm going to split this blog into two as well, as it is quite lengthy. More of an upbeat blog about the rest of our Cambodia travels will be up shortly!