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With only 4 days left, our trip was winding down, wanting to make the most of our precious time in Cambodia and trying to see as much as we could. The last leg of our trip took us to Sihanoukville for some beach time, Phnom Penh for some urban life, and finally one last wild night out with the boys in Saigon before heading back to Japan.
Wish I Could Go Back to the Dolphin Shack
Casey Lary2007-04-27 21:24:40
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The next day Jeff and I were up early and got to see the beautiful sunrise, although the purpose of rising was not for that, but to catch our bus back to Phnom Penh. Jeff's moto driver got lost and I was afraid we were going to miss the bus (fear of leaving Jeff behind #1). Fortunately the moto driver came through, and we found ourselves back in Phnom Penh by eleven.
We hired a tuk-tuk for the day to drive us around the sights of Phnom Penh. I have decided that Phnom Penh is one of the dirtiest cities I have ever been in! Behind the dirt and grime I was able to admire the beautiful buildings adorned with French architecture. The people all still wore the krama like everyone else in Cambodia. All women rode the motos side-saddle (except for me!). There were more cars in Phnom Penh than Saigon. Although the cities were similar in many ways, they were also very different, fitting the famous Southeast Asian quote, 'Same Same but Different.' I even bought a shirt sporting the quote. We first went to S-21, or the Tuol Sleng Museum. We knew that it was not going to be a happy day of sightseeing in Phnom Penh. Most sights are reminders of the death and torture under the Khmer Rouge Empire. S-21 was originally a high school that was turned into prison and torture center for people who spoke out against Pol Pot. It grew to be one of the largest in Cambodia. Hundreds of people were detained and tortured here. I felt the same way about his place as I did when I was walking through the concentration camp in Austria. After that we headed out to Choeung Ek Killing Fields. After S-21, the prisoners were sent here to be killed. Getting there was quite the adventure. Halfway there the paved roads disappeared and we were off-roading it, our driver Hueng doing his best to keep us on the road and out of potholes. The Killing Fields were not as harrowing as S-21. The most gruesome part was a large building which had a tower of real skulls in the center. Other than that
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See photographs from:
Cambodia Gallery
