Home » Cambodia » Sihanoukville, Kampot, Bokor Hill, Battambang, Angkor, Mondulkiri, Phnom Penh

May - June 2003

Sihanoukville, Kampot, Bokor Hill, Battambang, Angkor, Mondulkiri, Phnom Penh

Brett Voegele
2005-11-18 18:30:01

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wasn't much to do in the area I ate the cost and decided to do an elephant ride the next day from a small village in the area. I shouldn't have. First of all, the moto driver that took me to the village hit some mud (the content of the soil makes it extremely slippery when wet) and dumped me....quite an entrance to the village. Secondly, I'd seen the landscape the previous day on the motorcycle. Last, having ridden elephants before, I knew their gate to be slow and uncomfortable for the rider. On previous trips at least I was riding on something where I could stretch my legs. This time I was cooped up in a 2' X 3' basket. However, I guess I must not have looked uncomfortable enough on the way out to the waterfall, as for the return trip my elephant handler shared the basket with me. In all, I spent a bit over 4 hours on the elephant, but it was actually a lot of money to be bored, uncomfortable, and dumped in the mud.

Phnom Penh

From Sen Monorom I took a pickup for the 7 hour ride back to Phnom Penh. I spent a few days wandering around and seeing the sites. Like Angkor, I'd been in Phnom Penh in '99 to see the major sites, but needed to see them again...they're extremely sobering. Fifteen kilometers outside of town are the Killing Fields where the Pol Pot regime executed 17,000 people. Most were bludgeoned to death, as they didn't want to waste money on a bullet. Bones and pieces of clothing can still be seen around many of the mass-burial graves. A glass pagoda containing more than 8000 skulls stands as a tribute to those who lost their lives.

Within Phnom Penh is the Tuol Sleng Museum. It was a high school, but under the Khmer Rouge became Security Prison 21 (S-21), where thousands were detained and tortured. During the first part of 1977, S-21 claimed an average of 100 victims a day. In '99 there was a large wall-sized map of Cambodia made of human skulls, but it was deemed inappropriate and removed. Still there are the black and white pictures of the victims. It drives home the atrocities when you see the young, innocent face of someone you know was killed in such a brutal fashion - and for no reason. Also still there are the stark rooms where victims were beaten. The rooms are bare except for a bedspring and some chains or restraints for the victim's hands and feet. The floor is a checkerboard pattern of 6" square tiles - white and red/orange. A black and white picture shows the room as it looked in the late '70s - identical to what you see before you now, except for the lifeless body on the bed and the puddle on the floor....blood. The museum also shows exhibits on the various forms of torture utilized by the Khmer Rouge. Not a cheerful place, but something definitely worth seeing.

Phnom Penh is one of the few places where you are actually offered something different by the street touts....Moto? No. Taxi? No. Smoke? No. Girl? No. Shoot? Huh? There is a shooting range just outside of the city, so I went out there one day. I didn't shoot, but I wanted to see the place for myself. It actually seemed to be run relatively safely. Funniest part is the menu:

AK-47 - 30 rounds - $20

M-16 - 30 rounds - $30

UZI - 30 rounds - $30

Hand Grenade - 1 - $20

Rocket Launcher - 1 - $200

There were also several handgun and machine gun options. The ability to blow up a cow with the rocket launcher appears to be an urban myth - at least it isn't a menu option. However, knowing Cambodia I'm sure it's possible if you have the money.

I really enjoyed my time in Cambodia, as the people were very friendly, and there was much to see and do.