Tough day!
First we saw the splendour of the Royal Palace where the King still lives, and then the horrors of the atrocities carried out by the Khmer Rouge 1975 – 1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot. We visited the S-21 prison where thousands were interrogated, tortured and then executed without exception was chilling. Worse still was the Killing Fields where thousands were bludgeon to death and placed in mass shallow graves. All this just 40 years ago, while the World did nothing!
We haven’t warmed to Phnom Penh which is dirty, noisey and growing like crazy out of control, fuelled by investment from rich neighbours like China, South Korea and Vietnam. The few French colonial buildings that remain are lost amongst random development around them.
We found peace at a teaching restaurant called Romdeng where the recommended starter is ‘Creepy Crawly Tarantulas with black pepper and lime sauce!
Tomorrow we head for the peace of the countryside and are staying with villagers for 4 nights, so probably no internet or electricity, so don’t expect news until we arrive in Siem Reap on 28th Jan ready to visit the wonders of Angkor Wat.