Phnom Penh - crazy mixture of emotions

So we set out this morning with the friendly tuk tuk driver Martin who helped us find a hotel last night and insisted he take us around the city today- he had such a big smile we couldn't say no. In fact most of the people here are all smiles- which has surprised me I don't know why.

We went straight to the Tul Sleng Museum to satisfy my appetite for modern history. This was a highschool that was converted into a prison in 1975 under Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge- they drove the people out of the city and into the country side to work while taking all the educated people from both city and country and locking them here where they were tortured in the cruelest of ways and eventually taken to the killing fields and executed (if they didn't die in prison first). I can't reall express in writing what this place felt like- but as soon as we faced the entrance I knew why Martin had chosen to park his tuk tuk and himself around the corner and away. The atmosphere and energy were unlike anything I have ever felt before and I very nearly couldn't get past the ticket booth. I felt nauseated and headachey before we even got inside. But something inside me pressed me on- I think its important to understant this history so we don't let it happen again (even though it is happening in various places around the world- sadly!). The buidlings were as they were and you could tell it had been a school at one point which only added to the eerieness- a place of education and innocence usually. We wandered through the classrooms turned cells which were dirty and not really sanitised for "tourist consumption". But the worst part was the photo exhibition. Every prisoner to come to this place was photographed - even the children and babies. Women were not excluded from the prison either. These photographs lined the walls and the vacant stares of the people was haunting. I can't really write much more because it overwhelmed me in such a way that I think I have already blocked some of it from my mind. I found it extremely hard to breathe and got quite teary. It was not a pleasant experience but I don' t regret going- it has enlightened me so much about Cambodian history and given me a new insight into the contemporary people.
When we returned to Martin he opened up and told us about his experiences as a child under Pol Pot. His emotions were still extremely raw and I still can't beleive he told us so much. His father was killed by the Khmer Rouge soldiors and Martin witnessed it. He had his hands bound, blindfolded adn while music played to cover the sounds of murder he was pushed down a well to drown. Martin also lost other members of his extended family. His father was killed when his mother was 7 months pregnant. His little sister is now 31 and her birth marks the year of their fathers death. MArtin was about7 or 8 and he was also forced to work- all the children had to collect both the animal and human shit to use as fertilizer on the rice fields. They were woken up at 6am and worked til 12- have an hour to eat rice soup (about 10 spoons each which was mostly water) and then back to work until 6. Then more rice soup and meetings of indoctrination- then sleep at 9- wake at 6 again. They weren't allowed to talk at niht- they would be killed. Basically the Khmer Rouge aimed to break up family groups, destroy connections, remove educated people so there was no risk of an uprising.

After this Martin took us to the killing fields which are slightly out of town. Neither of us were sure we really wanted to go after this but we didn't say anything. TheKilling fields were where people were taken to be killed and thrown into mass graves. These graves were dug up in the 1980s and now the skulls of the dead are displayed in this massive monument. Its quite weird but I didn't feel as off at the fields as I did at the prison even though such horrible things happened here. The energy here was more peaceful and calm- I suppose once your dead nothing can hurt you anymore.

After this we had had enough of depressing history and Martin took us for lunch at a local (very local) eating house. There were no other tourists and no english menus so Martin ordered some dishes for us- which turned out to be very tasty. I was surprised considering we were sitting at tables with rubbish all on the ground. Not really bad rubbish just paper but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that i don't get sick. Martin was such a cool genuine guy he just chatted on about Cambodian history, culture and his own life and family. He is dedicated to giving his 3 daughters a good education and is paying for the eldest to attend public school as well as English and Chinese schools. he also helps his community as he was involved in setting up water wells for country villages etc. He hates the political party here which is completely corrupt and is saddened by the fact that many of his peers spend all their money gambling and drinking and complain when he has a house and his daughters are at school. But he only earns about 80 US dollars per week. We gave him 20 bucks for the day (he asked for 15) and we shouted him lunch and a drink etc. through the day adn still felt like we were ripping him off.

After lunch he took us to a small orphanage. Before we went we stopped off to buy some rice to give to the kids- we got about 25 kilos - wish we could have coughed up the 50 bucks for 60 kilos but I suppose something is better than nothing. When we arrived the 6 kids that were at the Orphanage (the other 17 were at school) rushed out immediately and threw their arms around us- I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome. They tugged at our hands and led us around to show us their beds and one little imp had a great time jumping all over Tim. One of the little boys also was an expert on our camera and had a great time taking shots and videos. I felt sad to have to take it off him when we left. They were so full of excitement it was a nice change to the feelings of the prison. It was weird to have these random kids hugging you and not letting go when in australia you could get arrested for that kind of thing!

Next we went to a temple on a hill in the middle of the city. IT was pretty cool- but coolest of all were the many monkeys on the hill! Monkey Town part 2- oh how I love monkeys! We have many more photos now!

This marked the end of our day. Tomorrow we head to Siem Reip by bus- there are heaps of things to see in that area so we thought we would get there asap. It was sad to say goodbye to Martin who was such a cool guy. When we paid him he was so genuinely grateful that we had employed him for the day and said we were helping his daughters be educated- which was nice to know as an educator and just as a Stephie and a Tim. I have felt so weird that we have been touring around these poor countries and now I feel that we have at least made a very small contribution to someone. I would love to come back here and do some volunteer work at that orphanage. The kids could speak a little English and I'm sure would benefit from help with reading and writing and speaking and just generally some attention- whcih is what they seem to crave the most.