Phonm Penh, Cambodia

Yesterday we flew from Taipei to Phom Penh in Cambodia. I have never been to Cambodia so I was thrilled that we were coming here. We are staying for one day in Phom Penh and then one day in Angkor Wat (Siem Reap) and moving on to somewhere new on the third day.

Favorite Scavenges:

#1: Find the glass stupa at Choeung Ek
This is the memorial at the “Killing Fields” just south of town. In the traffic it took us only slightly less than forever - in the searing heat and dust in a moped Tuk Tuk - to get there. But it was so worth the effort. This field was the execution area for the Khmer Rouge. From 1975-1979, Pol Pot ordered that politicians, doctors, professors and really anyone who did not agree with him or his politics be rounded up, imprisoned and often killed. Prisoners were brought by the truck load to the Killing Fields to be executed and thrown into mass graves. The glass stupa horrifyingly holds hundreds and hundreds of human skulls that were dug out of the mass graves. It is one thing to hear about atrocities. It is another – far more sobering thing – to actually come face to face with skulls piled one on top of each other: nameless, faceless reminders of a terrible time in this gentle country.

# 2: Visit S-21 Tuoi Sieng prison for a reality check
While in power, the Khmer Rouge took a high school and turned it into a prison. The prison has been left pretty much the way it was when Pol Pot was overthrown and you can actually walk through the old classrooms that were used as cells and torture chambers. There is also a large exhibit of photographs of some of the people who were imprisoned or killed there as well as some very graphic photos of tortured and very badly beaten political activists. We got there just before closing time so the place was pretty empty and downright creepy. It is like the whole prison is soaked with sorrow and suffering. In the 3 years that the Khmer Rouge took over, they killed 1.7 million people - more than 20% of the entire population of Cambodia at the time. The S21 prison is a scary reminder of what can happen – literally overnight – when cruel people seize power.

#3: Enjoy a foot massage at Seeing Hands Massage
OK – here’s a good idea – take a group of blind children and teach them to do massages. We had to find a Seeing Hands Massage parlor – where all of the employees are blind – and get a foot massage. To be honest, it was not the cleanest place (maybe because they cannot see the condition of the place) and the whole set-up scared Ben to death that he could contract some skin eating disease – but Nanny and I volunteered for the foot massages. Thank god that the scavenge was only for a foot massage because there was really little chance that I was getting undressed and laying down anywhere in that place. Although – on second thought – there is very little I would not do for points. In the end, my massage was odd, different and yet very touching. They do not soak your feet (maybe water is scarce) and my feet were caked with dust from walking so I was little grossed out to start. But they did do a rapid wipe down with a cloth before they started which helped a little. My masseuse was a young man who was both blind and facially deformed and he touched, squeezed and caressed my feet with such a soft and earnest concentration that he really touched my heart.

# 4: Buy a dozen bottles of shampoo, 20 tubes of toothpaste and large tins of cookies at Lucky’s Supermarket. Deliver them to a specific children’s home.
We had to find and shop at a particular local supermarket, load up a Tuk Tuk and head out to the orphanage. We got lost along the way, so by the time we got there, everyone was firmly asleep. We were considering throwing our goodies over the wall but the Tuk Tuk driver rang the bell and knocked and hollered out until two sleepy children came to the door and let us in. They seemed totally overwhelmed with our bags of supplies and cookies but the little girl woke up enough to hug us as we left. The Children’s Village houses 54 children and there is only a dozen or so shoes for them all to share (all piled up by the front door so that the kids just put on whichever pair are on the top of the pile when they head out). Heartbreaking.

And a few thoughts and observations so far about Cambodia.

Observation # 1: The poverty in Cambodia is some times gut-wrenching. I know that it will be worse in India but this is our first real confrontation with it on this trip. Whole families sleeping on the side of the road at night: mother, father and an assortment of little children lying on cardboard right on the pavement with no belongings or shelter. Most children are barefoot – even when walking to school in their school uniform. Our biggest fights this leg have been that Rainey absolutely refuses to bargain with the Tuk-Tuk drivers. Despite the unwavering Cambodian custom to negotiate every ride ahead of time, Rainey has decided that paying a Tuk Tuk driver $4 for a $2 ride will somehow right the karmic fates that gave him his life instead of these people’s. So yes, we have consistently and horribly overpaid for every ride. We are now down a whole $11 in overpaid fares.

Observation # 2: An interesting merge of cultures, Cambodia has fantastic, crusty baguette bread (left over from the French rule) alongside portions of skewered pigeon. On the bus ride out to Angkora Wat (where we are heading as I write this), the air conditioning on our bus stopped working so we had to stop at a small town / village to try and get it fixed (no luck). While there, we had a coke at a local restaurant which has beautiful, ornate ceilings with crown moulding and 200 year old chandeliers. On the table was half a cucumber turned over with 3 sticks covered in caramel stuck into it: a makeshift fly trap that had so many dead customers that you had to eat lunch watching the rotting carcasses of dozens of flies caught in the caramel. What a vision: dead flies on a caramel stick below crown moulding and chandeliers. Yes, we are in the Southeast Asia.