Journeying On...

Cambodian Days and Nights

Chapter 1 Part 2

29th December, 2007: (PM) - Buzzing weirdly from our herb infested pizza, we called on Vutt and got him to bring us to the Tuol Sleng Genocide S-21 Museum (entry USD$3) to relive the horrific days of the Pol Pot Regime. Between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia was run by the Communist Khmer Rouge - with the claim of bringing democracy to Cambodia. The regime's most notorious prison was a transformed high school grounds. Classrooms once filled with learning students were stripped bare and made into chambers of pure torture.

Despite a good thirty years almost passing since the the regime ended, the air still reeked of the pain and suffering and V and I could vividly picture the brutality that went on during the regime. Rooms filled with hundreds of black and white stills of prisoners before they were executed left us with a bitter taste in our mouths, and in a sombre mood. There was nothing to smile about in this place, and all we could do was to offer up our prayers for the souls of the departed, and pray dearly that such carnage never take place again. With the recent Myanmar situation, it's hard to say whether the world is moving forwards of backwards in terms of ataining human rights for everyone and one can only hope that in time, leaders of the world learn to be more responsible in their decision making and stand up for what is fair and just.

The Killing Fields was also another historical visit during our trip and walking the execution grounds put a massive stop in any cheeriness we had before. Notable sights were the tree that the Khmer Rouge used to hang a loudspeaker that muffled the moaning of the brutally murdered as they died. Another tree was used for the battering of children and women. I was sick to the core when I read that the regime was not only cruel, but also cheap - to save on ammunition, beating the prisoners to their death was the form of killling, this being the most inhuman form of murder in my opinion.

Warning!!! Beggars in this unrestricted area are rampant, and while
we felt
sorry for them, we had read multiple warnings in guidebooks NOT to
give anything
to beggars, no matter how pitiful. These child beggars walking
around the fence
aimlessly saddened me. Their hairs were stringy, their feet
bare, their clothes
so weathered and torn. "One dollar please, hello,
please, please, please. One
dollar!" they chorused from the other side of
the fence.

Not being overly enthusiastic about sampling their local fare, I simply couldn't resist trying a local fave - homemade ice-cream in a fresh coconut (I'll input the local name here if i remember!) There are two excellent ice cream shops that make it, and we got our hit of sticky sweet Cambodian ice cream from Mittaheap Ice Cream In Coconut.

Dinner and drinks at Riverhouse Restaurant: We chanced upon Phnom Penh's most established 8 year old fine dining restaurant while strolling along Sisowath Quay. Smartly clad in neat uniforms, English-speaking waiters greeted us and presented us with English menus dishing up French and Khmer fare. For our entre, we decided on Escargots cooked in Onion Garlic Tomato relish and deep fried Cambodian spring rolls. The escargots came piping hot, and so flavourful, 6 didn't seem enough to split between us two. The spring rolls, also piping hot, were pretty similar to the Thai ones, except they were filled with minced meat, and very tasty i might add!

V ordered a Fusilli Carbonara (yes! pasta, again!) and I had Thai Red Curry. Interestingly, the Carbonara came with a raw egg on the top - just like how some fine cuisine cooking shows say Carbonara should be - with the egg added last, and not cooked over heat at all. The dessert was the main highlight of the meal - Chocolate fondant with a scoop of refreshing coconut ice cream. Crisp and light without an inkling of heaviness, the pastry was the best I've ever tasted, and the warm dark chocolate fondant oozing out was heaven for the tastebuds. Chocalate addicts alert - warm melted dark chocolate + coconut ice-cream = Bliss.

Happy hour at Riverhouse ran from 5 - 8pm, with beers (USD$3) and cocktails (USD$4 - 4.50) going at one-for-one. We chose the new bestseller and house concoction River Fresh - a nice tango of zingy fruit flavours with a mean alcohol punch. Catching a tuk-tuk back cost us about USD$2, and we ended up with nicely windswept hair and a perfect 'tak-glam' photo op.

This marked the END of DAY #1 of our stay in Phnom Penh. A tiring, but yet interesting day filled with sights, sounds and people that we'd never come across in our day to day living.

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