Very intense day - warning in advance

Although my afternoon was lovely, my morning was incredibly intense ... so "warning" to some that you might want to skip over some of these photos and even part of the text.

To start on a lighter note though, I met up with the group I'll be travelling around Cambodia with last night and I think we're going to be a really good group.  There are two couples (one from GB and one from New Zealand) four other single women (from Australia, U.S.A., Italy and Canada) and two single men (from Australia and Norway) - so we're a fairly international group but I think we're going to have a good time together.

So - this morning was "history" morning ... and as most of you know, the history here in Cambodia hasn't been very pleasant for the past 35 years, and our two stops this morning were very emotional.

To backtrack a bit - our overall guide for the whole tour is a local Cambodian fellow (he grew up in Siem Reap) which is really nice, and then in some of the areas where we'll be touring they use an even more local guide - someone who actually lives in that particular area.  So our guide this morning was a local fellow from Phnom Penh - who as a child lived through the years of the Khmer Rouge regime.

Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Museum.  This is Svay Prey High School that was taken over by Pol Pot and became Security Prison 21 (S-21).  The classrooms were turned into torture chambers and equipped with various instruments to inflict pain, suffering and death.  It became the largest incarceration centre in the country.
The Khmer Rouge were meticulous about keeping records, and so there is a photograph of every prisoner who passed through S-21.  When the Vietnamese liberated Phnom Penh in 1979 there were only 7 prisoners still alive - more than 17 000 lost their lives in this one centre alone.

(Reminder again - some of these photos are a bit explicit)

 (The graves of the last 14 prisoners to die in S-21)

Our second stop was the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.  Most of the 17 000 detainees held at S-21 were executed here at Choeung Ek.  Here there is a memorial stupa displaying more than 8000 skulls of victims that have been found in the last 30 years.

Perhaps fittingly, today's rain happened while we were at Choeung Ek, so although that meant fewer pictures, it really wasn't the sort of place you can capture in pictures anyway.

(And again - just a reminder again that some of these pictures you may find upsetting!)

Not only was the whole morning incredibly emotional just being there - but to really realize how much in our recent past this happened is also incredible.  As a child our guide and his family, along with ALL (over 1 000 000) the residents of Phnom Penh, were forced to leave the city and go and work in the country.  Our guide has vivid memories of working in the fields as a child - and he lost his father and 5 siblings during the regime.
I can only imagine how difficult, and yet necessary, it must be for current Cambodians to tell their history.  And there is an overwhelming feeling of "moving forward", despite the fact that many people who served as Pol Pot's soldiers are still alive, living and working as members of society today.
Less than 15% of the population in Cambodia now is over the age of 65 - yes life expectancy is lower but the real reason is because so many people lost their lives between 1975 and 1979.    The population of Cambodia was reduced by over half during that time period.

I really needed an afternoon where I didn't have to think - and so I headed out on a boat trip along the Tonle Sap and Mekong Rivers.  It was a totally enjoyable couple of hours and I just watched the scenery roll past.

(the ferry that crosses regularly from one side of the Mekong to the other)

(this fishing boat is also home the family)

(what better place to leave your laundry to dry?)

Although our destinations this morning weren't too "pleasant", as always there was tonnes to see along the way:

(Schooling is technically compulsory although still today only about 20% of children do go to school. Although it's free to register, everything else must be paid for - the uniform, all books and supplies, lunch and even a supplement for the teachers because the government wage is so poor.)

(how do you like electricity here?)

And as I've gotten into a bit of a habit of doing, just sitting and watching the local people is fascinating.

Now I know I've said this before ... but I am leaving Phnom Penh tomorrow and I honestly think I'm not going to have quite as consistent access to WiFi.  So again, if there's no post for a while you'll know why.