Road to Phenom Phen
The choice was ‘mini bus’ or private taxi. After looking into the prices we decided that it was well worth spending forty dollars on a private taxi to make the nearly 4 hour drive rather than spend sixteen dollars in a sweat box. The ride was pure luxury even if the roads to Phenom Phen were not. The main road was paved partially in the center and the remainder was gravel. I knew there must be some logic behind the madness but I couldn’t determine any real set of road rules. There were tons of large vehicles including semis that crawled along on the paved portion of the road while faster cars and tuk tuks had to pass on the gravel sides. It felt like it would make more sense to have the larger slow vehicles on the unpaved part but what do I know.
Anyone not in a closed vehicle had to be wearing a mask because of all the debris kicked up by the traffic. It’s impossible to imagine not wearing goggles or a full helmet on a bike. It really was a complete free for all with vehicles passing on any side at any time. The most insane part to me was watching small children on their bicycles on the sides of the road with semis, tuk tuks, tractors, trucks, cars, and motorbikes flying past. I imagined my niece, who is in grade 5, biking down Yellowhead Trail in Edmonton (without a helmet).
I enjoyed the ride. Andre chose not to look for the most part. He felt it was better to not see what was coming.
Short Stay
We chose to go to Phenom Phen (our 35th destination) primarily to break up the journey to Siem Reap. We only stayed for two nights, which was enough for us. The most popular tourist things to do are to visit the grounds of the Royal Palace, tour S21 (now a genocide museum, it was a secondary school which was used as a Security Prison 21 by the Khmer Rouge), and go to the killing fields. On our way out of the lobby of our hotel I heard a woman at the front desk cheerfully and enthusiastically giving information to a guest, telling her that the killing fields were only about an hour away. I found it impossible to wrap my head around what I had just heard, or more the way it was delivered I should say. Spoken as casually and as chipper as talking about the nearest mall. It was truly bizarre.
I know it’s a very popular tourist activity and I understand people wanting to learn about the history of the Khamer Rouge, but personally I just don’t feel that I need to visit the sites of terrible atrocities to appreciate the gravity and horror of those events. In the past I have gone to concentration camps in Germany and while I found it overwhelmingly sad that is not the reason I would avoid them in the future. It was more that I felt inappropriate being in such a place with a tour group. It felt disrespectful somehow and exploitative.
During our stay in Kampot Mr. Leng had spoken openly with us about his experiences growing up during the time of the Khmer Rouge. I could listen to people tell their stories every day and I am grateful Mr. Leng shared some of his with us. For me those individual stories, whether delivered in person, through documentaries, or books, are how I prefer to learn and better understand those devastating historical events. Not by walking through a building and viewing instruments that were used to torture or looking at a tree against which children and babies were beaten.
Unexpected Events
While in Phenom Phen we spent time relaxing and walking around the waterfront. Heading toward that area on the first day we came across a funeral procession. At first we didn’t realize what we were seeing as hundreds of monks strode down the street. Once I clued in I stopped filming. I wasn’t sure it was appropriate, but then I noticed that many of the monks were recording on their phones while in the procession so I caught a bit of the end. It was quite spectacular to see. I tried to find out who the funeral was for but was unable to get a reliable answer. A few people said it was a monk, online I found an article about a princess that had passed away but her funeral procession had been earlier that morning and the photograph that was being carried that you see in the video is a man…
We also went to check out visit the grounds of the Royal Palace. The temperatures have been very hot and you must have your knees and shoulders covered to enter. Andre was less than enthused. I love being hot but it was even a bit much for me, wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt. The grounds were quite beautiful but I can only look at so many ornate pavillions and pagodas before i become bored. Luckily there was a bit of action during this outing.
As we wandered around I saw a cat lurking in the bushes around a statue of King Norodom. I watched the little stalker as it pounced and caught a bird. I was possibly more excited about my Animal Planet experience than I was about seeing the Royal Palace.
145 days in…
Last stop, Siem Reap.