Ida Bjerga: One day in P H N O M P E N H

So much history in Cambodia.

Before entering the country we both read "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers", written by Loung Ung. Its only thirty seven years since the Khmer Roughe marched into Phenom Phen and embarked on a killing frenzy that decimated nearly half og the country´s population, destroyed its infrastructure and laid waste to a magnificent cultural heritage. The book is a autobiography about Loung Ungs own experiences during the Khmer Rouge years - she was trained as a child soldier in a work camp and seperated from her family. The book is really touching and gave us an insight to the countrys history.

We only stayed for one day in Phnom Penh, but because of good planning and a list of recommendation from my lovely cuisin Henriette, we got to see and do alot. We booked a tuktuk driver to pick us up early in the morning, and to drive us around the whole day.

Henriettes guide to Phnom Phen

First stop was The Killing Fields. The Killing Fields are a former orcharde and graveyard where more than 17 000 civilians where tortured to dead, killed, and buried in mass graves by the Khmer Roughe regime. On the site there is still pits from which the bodies were exhumed, and human bones and teeth can be seen. In the center of the area there is a glass stupa with more than 8000 skulls from the mass graves.

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek is located 15 kilometers outside Phnom Phen and is open daily.

The Killing Fields of Cheung Ek

Next stop was the S21 Prison. S-21 was a high school which Pol Pot turned into a secret prison operated from mid 1975 to the end of 1978. The prisoners at S-21 where mainly "traitors" from inside the Khmer Rouge. Upon arrival at S-21 the prisoners were photographed, tortured to confess the crimes they where charged with and executed later in the Killing Fields. There were 20 000 people imprisoned at S-21, and only seven known survivors.

In the afternoon we walked around in the area close to our hostel and did some sightseeing of over own. We had lunch by the riverside, saw the Kings Place, walked around in some artstreets - street number 178 and 240 were cool, and went for a snack at the Central Marked.