Phnom Penh; An Emotive Experience

March 31st - 3rd April

Guess who's back, back again, BD's back, tell a friend.

Welcome back everybody! We have quite honestly enjoyed a bit of a break from the blog, but now we're excited to share what we've been up to!

The 31st of March was a great day. The Sprigg clan arrived in Phnom Penh at 9.26pm (to be exact). Dan had made a sign to welcome them which caused much confusion for travellers and taxis alike - many people were intently reading the sign as they exited the arrivals area and taxis looked on puzzled as if they had new competition in town!

Our first night consisted of beer and cocktails (to counteract the fam's jetlag, of course) and games of pool. Boy, had Beth missed them! We gave them a whirlwind travel update and stories that haven't featured in the blog. Oh so exclusive.

The next morning we left the Sunway Hotel (such luxury for us after all the hostels and one room apartments!) and headed for our AirBnB. Oh My Days. This place was b-e-a-utiful. A penthouse in an apartment building covered in plants with restaurant and pool on the roof. (You'd never be able to guess that Beth had been given the task of booking accommodation for the Cambodia trip......).

Being Easter, Mum had been super organised and brought 64 chocolate eggs in her suitcase for an egg hunt. 64. Dan, Vee and I ran around like 5 year olds (some more than others... DAN). It was so nice to feel like a kid after all the planning, paying and 'adulting' that Dan and I had done over the past month.

Mum, Vee and I went for a massage in a local parlour which included dramatic stretches, intense twisting and the masseuse sitting on your back! It wouldn't be a massage abroad without Mum returning the favour and gave her masseuse a powerful KORE treatment.

The girls returned to the lads who were, by this point, a few beers down and had a great evening and dinner on the rooftop.

On the Monday we embarked on some sightseeing, meeting funny and knowledgeable tuktuk driver Mr. San. We visited Wat Ounalom, Wat Phnom and The Royal Palace.

Here we saw a young man with no hands or feet releasing birds from a cage. Later we thought this could have been the result of a landmine, still a prominent and fatal issue in Cambodia since the civil war during the 70s and 80s. Today, there are roughly 40,000 amputees and shockingly there could still be 4-6 million unexploded mines throughout the country.

Tuesday was the day I had been slightly apprehensive about. We visited the Genocide Museum and Killing Fields. Feeling rather naive and ignorant about the history of these places I didn't really know what to expect.

We arrived at the Genocide Museum which had previously been used as a high school, making the visit even more upsetting and harrowing to think of the learning and laughter that had once been.

The audio guide was one of the best I have ever heard. Narrated by a survivor of 'Security Prison 21' (otherwise known as S-21), his voice lead you through the classrooms / cells and interrogation rooms giving you needed time for quiet reflection.

The blood stains, graphic photographs and dents where shackles had once been was sickening. The level of torture carried out during this time was very disturbing, often used to gain 'confessions' from prisoners stating that they had committed treason, a reason to validate executing them.

To be honest, I am a little worried about writing too much information or opinions about these places on the internet. If you would like to learn more I suggest taking the time to google the Khmer Rouge or please message me privately and I'd be happy to answer any questions or just explain the experience in more detail.

I will never forget the feeling of walking through the courtyard with gallows still upright or into a brick cell with small metal pot for human waste. For me, the most distressing sight was the hundreds of photographs in display cases (including a few Westerners). Photos of prisoners would be taken as soon as they arrived at the prison. Some were even smiling, showing the confusion, innocence and heartbreaking situation of 1 in 4 Cambodians through this period (1975-1979). It is estimated that a total of 1.5 to 3 million Cambodians were killed.

The Killing Fields were just as chilling.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit these places all I can say is please be respectful. My family and I were shocked and disgusted to see tourists taking photos throughout the Museum. All I can think is that they did not understand what happened here, they can't have done. We could barely speak let alone photograph the atrocities before us.

Attempting to comprehend what we had seen, we headed back to our apartment.

Later that evening we went on a sunset boat ride but missed the sunset! Ah well, it was still lovely to see Phnom Penh at night from the Mekong River.

We hope you have found this blog post interesting and thought-provoking. Again, please message me on Whatsapp or Facebook for more information. I feel like what happened in Cambodia should be shared, should be known.

Hope you are all well and if in England, enjoying the sun!

Love,

B&D

Boat Cruise

The tiny bananas here are called Banana Eggs!