[Phnom Penh, Cambodia] We decided to take a walk (not so easy with tak-taks hounding you) to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. I have to admit that my knowledge of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge was limited to an Eddie Izzard’s sketch, the LP guide and recent news stories about the ongoing trials of the surviving leaders. None of that prepared us for the horrors of S-21. The place was once a school but during 4 years of the Pol Pot regime it was converted into an interrogation and detention centre where men, women and children were brutally tortured and murdered. It was depressing to walk around but educational – we need to learn a lot more about what happened here in 1975. The short story that we understood (obviously it is a lot more complex): Pot needed 2 million people to create a utopia run by an extreme form communism. The country had 8 million people at the time, so any reason to murder the ‘excess’ was acceptable. It always amazes me just how barbaric human beings can be. Give me a time machine and after buying a few lottery tickets I’ll happily cruise through history armed with a pile of oral contraceptives so I can spike a few drinks and eliminate all traces of psychopaths like Pot.

To cheer ourselves up we grabbed a tak-tak and headed for the riverfront for lunch. We found a great little spot to eat. Great because it is the first time we have ever seen ‘chip butty’ on a restaurant menu. A local beer (we are getting frighteningly good a drinking beer) and a butty put a grin back on my face in no time. V, meanwhile, was challenged and beaten by an excellent but oversized roast beef sandwich. Next stop was the national museum for a taste of what is coming in Siem Reap. A small, beautifully presented museum, it was a pleasure to stroll around – they’ve taken a cue from the British museum with the layout and adjusted it to suit the climate – it’s great. Now we’re really excited to get to Angkor !

The last stop of the day was the Royal Palace complex and Silver Pagoda. Reminiscent (to me) of the palace in Bangkok, just smaller and infinitely less crowded, it was wonderful. Perfectly manicured gardens, ornate buildings and brilliant colours greeted us. It’s how a ‘Palace’ should look – nothing like those boring Russian ones. The throne hall is truly ‘Royal’ – it’s always ‘good to be the king’ – with soft blues adding to the gold and silver making it less gaudy than others we’ve seen.

The Silver pagoda was also a pleasant surprise. ‘Silver’ because the floor is tiled with solid silver tiles – I was looking everywhere for a silver coloured building 🙂 It contains lots of jewelery – the centre piece being a large Buddha statue with 9000 diamonds, one of which is 25 carats. V preferred the tiny and intricately decorated jewelery boxes – phew 😉

[Pictures: The View from the upper floor of S-21. Now THAT is a Palace !]

– Posted from my iPhone via WiFi