This time, Phnom Phen was taken to trial, and we showed it who was boss. Actually, we really only spent 2 days there, and we have moved on to Saigon (Ho Chi Mein City) in Vietnam. And so follows the story of Phnom Phen.
We arrived in PP on Thursday afternoon, a good time to get a lay of the land, and find a place to stay. The girls took a load off of their feet while myself and Trevor ran up and down Sisawath Quay (the main street in PP) looking for the best deal we could. Eventually, $20 a night for the 4 of us was the rate we found…The girls had already spent that in Diet Coke!
The rest of the evening was kinda fun. Trevor and I went for a long walk around PP, just getting lost. We found a Buddhist Ceremony taking place at a small temple across from the Royal Palace. Trevor took place in the ceremony by buying 2 birds ($0.25), and releasing them into the air. He also purchased some incense, and flowers as an offering to Buddha, and fought the crowd to get into the tiny temple. I sat on the sideline and acted as photographer.
The rest of the walk was filled with a full education in the Cambodian Culture:
- We watched some street dancers, some as young as about 7 years old.
- We were in attendance for some Cambodian line dancing. This group of people were enjoying some Traditional Cambodian dance music while grooving in formation. Trev and I laughed quietly, making sure we wouldn’t offend the locals.
- Just across the square, a few of the local teens were playing a game of kick ball with a wicker ball, a little smaller than the size of a volleyball. Watching those kids accurately swat the ball back and forth like a hacky-sack was impressive in its own right.
- A short walk through a PP Mall left us wondering if we were the only white people within BLOCKS! No English was to be found, and we felt a little out of our element. It was awesome.
Upon arriving back at the hotel, I discovered that the travel partners were a little tuckered out, so I headed out on the town solo. 6 Angkor Beers later, I had made new friends including a German, 3 Irish, and 3 Cambodian waitresses at the restaurant I was at.
That brings us to day 2 in PP, and plans were to see something that I have wanted to see for a long time…The Killing Fields of Cambodia. I wasn’t really sure what to expect of the fields, and the equivalent S.21, which is a school that Pol Pot turned into an internment camp and torture buildings. I had been to Aschwitz 4 years ago, so I really wanted to compare the 2 horrible events.
S.21 was just downright chilling, in my eyes. You had a chance to walk through the cells that the Khumer Rouge held their prisoners captive for days and days, only removing them for interrogations, and torture. Paintings and pictures depict the brutality of said events, from pulling out finger nails, and pouring alcohol on the wounds, to lashes and electrocution, to just plain beatings with iron pipes. When the Khmer were finished with the prisoners they would load them, 20-30 at a time onto trucks, haul them the 15 kms out to the killing fields, and kill them there, as soon as they got there, dumping their body into the mass graves.
The Khmer Rouge killed over 2 million of their own people. Lawyers, Politicians, doctors, Monks, and anyone else with enough brain cells to rub together to know what was going on was an atrocity. As the sign at the killing fields said, ‘The Pol Pot regime sent Cambodia back to the stone age.’
Overall, I was fascinated with S.21, and slightly unimpressed with the killing fields, but all and all, learning about the genocide of an entire nation was interesting, yet sobering. Everyone in Canada should have to understand what exactly goes on in the world outside of our boarder. …And the strange part about this one is that it was only 30 years ago. 1 generation ago. Scary.
On return from the killing fields, it was time to take a look at the National Museum of Cambodia, which happened to be only a couple blocks from our Guesthouse. As we made our way though the busy streets, we started to feel a few sprinkles on our head…The clouds were darkening, and the heavens were about to open up. So we sprinted into the Natl. museum just as the heavens burst open, soaking everything in its path.
We cruised the museum, half out of interest in the statues and carvings from Angkor, and half out of necessity since it was raining cats and dogs. When our touring was complete, the rain wasn’t. We walked onto the veranda to see an amazing sight. The water was 2/3 the way up the tires of the cars in the lot. It had risen over knee deep in front of the museum. Once the rain had stopped, we had no choice but to pull up the socks, and trek through the merky water to get back to the hotel.
It was actually pretty fun. Kids were swimming in the flash flood. Cars would drive by, creating waves, motorbikes would haul through the water, muffler submerged, bubbling for life. The locals loved seeing some white folk slopping around with them. Many giggles were thrown our way, and more smiles were tossed in our direction. Every kid wanted to have their snapshot taken with the camera that Michele was wielding.
It was almost sad to see the higher ground nearing. Who knew that playing in the muddy water on the PP streets could be so fun? After all, it’s all about experiences. This was just another one to remember.
That night, we went back, and hung out with the Cambodian girls at the bar I was at the previous night. This time, though, Bec and Michele joined me. I mean, we only had to be up at 5am to catch a bus. Why not have beer after beer, with shots mixed in between.
Needless to say, 5am came early. Some of us were feeling it more than others…I will preface this story by saying now, at 10pm at night, my stomach is still giving my troubles, and it wasn’t the booze! …As you have already guessed, I had a slight ‘reversal’ in the morning time as we were packing to leave the room. I left the hotel chugging O.J…Bad decision. When we arrived at the bus station, oops, reversal #2 in front of the other patrons that were going to embarking on a 6 hr. journey with me.
The ride from Phnom Phen was uneventful, other than the fact I had to try my damndest not to puke again for the first 2 hrs of the trip. Oh, and that the bus hit a cow on the road, killing it instantly, and causing the bus to come to a screeching halt, awaking the snoozing travelers. I found it pretty funny, other than the fact the cow died.
We are now in Saigon (officially known as Ho Chi Mein City…Locals still prefer to call it Saigon, as do I). We arrived at 2pm this afternoon, just enough time to be baffled by the amount of motorcycles on the street, and to be abused by the women in the local market. Their sales tactics seem to be a little more aggressive than anywhere else I have ever seen. I was actually punched twice, slapped on the arm twice, and whipped with a t-shirt once. But I did also buy a new bottle of cologne for under $5, so I consider it a win.
Tomorrow, we are off to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are the tunnels the Viet Cong used to defeat the Americans in the ‘American War’. After that, its heading to the ‘War Remnants Museum’ which shows old American tanks, helicopters, bombs, etc. Should be a good education in the war that tore this country in two.
After Saigon, we’re not really sure where we are heading, but we are leaning towards a beach town called Mui Ne (Moo-Nee). Its been more than 2 weeks since Michele has seen a beach, so she is getting her wish.
I am really digging Saigon so far. Its got a very cool vibe to it. Let me see it for another 2 days, and I will go into more detail about what I mean.
In the meantime, and in between time, GO FLAMES!!!!! Seems like I am going to be missing a lot in the next 20 hrs…NFL Draft (Seahawks draft #4), and Flames-Blackhawks game 5. This is one day I really wish I was back home.
Just this one day…That’s it.
Good Times from Saigon,
MB
Sounds like a great time Marty, don't suppose you are anywhere around an area called Phan Theit (or at least it used to be)? Kinda on the ocean, maybe a few hours east of where you are now. Big base during the war, know a guy that was stationed there, just curious about it. Enjoy Chu Chi although doubt you'll be able to fit unless they've opened up them up some in 40 years. Enjoy!
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