When we arrived in Phnom Penh we were excited by the
friendly welcome in our hotel (It’s called Somalina now) but had a bit of a hard time to find something to eat
as it was after 10 p.m. and nightlife is only celebrated in tourist areas.
The next morning we rented a Tuk-Tuk to go around the
landmarks of the city. The royal palace and the temple with the silver floor
was pretty especially with the small hill and almost wild sprawling plants.
Especially at night the royal palace is nice to look at from the riverside as
it is brightly illuminated.
Afterwards we visited Wat Phnom and enjoyed the quite and
elevated atmosphere of the Temple.
Visiting the market (Psar Thmei) was more relaxed than
expected. The stalls were almost orderly aligned along the arms of the building,
there was no wet market and at the center there were only fixed stalls for the
jewelery.
After a short visit at Wat Langka and the Independence
Monument we completed our small tour at the national museum, a very cool red buddhistic building.
On the second day we made the
very interesting but also hard to cope with history tour to the Tuol Sleng
Genozide Museum and the Choeung Ek/Killing Fields.
Tuol Sleng was a school first and
was converted in a prison by the Khmer Rouge. They erected walls inside the
rooms in sections which were to small to stand or lie properly. In the yard you
can still see the gallows and pictures of all inmates as well as from the last
murdered on their beds. It is still hard to understand how people can
persecute, discriminate and murder their own kind. They were not incited
against people from other countries or other cultures but randomly against
non-peasants (artist, intellectuals, light colored etc. ).
Going with the Tuk-Tuk out of the
city for some 30 minutes, we visited the Killing Fields as well. When you
arrive a green area with trees, plants and two new buildings. Only after
approaching the tower you notice the skulls inside of the memorial stupa. And
following the fine audioguide you discover depressions as massgraves and pieces
of fabric as real and over 30 years old. The khmer rouge did not even spare
mothers and babies or their own soldiers.
Afterwards we needed some
diversion, went to the Russian Market, had a relaxed dinner at the riverside
and enjoyed the view from our hotel’s rooftarrace.
During our stay in Cambodia we experienced the best Khmer
food in Phnom Penh. Try Khmer Saravan at the Riverside (south of Wat Ounalom)
and Friends near the National Museum.
