Off On Our Next Adventure

Making Our Way to Phnom Penh

The journey to Phnom Penh by van was straightforward, although it took slightly longer than expected, arriving at 4pm instead of 3pm.

First, we were dropped off by Rath at the bus station in the AKD tuktuk. It was amazing that we managed to squeeze all our luggage in with us on the four seater tuktuk, but then we shouldn’t have been surprised, having already witnessed countless other examples of heavy loads being towed by motorcycles!

Okay Palace Hotel

On arrival in Phnom Penh, we were greeted by a late afternoon rain shower and were glad that we had access to Grab again, so we could call a car to take us to our hotel.

We were staying just behind the Royal Palace in the city, near the riverfront, another last-minute booking bargain. It had the somewhat mediocre name of the Okay Palace Hotel, which didn’t inspire much confidence. The hotel foyer was grand and beautiful, although we discovered that the advertised pool and breakfast was actually next door at the sister hotel, the Okay Boutique Hotel. This wasn’t a bad thing, because it was a slightly fancier place with friendlier, more helpful staff.

Our room was lovely, and the bathroom had the most incredible shower we’ve encountered on our travels so far, with six different shower settings!

In the alleyway outside, there were various shops and motorbike carts that came along selling their wares. There were also plenty of tuktuk drivers waiting for fares.

On our first evening out, we went for a short walk around the local area to find some dinner and wandered down a street that had lots of restaurants and bars on it. We found somewhere pleasant for dinner, and Leo was happy as he was able to order a burger, his favourite. They looked great, so Anna and I followed suit!

An Evening Swim

After our dinner out, we returned so that the kids could have a night swim in the beautiful rooftop swimming pool. The evening view from the rooftop was gorgeous. We pretty much had a 360-degree view of the city, and on our second night there, we were treated to an incredible fireworks display for Pchum Ben, the Cambodian festival of the dead.

A Laptop Disaster by Leo

When we first got to Phnom Penh, my computer wasn’t turning on, so I plugged it in, but after 2 hours, it still wasn’t turning on. So, we had to go to fix it. The day after we arrived, we left the hotel and went to the first place that Mum had found online. We walked down the road it was on, but it was closed. Then we went to the next store around the corner. I thought it was a battery issue, and they would give me a fake unbranded battery made in Beijing that would explode the day after being inserted, but we found out it had great reviews and it looked really promising. But it would take them 3 days because it was a holiday weekend and their manager was away, so we went to another store that they recommended because we were leaving after 2 days.

When we arrived at the next store, the staff were playing RuneScape. But they stopped when we told them about the issue. They went to the back and had a look at my laptop. It turned out it was a shocked motherboard from plugging it into a faulty power source, so we left it there to get fixed. When we came back the next day, it was done about 18 hours earlier than expected, and we picked it up. They hadn’t even replaced it. They just repaired it! The only downside is that they didn’t have time to completely fix the startup. Every time I shut my computer, it powers off, so it closes all my apps, and I must start it up again. But that’s fine because we can get that fixed in New Zealand, and we got the repair done for only $50 NZ. 

The Royal Palace

Once Leo and I had returned from our laptop repair mission, I left him with Shaun because they both fancied some downtime at the hotel and I took Anna out with me to visit the Royal Palace.

After asking a couple of security guards for directions, we located the entrance and paid our US$10 entry fee. Inside, the grounds were beautiful, as was the Palace, although you couldn’t actually enter the Throne Hall.

In the background, you can see the Moonlight Pavillion, which has a dancing stage in it. It is also visible from the front of the complex.

The topiary in the gardens was impressive and clearly took a lot of maintenance!

There were gorgeous murals painted along the outer walkways surrounding the Silver Pagoda and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

In front of the Silver Pagoda there was an impressive scale model of Angkor Wat.

After visiting the Silver Pagoda, we went into the smaller shrine nearby, which had a large Buddha’s footprint inside, as well as many other Buddha likenesses.

On our way out, we came across one final exhibition space that held the royal collection of elephant saddles.

Having seen the damage done to elephants’ backs by saddles like these at Elephant Nature Park, Anna and I just stayed long enough to wonder about how many elephants would have been used by Royalty over the years throughout Southeast Asia.

A Walk Along the Riverfront

As we exited the Palace, Anna asked me for some money to buy a small bag of corn from one of the hawkers to feed the birds.

After stopping to feed the pigeons, an experience that Anna thoroughly enjoyed, we made our way to the riverfront, reacquainting ourselves with the mighty Mekong once again.

We then walked along the promenade, past lots of food stalls and people selling trinkets and souvenirs.

We enjoyed an ice cream on the waterfront before making our way back to our hotel, pausing to take a photo of the beautiful Library building on the way.

A Family Night Out

That evening, we asked one of the tuktuk drivers outside the hotel to take us to a nice area for dinner that had a good choice of places to eat.

We ended up in an area full of restaurants and bars, similar to Siem Reap’s Pub Street but not quite as loud, and found this gorgeous restaurant that was budget friendly and beautifully decorated, with lots of foliage and a cool display of lit-up parasols in the alleyway next to it.

When the food arrived, we couldn’t believe our luck. It was beautifully presented and delicious.

Shaun and I shared a couple of salads and some amazing chicken ‘lollipops’ and the kids happily ate fish and chips for the first time in a while.

After dinner, we played a few games of pool, which brought out the competitive side in both our children!

The Dark Side of Phnom Penh by Shaun

Note: This section contains some upsetting and disturbing content. If you are sensitive, feel free to skip this section.

On the very first night wandering around the area we were staying in, Amelia and I couldn’t help but notice the number of middle age (50 to 70) white men on the street and scattered around in the bars and restaurants. Most of the time, they were on their own or in pairs. It was odd.

After a bit of research we discovered that we were actually staying near the red light district and we also read up about how Phnom Penh has unfortunately become infamous for the dark sides of the sex industry. With Thailand cracking down on such things in recent years, Phnom Penh has unfortunately become the capital for sex trafficking and under age prostitution in South East Asia. Men travel there year on year, knowing that they can effectively get/do what they want within the sex industry with very little legislation. It’s really disgusting.

On the second night we were there I ventured out of our accommodation at about 10pm to find a bar showing my West Ham game. I witnessed some questionable stuff on the way out and then again on the way back at about 1am, but it didn’t take long to find a more wholesome environment where I could enjoy the game and hang out with good people. When travelling, it’s funny how easy it is to make new friends. Especially when watching sport. I have come across so many other West Ham fans on our travels too.

While in Phnom Penh I wanted to visit the killing fields and memorials just out of the city and also Tuol Sleng, the S21 prison (which was once a high school) within the city. I wanted to educate myself and pay my respects. Amelia once again decided to stay away, knowing that she’d struggle with such places. I hired a tuk tuk driver one morning and set off on my own.

We drove about 40 mins out of the city to the killing fields. Because it was just me, I was able to purchase the audio tours, which were exceptionally informative but also super confronting.

Standing in front of the mass graves and hearing about the torture and murder that took place at those exact spots only about 45 years earlier was all too much to comprehend at times. I would eventually be left in a really dark place. For a few days afterwards, I had to digest what I had learned and seen and then come to terms with it all.
The evidence is still so visible and fresh. In many areas, human remains and clothing are still surfacing in the mud after a period of rainy weather. Every couple of months, they have to sweep the whole area and clear all the new findings.

The genocide that took place at these fields was so systematic and brutal. Up to 300 people per day were murdered there in barbaric fashion. They were not using guns/bullets much because of the cost of ammunition so the killings were performed in far more medieval styles. Loud music and sounds of diesel machinery was played at high volume through speakers to help drown out all of the screaming and terror. I stood stunned between a tree and a mass grave as I heard how the “killing tree” was specifically used for smashing babies against before they were tossed into the grave pit.

Over 3 years in Cambodia, there were an estimated 3 million victims to systematic genocide at the hands of the regime. The Cambodian population was only 8 million to start with!

After a couple of hours my tuk tuk driver drove me back into the city. My head was already spinning, but then I visited S21….

Nearly 20,000 people were murdered at this former school. And most were tortured first. They were forced into confessing fake crimes so that their executions were in some way justified!

Just a fraction of the thousands of mug shots taken of people on their arrival at S21 prison are currently displayed there. The pictures of boys/men in hats are actually Khmer Rouge soldiers. After the Pol Pot regime had no further use for them, they themselves became victims at S21.

I spent a lot of time looking at the faces of mug shots. Trying to imagine what was going through their minds at that time. Anger and defiance were evident in many of the expressions. Some of these people were being photographed alongside their family and children. They knew what was to come.

Although I don’t regret my visits to these places that day, they have to go down as the most horrific and unbelievable locations that I’ve ever experienced. Years ago, I remember visiting Auschwitz in Poland, and I struggled with that too, but I have to say that what occurred at these places in Phnom Penh were even more mind-blowing and shocking. I didn’t think that was possible.

REMAINS

Today I can’t look at the ocean.
A skull’s in the wet sand,
bleach white & freshly chiseled.
It’s looking at my face.

This morning after rain I walk alone
on this beach, nameless now.
I hear not even the calm,
blue sky. I lift the shape

gently as a conch, mouthing to myself,
What did our father say
to us about holding skulls?
Respectfully, Goan Srey.

If I press my palms against its temples,
return it to the rubble,
I’m thinking of you, Bang.
Its missing gaze rotates

toward the water, a maze in sand,
some labyrinth I know
from our childhood days,
when I hear father’s voice—

Go on, Goan Srey, go on. Don’t be afraid.
The high cheek bones will smile
to you your own smile.
Don’t look away.

By Monica Sok, Cambodian American poet and daughter of survivors.

The Central Market

As I had opted out of visiting the genocide memorials, I decided to take Leo and Anna out in the morning to look around the local mall. I think I mentioned way back in Laos that a lot of the shops throughout Cambodia and Laos are open air, market style shops, aside from in the big cities, where you have more typical shop buildings. Visiting ‘fancy’ shops has become something of a novelty, especially with us travelling on a budget. Leo and Anna really enjoyed their mall experience, where they got a few treats, which they were pretty stoked about.

We then enjoyed a swim in the pool back at the hotel before going back out to pick up Leo’s laptop and meet Shaun at the central market in the late afternoon.

Unbelievably, Shaun pulled up in his tuktuk a couple of minutes after us and the kids were stoked to be reunited with him, running to greet him as he got out. After spending so much time together, it’s going to take a period of adjustment getting used to everyone having their individual routines when we return to our schedule back home.

We started by looking at the food area of the market, and were greeted by the strong aroma of fish as we walked through the seafood stalls, with lots of live shellfish on display.

The next area was full of dried and fresh fruit, stacked in inviting, colourful displays. We bought some sweet candied, fried banana for a snack, although Leo didn’t partake, not being much of a fan of fruit.

After finding something to drink, we ate a couple of beef skewers for a snack before looking at the rest of the market.

I bought a shirt, and we were able to replace my and Leo’s headphones. Not sure how long they’ll last, as they were very cheap, but hopefully, they’ll do the trick!

The market began to close up around 5pm, so we made our way back to the hotel to pack up and have dinner, ready for our departure the next day.