Its fizzy, its ginger, its Phnom-Penh-al!

We arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday. Its a bit of a change of pace from Vietnam. More cars and less motorbikes although still pretty busy. The buildings are alot different too. In Vietnam you have to pay land tax, depending on how much land your property takes up, so the buildings all tend to be long and thin and very tall, whereas here the buildings are alot more normal and you can definitely see the French influence.

Yesterday we went to the Foreign Corresponants Club and had drinks on the roof-top terrace, very nice! Plus all drinks were half price between 17:00 and 19:00! We then went to a charity restaurant for tea. They take former street children and train them up and give them skills and jobs working in the restaurant, so it was a very good cause. We all tried a local delicacy for starter... fried tarantula!!! Boak! The legs were alright, they just tasted of crispy friedness but the rest was disgusting. We got fed the old ït just tastes like chicken"line. Bull shit.

This morning we got up early and went to S21 (Tuol Sleng Prison) which was converted into a prison from a high school in 1975 by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge government. The prison was only open for less than 4 years, during which time over 17,000 people were killed there (this was not including children and babies, of which it is estimated about 4,000 were murdered). It was pretty horrible but moving at the same time. Our guide there lost several relatives during this period. Some of the rooms and buildings are kept just as they were when the prison was abandoned, and there are lots of weapons, shackles and bloodstains to plainly illustrate exactly what went on here. It was definitely worth seeing, but not something to do lightly.

After this, we went out to the killing fields at Chuong Ek. This was also pretty harrowing. At this one "killing field" there are 129 mass graves, each containing between 100 and 450 bodies. There are 348 known killing field sites in Cambodia and they reckon there are many more which were kept secret. While the prison documented all of its prisoners, there were not many records kept by the Khmer Rouge, so it is estimated that anywhere between 2 and 4 million people died or were killed during their reign. In context, the population of Cambodia in 1975 was around 7 million. Until a few years ago landmines were the number one killer in the country as Pol Pot decided it would be a good idea to plant millions of mines in the country side and near the borders in order to protect the country from outsiders (Or keep people in?). It is thought that it will take well over 100 years to clear the remaining mines.

At the killing fields there is a Stupa with some of the skulls of the Khmer Rouge's victims as a memorial to the people affected by their attrocities. It was a very sad day.

Tomorrow we are taking a 6 hour bus ride to Siem Reap. When we are there we will get to go to Angkor Wat, the largest religiou monument in the world!

Hope eveyone is well. Hi Nana!

Any names for pup yet? Here are some suggestions: Nam, Cam, Ho Chi Minh, Bullit, Apollo and Rocky. Was this a considered purchase and what prompted it?