Phnom Penh Day 2

Today is our final day in the city and in Cambodia.

This morning we looked around all the genocide museums and memorials. S-21 museum was the home of the high security interogation prison where over 10,000 Cambodians lost thier lives during Pol Pot's regime from 1975 - 79. It was very similar to the memorials you find in Gerna,y and Poland for the Holocaust and was equally as upsetting and distressing. The Choeung Ek killing fields to the south of the city was where they killed and buried vicxtims from S-21 and all around Cambodia. There are another 4,500 killing fileds like this around Cambodia. These were only excevated in 1980 and were really quite thought provoking and once again distressing.

This afternoon was spent in the local markets haggling over silk scarves and I also went to the National Museum behind the Royal Palace. This houses most of the finds from the Angkor Wat temple so was really interesting to put the temples into perspective and imagine what they would ahve looked like with all the ornaments still there. It also had really good air-conditioning and a nice piaza to sit out on.

8 hour drive out of Cambodia and into Vietnam tomorrow. Should be in Saigon by lunchtime. I'll be glad to leave Phnom Penh and also Cambodia tomorrow. Its a very beautiful country but you can really see how much the people have suffered over the last 100 years and it makes you feel very guilty. We'll have to see how Vietnam varies!