Cambodia....The Beauty and the Beast

      Hi, it's me again, from the glamorous to the bleak, it's all there for us to take in and we can take what she gives us and  make of it what we wish. I went to several places in PP, that you 'need to see' and some I opted out of for various reasons. I also went to Sihanoukville, a resort town in the southwest of Cambodia, to which I only saw the not so 'resorty' area in town.

     Phnom Penh, a city of 3 million plus, I had a small sampling of this populous, and each and every one of them, without exception brings a smile to my face...for one reason or another. They are a happy people and it is infectious.  There were shysters, monks, vendors, and beggars, they all had that same smile, and I think that's what I will draw from those 5 days I spent there.

tuk tuks are a great taxi alternative
just don't let them rip you off!

      The Royal Palace is a place of beauty and a must for anyone going through the city, it is quite pricey comparatively speaking at $6 for entry, but there is much to see and to marvel at. From the King's throne room to the historical and religious artifacts and the model of Angkor Wat is astonishing.

Some of the many artifacts found at the
Royal Palace property

    The many markets, full of knock offs were quite remarkable, everything you could think of was available, for next to nothing, in many cases.  There was food, clothes, toys, books, scarves, tailors, entertainment, electronics, whatever you could desire, but buyer beware, not the real deal....hahaha. The best knock off I saw was a pair of Adidas running shoes with Nike soles, if they had my size, they'd be mine now :)

The night market was my favorite

     I went to several Wats in the city, Wat Phnom being the most prolific, and pretty close to my location. In case you didn't know a Wat is another word for a Buddhist temple or monastery, and Phnom means hill in Khmer. So you guessed it....it's a temple on a hill. the hill though, has much history in it.
     The story is of a woman had been in the Mekong and found 3 Buddhas in there and pulled them out and placed them on a hill close to the banks of the river. People came from close and far to worship them and the area soon became a city, the woman's name was Penh, hence the name of the the city now.

Wat Phnom a truly beautiful temple

      I was reminded of their ugly past with a trip to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a bleak look at the horrors this country endured in the not so distant past at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime. I went through this museum/jail/high school with a heavy heart and tears were shed, looking at the hundreds of 'mug shots' of many of the victims. The tranformed classrooms to torture chambers, to cells, to display areas. If you are unaware of this part of world history, I suggest you google it.  I had planned on visiting the 'Killing Fields', the site of mass graves of many of the victims, but I chose not to at this time as I had seen enough of that time in history.

Actual victims' skulls on display at
Tuol Sleng. A sobering day for me. 

     I left the city by bus to go to Sihanoukville, a four hour ride, to drop off my suitcase for my trip to Thailand. I had not committed to any time frame for my stay, and frankly, I could not have left quickly enough. I arrived and was dropped off at the wrong place, but my brother's friend picked me up and brought me to his residence. So far, so good...the area did seem abit off, but hey, I was on the back of a motto. I was given a spacious room for a mere $7 night and for the money, you couldn't beat it. The compound, is just that, a locked area with about 10 units on an acre or so of property. The units were various sizes with basic furnishings (bed, tube tv, armoire, and plastic deck chaise). The property itself had a fence around the perimeter with barbed wire and a big locked gate for the night, as well as a guard dog.  I decided to go for a walk and see the neighborhood. I left the compound, and was struck by the poverty I was seeing. I mean commercials could be shot here for Unicef and the likes. I was not threatened or even looked at cross ways by anybody, but I really had a fear for my safety. I returned to the compound and did not leave till the morning to which I bought a ticket back to Phnom Penh. Then, a ticket to Bangkok from there...that night I was leaving Cambodia and entering Thailand.

Sad news, I lost my point and shoot camera and thus lost many photos, I still have some to share as I had the wherewithal to take some with my phone as well.