Phnom Penh

So its hit me that one of the most annoying things about having my iPod stolen, other than the obvious wound to my bank account, is the sad loss of my music collection... I need a set of earphones in my head at all times when sat on a bus so it's been a little testing when all that's left to listen to are my rather odd and occasional iTunes impulse buys, highlights of which include the best of Whitney Houston and the Bee Gees... Don't judge me. There's uber cool stuff on there too but I'm just saying that the proportion of 1970s helium fuelled disco and 1990s token ballad warbling is distressingly high. I wont lie though, I do love the Bee Gees and I've come to the conclusion that "Jive Talkin'" may possibly be the best song on the planet as it's the only one I never skip... Perhaps that says more about me than it does about the song? Desperate times ether way.  I can only hope that the bastard who stole the thing can appreciate all the bloody awesome albums he has inherited before he sells the thing on... Then I hope he gets the song "Tragedy" inexplicably stuck in his head for at least 2 weeks followed by 4 weeks of "I Will Always Love You". 

Moving on from my 1st World problems, we flew to Phnom Penh after a short Singapore stopover where naturally we went shopping and I stupidly bought an overpriced (but much needed) camera lens and a lovely white dress ... just a cocktail dress; no husband yet. I should really go get my 5 Ringgits (~£1.25) back off that palm reader in KL.

About 2 years ago I stopped off in Cambodia during a trip to Thailand and in only 2 days I fell absolutely in love with the people here. On my second visit they have so far validated my first impression with their beautiful warmth and hospitality. God knows I don't understand what many of them are saying half of the time (I clearly need to learn to speak Khmer!) but its definitely the country I've felt most welcome in and that doesn't need to be expressed in words.

Phnom Penh is a fun, laid back city with plenty of funky restaurants, bars and cafes and a sprawling market at its heart. While we were here we made a very tough and heart wrenching trip to one of the Killing Fields on the outskirts. For those who don't know, this is the name given to the many sites where the Khmer Rouge massacred millions of people during the ungraspably horrific leadership of Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979 - Up to 3 million Cambodians, out of a population of only 8 million, were killed and at least 20,000 of those lived their last violent moments in the small and peaceful fields that we visited; if it weren't for the memorial site now in place you would never guess that such a beautiful area filled with bird song could have been the setting for such unimaginable cruelty and terror. It's difficult to write about and I suggest if you're overly sensitive to these things that you finish reading this post here (mum, that means you!).

I find myself wondering why we visit these places of tremendous sadness, to feel horror, disgust, disbelief, sadness and heart break. I think the truth is that in life, as well as learning who we are as individuals, we also need to learn who we are as a species. To learn about the seemingly infinite depths of our cruelty and the seeming limitlessness of our resilience. More importantly I think it is to show respect and to mourn the many lives lost and the many souls broken by such inexplicable tragedies... If these events are forgotten - if we are no longer disgusted, if we are no longer saddened, then the people who lost their lives become as irrelevant and disposable as they were believed to be by their persecutors and there's something deeply disturbing about that, which is why I think it's important to write about the injustices that have occurred; injustices that could have affected any of us - there is nothing extraordinary about the bones that lie under the soil; They are not the remains of people who chose to be soldiers or martyrs, superheroes or villains, adventurers or protesters... They were normal people whose lives were torn apart out of the blue: Men, women, children who did nothing more than exist in the wrong place at the wrong time. The completely insane communist ideas of the Khmer Rouge include the belief that everyone should be completely self sufficient - from food to medication. Needless to say that many died of starvation or from treatable diseases. People, especially those that were educated, were forced out of the cities and into the fields and families were torn apart. Those that did not die due to the consequences of this insane social engineering were killed as soon as they were perceived to be a threat. Pretty much everyone with an education was considered as such and the genocide that ensued took about a quarter of the population's lives. These people were herded into trucks and taken to these fields where political songs were blared through speakers to drown out their screams as they were bludgeoned to death with farming equipment and pretty much anything else that was available (not bullets as these were expensive). Throats were slit with palm leaves and children were swung against trees. It makes me sick to retell it as it made me sick when I was stood by that very 'killing tree' that unknowingly still grows next to a mass grave where the bodies of these children and their mothers were found, but sadly that's just the truth of what occurred there.

The Killing Fields:

Memorial to the victims:

Again, as always, I apologise if the information I dish out isnt as accurate as it could be - I do try and back up what I learn with a quick google search at all times but if you are genuinely interested in anything I touch on I suggest you look it up on a more reliable source. Also sorry to leave you on a depressing note but our next stop is Siem Reap for a thankfully more glorious and beautiful period of Khmer history.