We had one full day in Phnom Penh and decided to make the best of it by organising a tuk tuk driver to take us around the sights that we still wanted to see. This included the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, the National Museum and the Royal Palace.
Choeung Ek
Choeung Ek is now a genocide memorial centre, where the victims of the Khmer Rouge's atrocities are commemorated. This area is known as the Killing Fields, since the Khmer Rouge brought their prisoners here to be executed - they did so by bludgeoning them with any instruments they could find, such as hoes and shovels; they smacked childrens' heads against trees to kill them. This was done in order to save the few bullets they had. The various mass graves can still be seen and still now bones and remnants surface after rains; these are collected and kept in containers for all to see.
Perhaps the most impressive sight of the memorial centre is the stupa that was built by the government to house the bones, clothes and skulls that were found in the mass graves. This stupa is 17 levels high and each level is filled.
Walking around the area of the killing fields, one can see many indentions in the ground - these were all mass graves. The small museum exhibits the tools used for killing the prisioners and gives some information about the main characters involved in the Pol Pot regime. There is also short film - though this was not as informative as it could have been.
Having been to Choeung Ek, the real atrocities perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge really become apparent and it can only lead one to compare the genocide with the Holocaust during the WWII. It's quite disgusting and makes it all the more astonishing how the Cambodians can still be such happy and friendly people today (at least on the outside).
The National Museum
The National Museum is to be found in central Phnom Penh and is a wonderful old, red building with a nice little garden surrounding it and a peaceful courtyard in the centre. The museum houses many statues and statuettes from the various temples around Angkor and the rest of the country. The statues are relatively well kept and most of them depict Buddha or Hindu Gods. I must say that what I found most impressive were the professional pictures taken of the temples of Angkor.
The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda
The Royal Palace looks out over the point at which the rivers surrounding Phnom Penh converge (also the reason it was built there). The palace is still in use, with only some parts of the gardens and the buildings being accessible to the public. It being a royal palace, the decadence is overwhelming - everything is gold-plated and intricately carved and kept in great state. The main reception room is a very long room at the end of which is the throne upon which the King will be seated to receive his guests. The walls are finely decorated and the detail is impressive. Surrounding the palace are immaculately tended to gardens that complete the image of symmetry in the whole.
In a separate courtyard from the Royal Palace, stands the Silver Pagoda - so called because the floor is silver plated. Other than that, it now contains innumerable statues and statuettes. The pagoda itself is quite pretty, but nothing really special as such. Around the back of the pagoda stands a significant model of Angkor Wat, which in itself is worth seeing; also, when leaving the complex, there is a video which gives a lot of explanation as to the temples of Angkor and is worthwhile watching if you have the time.
Food
The food in Cambodia - seafood, vegetables and meat alike - is gorgeous! Until this point we have not eaten anything that did not taste wonderful, though we did realise/find that eating at really local places is cheaper (obviously), but also better - so that was the plan from that day onwards.
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