Asia Trip -Day 3

Phnom Penh

We got up early this morning and had breakfast at the side of the road on the way over to the Royal Palace. The Palace is very beautiful and extremely ornate. The throne room, used for coronations, weddings and to receive foreign dignitaries (we didn't rate) is covered in gold. What isn't gilt is wrapped in silk. It is also a temple so you have to take your shoes off to enter. We also saw the silver pagoda which houses the temple of the emerald Buddha. It's not the fat Buddha I am used to seeing, but a younger skinny one.

After the palace, we walked over to the National Museum. We saw a lot of ancient statues and were encouraged to donate to Buddha every 30 feet or so. Unfortunately we didn't learn very much about the history of Cambodia or its culture.

Following a quick rest in our hotel, we hired a tuk-tuk (cart pulled by a motorcycle) to take us to the S-21 prison and the killing fields. S-21 was where they were tortured prior to being delivered to the killing fields. It used to be a school and is now a disturbing museum. They have an exhibit of all the torture implements used and a photo of everyone who was imprisoned there. There are also the histories of a few victims.

The ride through the outskirts of Phnom Penh was both fun and interesting, the killing fields were not. More like evil. The tour starts with a stupa (shrine) containing ~9000 skulls of the victims and then gets worse. I can't describe it. If you haven't been there, you can't comprehend the horror, and if you have, you don't need to revisit it.

Once back in the city, we went to a temple that houses one hair of the original Buddha's eyebrow. Unfortunately it was closed. Then we hung out at the hotel, playing pool, until our luggage arrived. It feels really nice not to wear the same clothes for three days straight (especially in humid 30C+ weather). The shave was good too. Properly attired, we went out to dinner and bought two bus tickets for Kratie, leaving tomorrow morning at 7:30.