As predicted, there was no hangover- amazing!
We woke up and headed out for breakfast where we finally met Sam. I know Sam through Sylidiya, a lady I met on my trip to Kanchanaburi. Sylidiya had kindly passed me his details, as he works as a tuk tuk driver. Unlike other countries that I've visited, Cambodia tends to let the drivers take you around. This definitely has its positives (same driver etc) but also it's negatives (you lack a decent tour guide). That being said, I hit a winner with Sam. He speaks impeccable English, which believe you me, makes a massive difference.
That afternoon, Sam took us (Jacqui and I) on his bike to S-21, also known as The Genocide Museum. Situated in the centre of Phnom Penn, it's quite distressing to think that this building was once a school before it became a prison, and later a museum. However, it's clear from your arrival that the building used to be a school, as it has all the familiar layouts- courtyard, buildings at each end, classrooms etc. The museum itself isn't particularly well laid out but as you wander through the corridors into each building, viewing classrooms that were turned into tiny cells or torture chambers, you cant help but feel sick. As we were just about to leave, I said to Jacqui that I couldn't buy anymore souvenirs or books, yet as we approached the gate, a lady stopped us to show us her father. An elderly man who was sitting at a table. This gentleman is one of the last survivors of S-21. I chatted to him briefly through broken English and agreed to buy his book and read his story for $10. The man was old and frail and as he signed my book, I noticed his hand shaking. It reminded me of my gran and instantly made me think, how would I feel knowing my gran had been through such a terrible ordeal?
15 August
I'd spoken to many people about the killing fields and s21 and most said that for my sanity, I should avoid doing both in one day. I now realise that they were absolutely spot on. As Sam drove us to the site, I couldn't help but ponder what it would be like. Having never been to anything like this before, I didn't have any preconceptions as to what it would be like. The road leading up to it was almost a dirt track. It could've given the roads in Vietnam a run for their money. I was also constantly on edge watching my handbags as locals would come up so close to you as they tried to cross the road. As we arrived, we were greeted by 2 large white gates and a booth where they gave each person an individual headset. At first I thought that this may make the tour a little lonely, but infact it proved to a god send, allowing you to process your thoughts at your own pace. Wandering around, I found myself getting more and more emotional. It seemed that different people were affected by different sections. For me, it was undoubtedly the killing tree. This was a tree that was used to kill tiny babies or infants by throwing them by their legs and banging their skulls into the tree. I stood there for what felt like hours, just thinking, how on earth did we let this happen?
I think what I found hardest about this part of my tour was the reality of this tradegy. Every person over the age of 31 was affected in some way. I can't quite grasp the fact that this occurred in my parents lifetime. Some say that Cambodia shouldn't capitalise on such an event for the sake of tourism. My answer? If it prevents such an atrocity from ever happening again, then I am all for it.
In the afternoon, I took the bus from Phnom Penn to Siem Reap with Jules. The journey had been going so well until we broke down at the side of the road. As per usual, no one told us what was going on. Eventually some 30 min later, a new bus arrived and we were back on route. Jules and I watched a movie on my ipad. We arrived at about 9pm to find a tuk tuk driver waiting with a sign with my name on it - result! The hostel (Siem Reap Holiday Garden Villa) seemed nice but pretty basic. Who was I kidding, I was asking $5 a night. I can't expect luxury! There were 2 girls in my dorm (Spanish and American) and one Spanish guy. They all seemed very friendly so a great start.
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