2016 Dec. Phnom Penh. Cambodia.
Phnom Penh had always been a mysterious place in my impression, due to the Khmer Rouge regime when I was still a little boy. Much was heard about the atrocities done, the pain and sufferings experienced during that dark period. To be honest I wasn’t too keen to visit, but I went anyway. After seeing the actual sites and exhibits, I have no words to describe, other than saying it is a shocking, unforgettable, but necessary reflective lesson about humanity to be experienced and contemplated on your own… in silence.
This is the S21 Prison, aka Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, formerly a school turned into prison and torture cells during Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. The building and compound was left more or less as it is, with torture equipment and blood stained floor, served as a witness and reminder to the horrific recent events that happened in our lifetime.
The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek is 17km south of Phnom Penh, 40min by taxi or tuktuk. This is where the Khmer Rouge murdered some 20,000 men, women, children and infants during their four-year reign of terror. The mood was sombre, and the heart heavy, when you walk through the quiet grounds. The excellent audio guide provided a good narration on the cruel and barbaric killings that happened at Choeung Ek.
The rest of Phnom Penh is a much more pleasant, showing promise of a developing city moving on from its troubled past.
This is the hotel we stayed in called The Plantation. The room, pool, surrounding environment and service were decent.
My favourite place in Phnom Penh happens to be a restaurant, of cos. Malis is an upmarket restaurant by local standards, with prices similar to Singapore. This is where I had a sumptuous sampling of Cambodian cuisine.
Friends Restaurant, is recommended on many websites. Food is alright, but worth supporting as it is part of a global alliance of training restaurants working to build futures for former street youth and marginalized young adults.
We also went to this restaurant Romdeng specially for the fried tarantulas (big furry spiders) but unfortunately they ran out that evening, so we ordered the insect platter instead. I know it sounds scary to eat insects, and I wouldn’t eat it off the streets, but it is a common local delicacy and I just had to be adventurous and find a proper restaurant to try it.
Among the few types of insects served, fried cricket was the best tasting one. The texture of silkworm is a bit disturbing when you bite into it and middle part is still juicy, eeeuuwww hahaha. But anyway, you should still try it, do as the locals do, and enjoy the fun of travelling!
