Cambodia… The Country that makes it hard for me to like

 

After spending few Days in bed from the Diarrhea (which i still have…) i made my way to Battambang, which in my Guidebook is described as the City with a “beautiful river promenade”…The whole City just was a big disappointment.. I directly booked the Transport to Phnom Penh the next day, but on that day i wanted to make at least one trip. So i booked a Trip to the Lotus Farm at the Evening which was a good decision. Normally the HUUUUGE Lake is full of Lotus Flowers, which are sell to the Buddhist Temples to decorate, or the fruit which can be eaten ( it tastes a bit like a unripe banana and nut mixture.. but its a good snack!). Unfortunately the Water was very high, so not much Flowers on the Sea. But it was still very beautiful and also the Story my Driver told me about the Dam the built. The Dam was built by slaves from the Khmer Rogue. They forced the People to work on the Dam until they die, and a lot of People died there. Its very Tragic to hear that story, that is also a Place now for Cambodian Locals to celebrate and take a Bath on the New Year. He told me, when its New Year, there gather up to 1000 People to take a Bath in the Dam River.

The Farm was outside of the City about 36 Kilometres. After the first 5 you have recognized that the Place is usually used by Cambodians and no Tourists go there. EVERYONE looked at me like i was from a different Planet! The Kids waved at me and even the Teenagers did. Was awesome drive, couldn't get the smile out of my face.

Big Temple on the Hill on the Way to the Farm

Lots of these Big Temples can be found on the Cambodian Countryside's. They are really huge

Cambodian “Mountains” a rare view in the last Week!

That's the Dam built by the prisoners of the Khmer Rogue

Its a very nice and very big and nice Lake

Panorama Picture of the Dam and part of the Lake

That's the Place where the Celebrate new Year. Lot of Cambodian Kids are enjoying themselves here with Tubes and stuff. Very funny to watch. By the way, the Cambodian Woman are VERY shameful. Most time they go to Bathing with their full Cloths on.

Here they come!!!

Great View

my Driver

And my Tuk Tuk Driver, a very nice Guy from the Hotel

There are Huts inside the Lake everywhere, normally there are Guards preventing People from stealing the Lotus Flowers. Today it was used by a Boat full of Locals to have a Swim

BIG Lake!

These are the Lotus Flower. Normally the whole Lake is full of them. This must be an awesome View.

After that we were driving Home very fast to get away from the Thunderstorm behind us. It was amazing, Pitch Black Tuk Tuk Drive in the Night in Cambodia. Wow. You cannot imagine how crazy the Traffic is in Cambodia. Most People don't got lights on their vehicles, so they drive without Light in the Pitch Black.

Also they don't look in mirrors at all. They just start driving into the Road. If u think Thailand's Traffic is crazy come to Cambodia. Thailand is Europe when it comes to Traffic compared to Cambodia.

Back at the Hotel i was going to Bed soon to make the Way to Phnom Penh next day.

 

Phnom Penh

After a 8 Hours Bus Ride (yes, 2 hours more than normally because the Bus got a Flat Tire on the Way.) i arrived in Phnom Penh.

“This City was in Hell and made its way Back” and that you can see as soon as you enter the City. The City can be amazingly Beautiful and Shocking at the same Time. You walk around the Corner from the nice Mekong Promenade and the Kings Palace, just around the corner are People lying on the Ground, body is shaking and their suffering from whatever disease. Its very very bad. You see that on the Peoples faces also. They have all very weird looks.

To be honest, I'm Glad when I'm out here tomorrow again. I don't like that City. And i don't like Cambodia so much until now. There are very very nice People i already met, but the majority of the People is “false” and they just want your Money. Laos will be a relief, and the People who said “WHAT? 24 Days in Cambodia?!” were totally right, well, at least it is an Experience i will never forget.

This is what it looks like mostly in Cambodia. Dirty, gross and Chaotic. And people who wants to scam you on every corner waiting for you.

Then you go around the Corner and you see the nicest Buildings…

Colonial style Buildings and the Mekong River Promenade

Kings Palace ( i didn't want to throw them another 7 Dollars in their mouth just to go in there)

So after a short round this day i went to the Central Market which was quite unspectacular and then go back to Hotel for a early sleep cause the Diarrhea is stealing my Powers quite well.

Next Day i decided to make at least one Trip in Phnom Penh, so i was going to the Killing Fields…It was a unbelievable gruesome Experience where i nearly had to shed some Tears because its a soooo bad Place…

What here happened is hard to explain with Words. Its so gruesome that your stomach feels bad on some places. This Place really made me feel bad afterwards, to see to what humans are willing to do.

I will share just a few Pictures.

This is a Monument in the Central Part of the Genocide Memorial Centre. It is about 15 Meters high and full until under the Roof with real Skulls. You can see when the People died of head wounds, as there are wholes in their Heads.

Or even half Parts of the Heads were missing, as People were not shot here, because Ammunition is expensive. The most of them were Beaten to Death with Bamboo sticks.

Here was the Chemical Storage Room. It was used to Store a Chemical called D.D.T. The most Prisoners were just beaten unconscious, or wounded to bad they couldn't move anymore and then be thrown in their Grave alive. As they were still alive, they poured D.D.T. over them to make sure they will die a Painful Death from the Chemical.

A mass Grave of 450 People in there.

there were so many People killed in this Place, that still when its Raining, the Cloths of the Death come up through the Ground. Its so unbelievably gruesome u cannot Imagine. U literally walk on the Death’s Cloth.

But now to come to the most Tragic Part. This was a place were i had to hold back my Tears as i visited the Museum before and seen Paintings of the Killings.

This is the “Magic Tree”. Back in the Khmer Rogue Time when the Killings were going on, the Rogue hang Loudspeakers on this Tree. They started to Play Propaganda Music every evening, when the Killings started to prevent People from the Outside hear the Moaning and Screams from the People which were just killed within the Night in the Bright Neon Lights.

Just 10 Meters away from that Tree is this Tree:

On this Tree, the Khmer Rogue smashed Children and Baby's to Kill them in front of their Mothers to watch them. They grab the Children and Baby's on their Feet and smashed them on the Tree until they died. Can you imagine that? Its still the same Tree where hundreds of Baby's and Children were killed at. Its unbelievable what u feel when u stay in front of it.

After that i felt really bad, wasn't in a good mood anymore for that day. Anyways this is just one of hundreds of killing fields whilst the Khmer Rogue was on the Power. There were even lots of still undiscovered sites.

The Khmer Rogue used not just to kill somebody who has “betrayed” their Regime, they also killed their whole Family and everybody they knew, to prevent they are taking revenge on them.

This was my Day on Phnom Penh, tomorrow i will leave to Sihanoukville to spend some more Days on a hopefully nice Beach, as i really need a break from Cambodia Central now, and i also cant wait to get to Lao on the 24. it will be such a relieve to go there and meet the nice Lao People and feel a complete different atmosphere.

After that Experience, next time i think twice about complaining about small things like being stuck in a Traffic Jam in my 12000 Euro Car, so much is for sure.

Cambodia was in Hell and came back. And you can see and feel what it still has a long way back.