So I did it; I ate some pretty exotic foods. But we'll get to that later.
Today, we woke up early to get a head start on the day. The Genocide Museum at Tuol Sleng (Former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison) was the first destination and proved to be the most intense as well.
Besides the history of the place, which you can discover on your own from Wikipedia or a website similar, closely rivaling the genocide Hitler was famous for, this school-turned-prison was a place where thousands of intellectuals, students, travelers, children, men and women of all ages, Buddhists, and anyone else who may pose as a "threat" (as loose as this sounds, it appears to fit well with the insanity the Pol Pot Regime was regarded with) were held, tortured, interrogated and slaughtered. Now a museum, each room revealed another death, another body, another weapon-of-choice, and another suddenly feeling of sadness, guilt, and pain. Each building (total of 4) was different--portraying types of containment, torture devices, men, women, (head shots and death-shots), and children.
It took about three hours to get through and took a lot out of us. I went there with Mel, Courtney, Nathan, Laura, Megan and Kyle. The trip was followed by a tuk-tuk ride to the Killing Fields where Pol Pot transfered thousands of unknowing enemy soldiers, his own personnel, and prisoners from S-21 and bludgeoned them all to death with clubs and bats and fists and prepared enormous graves in which they were to be buried.
Mass groves, sometimes totaling over 250 people where excavated and their remains stationed in a large religious monument where lamenting music is played on top of the smell of incense and flowers paying homage to the victims of Pol Pot's insanity.
The day was hot and we returned to Phnom Phen to check out the local Russian Market, ate lunch, shopped around and shower to prepare for a rather big night.
The "bigness" of the night occurred when, after purchasing several types of insects and other delicacies, each of us ate our pick; and each of us ate quite well.
The night was late and I'm writing this from the top bunk of the OKAY Guesthouse, which I am paying 1USD for. I have no blanket, a fan a meter away from my shoulders, and another day ahead of me in Phnom Phen.
Today, we woke up early to get a head start on the day. The Genocide Museum at Tuol Sleng (Former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison) was the first destination and proved to be the most intense as well.
Besides the history of the place, which you can discover on your own from Wikipedia or a website similar, closely rivaling the genocide Hitler was famous for, this school-turned-prison was a place where thousands of intellectuals, students, travelers, children, men and women of all ages, Buddhists, and anyone else who may pose as a "threat" (as loose as this sounds, it appears to fit well with the insanity the Pol Pot Regime was regarded with) were held, tortured, interrogated and slaughtered. Now a museum, each room revealed another death, another body, another weapon-of-choice, and another suddenly feeling of sadness, guilt, and pain. Each building (total of 4) was different--portraying types of containment, torture devices, men, women, (head shots and death-shots), and children.It took about three hours to get through and took a lot out of us. I went there with Mel, Courtney, Nathan, Laura, Megan and Kyle. The trip was followed by a tuk-tuk ride to the Killing Fields where Pol Pot transfered thousands of unknowing enemy soldiers, his own personnel, and prisoners from S-21 and bludgeoned them all to death with clubs and bats and fists and prepared enormous graves in which they were to be buried.
Mass groves, sometimes totaling over 250 people where excavated and their remains stationed in a large religious monument where lamenting music is played on top of the smell of incense and flowers paying homage to the victims of Pol Pot's insanity. The day was hot and we returned to Phnom Phen to check out the local Russian Market, ate lunch, shopped around and shower to prepare for a rather big night.The "bigness" of the night occurred when, after purchasing several types of insects and other delicacies, each of us ate our pick; and each of us ate quite well.
The night was late and I'm writing this from the top bunk of the OKAY Guesthouse, which I am paying 1USD for. I have no blanket, a fan a meter away from my shoulders, and another day ahead of me in Phnom Phen.
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