Phnom Penh, Cambodia

3/18-20

Landed in Phnom Penh after around 20 hours of travel and was greeted by my friend Jeff and what seemed like half of the kingdom of Cambodia at the airport.

It was quite the reception, and off we went in a tuk-tuk through the night on dusty roads to Jeff’s place.

Rise and shine:

I always have a weird and somewhat invigorating feeling when I wake up in a far different place. I think that’s good. Means I’m still excited by adventure.

Man, the dry season in Cambodia is hot. That sticky, humid hot too. This resulted in constant sweat and multiple showers a day.

Traveling around mostly in tuk-tuks, which are basically carriages powered by a moto bike, was pretty nice. They could get quite bumpy, but certainly got the job done and provided shade and a nice breeze too.

Cambodia suffered through genocide in its recent history (late 70’s) with the Khmer Rouge, and we spent some time visiting historical sites. It was heavy day.

Out of the over one million people that were executed during that dark time in Cambodia’s history, nearly 9,000 were murdered at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields. Seeing and walking around the mass graves was immensely sobering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You could actually see some human bones and tattered clothing sticking out of the dirt. Each new rain uncovers more of the atrocities that happened in the recent past.

For lunch, and many other meals while in Cambodia, we went with the local cuisine, which was delicious and cheap. The best of both worlds.

Later in the day, we also visited Tuol Sleng S-21, a former high school-turned-prison and execution center during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Around sunset, we took a cruise along the Mekong River and visited the night market for some delicious coconut ice cream, which certainly wasn’t the last time that would happen.

The next day, we participated in a dodgeball tournament! Most of the teams were made up of peace corps volunteers or other foreigners working on development in Phnom Penh, and it was a fun time, especially since I hadn’t played dodgeball since college.

Everyone was way into it, with team cheers and uniforms and all. Alas, we did not dodge nearly enough balls to win, but were inspired in going on a cinderella run to sixth place haha.

At night, we went to a lively “pre-funk” (a Northwestern hipster term for “pre-game”), during which I attempted to crack someone’s hip, and then hopped around the local bars.

All in all, had a great time in Phnom Penh and loved finally getting the chance to see where Jeff has called home for the past few years.