Cambodia

Pnohm Penh

I love floating on the mighty Mekong! It is peaceful, beautiful with the occasional temple on its banks and very busy as so many people make their living on it.

We arrive in Pnohm Penh which is beautiful. We hike over to our hotel to rest and to regroup later on.

Pnohm Penh is a lively, bustling little city where tons of people gather along the waterfront for picnicking and fun. Tons of restaurants, bars, temples to see or just walking around is exciting.

Tonite we headed to an expat bar (FCC) where we had some drinks. This is my first tuk-tuk ride!!! A tuk-tuk is the mode of transportation here in Cambodia. The typically a motor cycle with a covered carriage with two rows of seats facing one another, they are cheap and easy to get around on. It was surreal being there on the top level of this place in one of my dreamspots of all time with the temples in the background (and a mojito in my hand). For dinner we head to a place where the guy that runs it also runs a local orphanage. The food was unbelievable and the kids came out in different age groups to do some traditional dance. It was GREAT!!

I decide to walk back to the hotel and it's late and there a dozens of kids on the street asking for money. Of course my thought is shouldn't you be in bed? I guess this is how they make money and it is heartbreaking, especially when you know how prevalent child exploitation is here. And as if my heart couldn't be done in anymore, on my walk back, I refuse my the last group of kids I see between me and my hotel, then as they walk off, this little boy who could not have been more than 6 year old walks up to me and hugs me around my waist as tight as he could and then runs off. My heart is broken....

Day 2


I know this day is going to be very heavy as we are headed to the genocide museum and the Killing Fields.
The genocide museum used to be a school but was used by Pol Pot to torture and kill people by the thousands and then were dumped in the killing fields. The brutality of Pol Pot was incredible and the sad thing is that many of the tortuous members of Pol Pots regime are still high ranking members of the present government

The killing fields are a bit more disturbing as the temple in the middle is filled with skulls and bones of the people who died there. As you walk along the walkways, you can see pieces of bones and clothing that belonged to the murdered victims.

We are really hit over the head with the fact that noone came to their rescue, and our guide would say not America, not England, not anyone. I feel the point of the brutality was driven home adequately without walking on the bones of the dead.

We end the morning at lunch at Friends which is restaurant that is staffed by kids taken from the streets of Pnomh Penh. Can I say this was Off the HOOK!! The food incredible! So far Khmer food has been my favorite Asian cuisine. It is even more delish that it is a non-profit place that helps kids. Maybe my phantom hugger can eventually get a job here.

We head out tomorrow morning to Siem Reap by ATR, in case you are wondering, that is a plane with a propeller.