Phnom Penh!

Trip Start Jul 31, 2007
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Trip End Dec 15, 2007


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Sunday, October 28, 2007

Phnom Pehn was the perfect first stop in Cambodia. We were lucky enough to find a nice guesthouse when we arrived late at night after our Mekong journey. The city is filled with lots of nice places to eat and walk around, with the main strip of restaurants catering to tourists right along the river. While there we visited Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace and Silver Pagda Complex (much of which looked a lot like the Royal Palace in Bangkok). On our second day we visited Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also known as S-21. It was used as the main prison by the Khmer Rouge when they were in power and is incredibly well preserved with the Khmer Rouge attrocities well documented. Definitely a harder site to see, but an important one in getting a better idea of all that the Cambodians had to go through at that time, a history who's toll is clearly still greatly affecting society today.
Of course we also managed to enjoy many of the happier aspects in Phnom Pehn, such as the celebration of "Coronation Day" with a large fireworks show right on the river. The streets were packed with Cambodians with a few Westerners sprinkled in to watch the show. We also got a chance to talk to some of the locals, all of whom were incredibly friendly and really helpful. When I was watching the fireworks, for example, a young girl came up and asked me to buy a book, special from her since it was the holiday. I told her I didn't want a book but asked her if she'd tell me about the holiday ad she stood and told me about it for a few minutes, sending her friends away when they tried to sell me things. It was refreshing to see so many friendly faces that weren't entirely just trying to make some money.
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