Hello!
We formally arrived in Phnom Penh late Monday afternoon, after an eight-hour bus ride. That night we took it pretty easy and had a delicious meal at David’s Noodles Restaurant. At the restaurant many of us tried beef Lok Lak for the first time. Lok Lak is a traditional Khmer food that combines marinated beef with rice and vegetables – it’s definitely one of the favorite dishes we’ve tried so far!
Tuesday was our first full day in Phnom Penh. We spent the majority of the day exploring the city and reviewing curriculum about Cambodian history and culture. That night we made our first stop at a convenience store, Smile, where we were able to purchase some of our favorite sweets and snacks from back home. I personally gravitated towards some Ben & Jerry’s cookie dough ice cream!
Wednesday was our first official day learning about the Cambodian Genocide. We visited Tuol Sleng (S-21) Prison which was a prison used by the Khmer Rouge to capture citizens associated with the former government. In the 1970’s, this prison quickly expanded from a high school to a prison that became home to over 12,000 prisoners who would be tortured, interrogated, and any remaining citizens would be sent to other prisons or to work as farmers in the fields. S-21 is now a museum aimed at telling the story of this recent genocide. Led by leader Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge killed 1.7 million people. During their rule, the Khmer Rouge attempted to brainwash an entire generation in the attempt to create a fully agrarian society. This massacre would continue far after the Khmer Rouge officially lost power in 1979. Any form of activism or rebellion was met with imminent death. The culprits of this genocide would go on to face very little punishment, with leader Pol Pot dying peacefully, albeit under house arrest, at his home in 1998.
While Wednesday was an extremely heavy day, Thursday managed to be even heavier. We arrived at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields Memorial, prepared for a walking tour. I would say that, without a doubt, the Killing Fields was the most disturbing place I had ever been to. The field that we went to was a couple kilometers outside the capital city of Phnom Penh. The specific field we explored was the largest of the eighty Killing Fields, in which over 20,000 people were brutally executed. The prisoners were worked to death, decapitated, and murdered in various other horrific ways. Before the genocide, the field was used as a Chinese graveyard. Though, when the Khmer Rouge took over it was quickly converted into a site of mass death. Pol Pot had a quote that read “to get rid of the weeds, the roots must be destroyed as well.” This was the justification for the murder of babies. What was described today was utterly barbaric and simply gut-wrenching. I commend the people of Cambodia for turning a site of mass genocide into a preservation site, so the history of this genocide can never be forgotten. I was heartbroken to hear that the US, along with other Western countries, once acknowledged the Khmer Rouge as the official government of Cambodia, just because they still considered Vietnam to be a greater enemy. In the afternoon we were given the opportunity decompress and take some time to ourselves or visit an early history museum.
Friday was our final day in Phnom Penh. We visited the Royal Palace and Wat Phnom Daun Penh Temple. The architecture and design of both sites were outstanding. Today was a nice break from learning about the horrors of the Cambodian genocide. I felt that we learned a lot about the Khmer culture and Buddhist religion. To end our time in Phnom Penh, we went on a beautiful sunset river cruise with fun dancing on the boat and the best sunset we’ve seen on this semester yet. It was a great way to celebrate a month without our technology and now we’re ready to talk to our friends and family back home.
I’m looking forward to what Siem Reap has in store for us!
Simon
