After finding my hotel and doing some laundry, it was only 3pm, so i had some time to see the sights. My main goals were to go to the genocide museum, and do a walk around the riverfront, visiting the palace and temples. The genocide museum was further away and opened the latest (5:30pm), so i took a tuk tuk over there, planning to do the rest in the morning.
Before i started to plan this trip, i hadn't heard of the khmer rouge or their reign of torture and murder of 25% of the cambodian population between 1975 and 1978. Even having read about it since then, i was not prepared for how hard it would be to visit this museum. In 1975, the khmer rouge took over a school, and made it into a jail/torture/killing station of sorts. This building is now the museum, and looks very similar to how it was found in 1978 when the khmer rouge were run out, containing images, items, and descriptions of the experiences from that period. I felt physically sick being there, but read every last piece of information, and didn't leave until it closed two hours later. It's amazing to realize that this happened just 34 years ago, and has had a drastic negative impact on the entire country. After that emotional visit, i decided to pass on the killing fields, having seen enough of what these people went through.
Today (the next morning), i packed my things, and set off to tour the palace before seeing the temples in the area. I'd checked the timing, and knew the palace was open to visitors until 11am, and then from 2-5. Since i will be leaving at 2pm for the airport, i planned to go there first. Unfortunately for me, they were not allowing visitors due to a visiting diplomatic group. They'd shut down the entire street, and wouldn't allow anyone to take pictures. I managed to sneak a few before they caught me, but am bummed not to have made it inside the walls. Instead, i walked up to wat phnom- one of their famous temples- before making a stop at the post office and spending some time at the market. I'm very happy with my decision to stay an extra day in siem reap (and lose one here). The tourist attractions are limited here, and can be finished quickly. The orphanage definitely was the right use of my time!
Must run now- off to bangkok!
6 comments:
many of the words you use seem to be gibberish and not actual locations
What are you talking about? You're crazy Julie:)
no they were gibberish for me too.
Wait a minute- like gibberish because you haven't heard of them, or gibberish because the type shows up differently there and you really can't read it?
i'll agree with what julie says :)
they just look like gibberish because we're not used to seeing letters put in that order. is that a good clarification? it looks silly.
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