Day 3 - 19 Dec
We only reached Phnom Penh around 2pm and were joined by a new tour guide. I guess he heard the rumbling noises from our tummies as he immediately brought us to enjoy a late lunch at 230pm :D After a quick lunch, we started our Palace tour. At 330pm, it was pretty warm to be walking around. Fortunately for us, there were several shady places for us to seek shelter. Its superb location on the bank of Tonle Sap River & Mekong river also ensured constant breeze to cool us down.
Throne Hall (primary audience hall of the King, used for coronations & other official state functions) was the highlight as we could get a glimpse inside to witness the grandeur - trademark of any royal events. Other notable buildings include pavilion to hold banquets, waiting room for the King before he mounts an elephant, repository to house royal regalia & presents from other heads of state.
Angkor City served as the capital of Cambodia till the 15th century. Only after the defeat by Siam / Thailand, Phnom Penh became the new capital for Khmer Kingdom. This current royal palace was constructed over a century ago to serve as an official residence of the royal family.
We moved on to Silver Pagoda next door after about 45 min. It was called as such due to its floor inlaid with more than 5000 silver tiles. There were many Buddha statues made of precious stones & gold. Sadly, photo-taking is not allowed inside the hall. Within the Silver Pagoda compound, there were a few Stupas, containing ashes of deceased Kings of the Khmer kingdom.
Around 445pm, we left the palace compound to catch our sunset boat ride scheduled at 5pm. We were the only group on the whole boat! While some of us (the younger ones XD) sat on the upper deck to enjoy river breeze, the rest sat on the lower deck. When we reached back to the jetty, we took a short 5 min stroll to Titanic Restaurant for dinner.
Day 4 - 20 Dec
After buffet breakfast at hotel, I took a short nap before heading out for lunch, shopping & sightseeing around Phnom Penh city. Since there were only two of us (me & MaMa - one of the dentists' mother), our mode of transportation for the day was tuk tuk. I had thus carefully selected attractions which were quite close to each other.
Tuk Tuk from Phnom Penh Hotel to Sorya: 2 USD per pax
First on agenda was lunch so we went to food court on level 4 of Sorya Shopping Center. This food court offers local dishes while there were fast foot chains as well as pizza restaurant on different floors. Afterwards, we shopped a bit as Sorya's air-conditioned shelter not only offered myriad of clothes, shoes, electronics, CDs and bags, but also a respite from sweltering afternoon heat. There were even a cineplex & karaoke rooms on the top floor. Lucky Supermarket (for all your groceries & snacks) is located on the ground floor. Oh, although Sorya is called a shopping center, you still need to practice your bargaining skills. I scored a pair of heels for 18 USD while the original asking price was 26 USD. Probably, my mom could have gotten it cheaper :D
Next, we explored Central Market, which was located just 2 min walk away from Sorya. It was first opened in 1937 and had survived major bombings during war periods. Recently renovated in 2011, this dome-shaped building with 4 outstretched arms is one of the major landmarks of Phnom Penh. The market opens from 7am to 5pm and offers several items ranging from souvenirs, clothes, jewelries to flowers. Similar to Sorya, you would also need to bargain here. I felt that Central Market is quite similar to Scott Market in Yangon, Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh & Chatuchak Market in Bangkok. Of course, Bangkok deals are the best though - in terms of variety, quality & price.
Tuk Tuk from Central Market to S21 Museum: 3 USD per pax
Entrance fees for S21 Museum: 3 USD per pax
Before 1975 in Cambodia, there was already a clash between ideologies - democracy vs communism. Pol Pot - a former scholar in France & school teacher in Cambodia - was a staunch supporter of communism. In 1970, King Sihanouk was deposed by the National Assembly vote, while he was in Moscow. In an effort to regain his political power, King Sihanouk supported Khmer Rouge which quickly grew in strength and numbers. Cambodia eventually fell under Khmer Rouge's control from 1975 to 1979. During Pol Pot's cruel regime, a former high school in Phnom Penh was turned into Security Prison 21 (S-21) - the largest center of torture & detention in the country. Today, it has been turned into a Tuol Sleng Museum, as a testament against the brutalities that the darkest side of human beings is capable of.
To put it simply, the visit was eerily depressing. I couldn't digest the fact that a school which was supposed to be passing on knowledge to a new generation for betterment of our society has been used as a black hole of hopelessness and despair for more than 17,000 prisoners tortured there. The school buildings actually looked very similar to my former secondary school in Singapore. But the classrooms there had been converted into interrogation rooms with metal bed frames and an assortment of torture devices as well as 2 feet x 5 feet partitioned rooms to act as individual cells.
The floor tiles, the walls, as well as the barbed-wired corridors were left as they were. This place is definitely not for the fainthearted. Even I felt quite squeamish in a few rooms. In the eerie & loud silence that permeated the whole compound, I could actually imagine the poor prisoners getting tortured and felt like throwing up my lunch T.T Among thousands of prisoners brought to S-21, only 7 were found alive in 1979...
Tuk Tuk from S21 Museum to Phnom Penh Hotel: 4 USD per pax
We couldn't take it anymore and left for our hotel just before 5pm. After training ended around 530pm for the rest of our group, we enjoyed a laid-back dinner at a restaurant opposite our hotel. When our fellow group members heard about our shopping, they wanted to explore too so we took tuk tuk to Sorya but sadly, it was closing by the time we reached at 9pm. So we instead ambled along to Phnom Penh night market before calling it a day.
Day 5 - 21 Dec
Nothing much happened as I joined the rest for training (okay, I was simply an observer) then farewell dinner and some singing at karaoke. It was tiring during the day but we ended the day merrily!!
Day 6 - 22 Dec
I was exhausted for having to wake up early (6+am), especially after a late night! Sadly, we didn't have much choice as we had to pack and check-out by 7am since the tour guide would pick us up at 730am. Our first stop was the National Museum. There, we joined a very informative guided tour where we learned much about Khmer culture during a short 30 min walk.
Our next stop was Killing Field, about an hour drive away (15 km) from the National Museum. All the prisoners from S-21, who had been tortured to the point that they were barly holding on and who were deemed useless as they could no longer offer new information, were transported to Cheung Ek Killing Field for their final journey. Instead of ending their sufferings with a quick death using bullets, the executioners forced the prisoners to kneel at the edge of mass graves and clubbed on the neck, with even farm-use items like shovels & axes. Just the thought of it was disturbingly chilling. There were 129 mass graves in this place considered to be the biggest killing field in the country. 43 of them were left untouched. Over 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves were housed in the Memorial Stupa, categorized by their gender and cause of death. The scale and extent of such merciless slaughtering sent chills down our spine. An hour spent was more than enough for us since we just couldn't rationalize which type of human being could inflict this kind of suffering to his fellow people! And in cold blood without remorse, nonetheless!
At Tonle Bassac restaurant, we had our early lunch buffet around 1130am. It was a leisurely affair since we had so much time to kill! The tour company was initially worried about us missing our flight due to traffic jam and hence, they were rushing us so badly. Luckily, their worry didn't become a reality. We had time to browse the duty free shops at the airport. Flying back with Bangkok Airways also meant Bangkok transit, which allowed us to shop at the numerous duty free shops.
Tuk Tuk from Phnom Penh Hotel to Sorya: 2 USD per pax
First on agenda was lunch so we went to food court on level 4 of Sorya Shopping Center. This food court offers local dishes while there were fast foot chains as well as pizza restaurant on different floors. Afterwards, we shopped a bit as Sorya's air-conditioned shelter not only offered myriad of clothes, shoes, electronics, CDs and bags, but also a respite from sweltering afternoon heat. There were even a cineplex & karaoke rooms on the top floor. Lucky Supermarket (for all your groceries & snacks) is located on the ground floor. Oh, although Sorya is called a shopping center, you still need to practice your bargaining skills. I scored a pair of heels for 18 USD while the original asking price was 26 USD. Probably, my mom could have gotten it cheaper :D
Tuk Tuk from Central Market to S21 Museum: 3 USD per pax
Entrance fees for S21 Museum: 3 USD per pax
Before 1975 in Cambodia, there was already a clash between ideologies - democracy vs communism. Pol Pot - a former scholar in France & school teacher in Cambodia - was a staunch supporter of communism. In 1970, King Sihanouk was deposed by the National Assembly vote, while he was in Moscow. In an effort to regain his political power, King Sihanouk supported Khmer Rouge which quickly grew in strength and numbers. Cambodia eventually fell under Khmer Rouge's control from 1975 to 1979. During Pol Pot's cruel regime, a former high school in Phnom Penh was turned into Security Prison 21 (S-21) - the largest center of torture & detention in the country. Today, it has been turned into a Tuol Sleng Museum, as a testament against the brutalities that the darkest side of human beings is capable of.
To put it simply, the visit was eerily depressing. I couldn't digest the fact that a school which was supposed to be passing on knowledge to a new generation for betterment of our society has been used as a black hole of hopelessness and despair for more than 17,000 prisoners tortured there. The school buildings actually looked very similar to my former secondary school in Singapore. But the classrooms there had been converted into interrogation rooms with metal bed frames and an assortment of torture devices as well as 2 feet x 5 feet partitioned rooms to act as individual cells.
The courtyard housed 14 graves for those poor souls who bodies were found decomposing in S-21 upon Vietnamese army's liberation of Phnom Penh.
Tuk Tuk from S21 Museum to Phnom Penh Hotel: 4 USD per pax
We couldn't take it anymore and left for our hotel just before 5pm. After training ended around 530pm for the rest of our group, we enjoyed a laid-back dinner at a restaurant opposite our hotel. When our fellow group members heard about our shopping, they wanted to explore too so we took tuk tuk to Sorya but sadly, it was closing by the time we reached at 9pm. So we instead ambled along to Phnom Penh night market before calling it a day.
Day 5 - 21 Dec
Nothing much happened as I joined the rest for training (okay, I was simply an observer) then farewell dinner and some singing at karaoke. It was tiring during the day but we ended the day merrily!!
Day 6 - 22 Dec
I was exhausted for having to wake up early (6+am), especially after a late night! Sadly, we didn't have much choice as we had to pack and check-out by 7am since the tour guide would pick us up at 730am. Our first stop was the National Museum. There, we joined a very informative guided tour where we learned much about Khmer culture during a short 30 min walk.
Leper King - a seated figure with his right knee raised
Its nakedness is considered unusual in Khmer art.
Our next stop was Killing Field, about an hour drive away (15 km) from the National Museum. All the prisoners from S-21, who had been tortured to the point that they were barly holding on and who were deemed useless as they could no longer offer new information, were transported to Cheung Ek Killing Field for their final journey. Instead of ending their sufferings with a quick death using bullets, the executioners forced the prisoners to kneel at the edge of mass graves and clubbed on the neck, with even farm-use items like shovels & axes. Just the thought of it was disturbingly chilling. There were 129 mass graves in this place considered to be the biggest killing field in the country. 43 of them were left untouched. Over 8000 skulls exhumed from mass graves were housed in the Memorial Stupa, categorized by their gender and cause of death. The scale and extent of such merciless slaughtering sent chills down our spine. An hour spent was more than enough for us since we just couldn't rationalize which type of human being could inflict this kind of suffering to his fellow people! And in cold blood without remorse, nonetheless!
At Tonle Bassac restaurant, we had our early lunch buffet around 1130am. It was a leisurely affair since we had so much time to kill! The tour company was initially worried about us missing our flight due to traffic jam and hence, they were rushing us so badly. Luckily, their worry didn't become a reality. We had time to browse the duty free shops at the airport. Flying back with Bangkok Airways also meant Bangkok transit, which allowed us to shop at the numerous duty free shops.
Adios!
xoxo
Missy
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