Phnom Penh

What a sobering day. We spent the morning visiting the genocide museum (Security Prison 21) - a former high school whose classrooms were converted to torture chambers by Pol Pot's security forces in 1975. We then visited Choeung Ek, the infamous killing field where 17,000 detainees held at S-21 were executed.

A little info about the Cambodian genocide and the Khmer Rouge:
- Upon taking Phnom Penh in 1975 - two weeks before the fall of Saigon - the Khmer Rouge implemented an incredibly brutal period of restructuring. Led by Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge sought to transform Cambodia into a giant peasant-dominated agarian cooperative, which they attempted to do by wiping out all educated Cambodian citizens, as well as the families of those citizens. (Even children were executed - and often brutally.)
- While the Khmer Rouge's methods of torture were horrifying, perhaps the most disturbing part of this story is how people were actually executed: since bullets were prohibitively expensive, victims were often bludgeoned to death with shovels or beheaded with the sharp stems of palm tree leaves.
- The Vietnamese army finally liberated Phnom Penh 1979, though 3 million of the country's previous population of 7 million had already been executed. Only seven prisoners from S-21 survived, and we actually had the privilege of meeting one of them. Hearing his story of what he went through during that time was heartwrenching.
- Sadly, many Cambodian children are ignorant of the brutality that took place during this period, as this portion of Cambodia's history is not taught in Cambodian schools, and apparently parents do not typically talk to their children about their own experiences during this period.

Other random facts about Cambodia:
- Cambodia does not have child labor laws, and since secondary school is not compulsory, many children drop out to get factory jobs (which pay just $60/mo.)
- After a couple is married, it is common for them to live with the woman's family. It is also typical in Cambodia for the couple to support the woman's family once they marry - the reason girls are preferred to boys in this country
- Boys are typically more educated than girls in this country, as boys are expected to provide for their families; however, with the same level of education, girls actually get paid more than boys once they enter the workforce
- When expressing thanks, it is polite to bow your head here (this is also a common practice in other Asian countries)
- Diet Coke is more expensive than regular Coke in this country
- For some reason, locals here address Western women as 'lady'
- As far as I can tell, all bras sold here are the same size
- People here drive on the right-hand side of the road, though people drive both right- and left-sided cars
- Name brand clothing is really cheap here, as factories unload many their old and defective products to locals to sell
- The population of Cambodia is now around 15 million - 11 million greater than it was in 1980

Typical foods here include:
- Papaya salad with dried shrimp
- Tom yum soup
- Lok lak (beef and tomato salad)
- Spring rolls
- Fish amok
- Morning glory
- Curries and stir fries

Other highlights of this city:
- Driving through endless stretches of rice paddies on our way from Ho Chi Minh
- Our cyclo ride through town
- Seeing monkeys around Wat Phnom
- Drinking lychee cocktails
- My "takeaway" coffee, which was served in a rubberbanded plastic bag
- My first tuk tuk ride
- My $5 North Face bag
- $6, 60-min foot and shoulder massages
- Visiting the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which is tiled in solid silver