Old Market

Fresh meat, no refrigeration...

Biking around Siem Reap

Crocodile Farm

Crocodiles like to lie on top of each other!

 

This monkey tried to attack me as I was walking towards the crocodiles!

Lake Tonle Sap

The floating village sits on Lake Tonle Sap - during rainy season, the water rises all the way up to the top of the stilts.

A boat ride among the flooded forest of mangrove trees.

More Angkor Temples

Angkor Ruins

Siem Reap, Cambodia was a side trip for my family vacation in Manila. It's a town overrun with tourists, as it is the biggest tourist destination in Cambodia due to its proximity to the Angkor temples, the most famous and biggest one being Angkor Wat. The temples were ruined from centuries of war, but the government has been reconstructing them slowly. I was here two years ago, and certain areas where I had taken photos previously are now different because of the ongoing reconstruction!

331: SEARCHING FOR DOLPHINS

Looking for Irrawaddy freshwater dolphins on the Mekong River by Kratie. It was successful but not satisfying, since the dolphins didn't come very close to our boats.

The boat launch was about half an hour away from the town, so we hopped on the back of some motorbikes and zoomed off along the countryside to get to the dolphins. The moto ride was fun - I loved passing the oxen on the street and all the children waving hello at us.

Me with my 22 year old moto driver

330: HORRIFIC PAST

A tiny cell (0.8 x 2 m) at Tuol Sleng prison, formerly a high school.

More than two out of the population of eight million in Cambodia died during the genocide under the four year rule of the Khmer Rouge. Their leader, Pol Pot, was a Cambodian Hitler, who declared 1975 as Year Zero. Right now, 50% of the current population is under the age of 25, because so many of the older generation were killed.  Doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, and any other professionals were all executed for being educated. Even people whose only crimes were having glasses, pale skin, or uncallused hands - they were also tortured and murdered, for appearing educated.

It sickens me to know that today, some of the former Khmer Rouge officials are working in positions of power in the Cambodian government. This is because the people in this country are too afraid to speak out, because they have endured so much death and sorrow in these recent years. Almost all Cambodians have relatives who were killed under the reign of the Khmer Rouge, and so now, all they want is some peace.

Barbed wire to prevent prisoners from jumping and committing suicide

I literally felt like I was going to throw up as my tour guide (who grew up under the Khmer Rouge regime) described all the gory details of how they tortured prisoners.

The Choeung Ek Killing Fields, one of many Killing Fields across the country, is where about 17 000 people were executed. From time to time, the heavy rains will wash away the top layer of soil, revealing even more bones and clothing of the dead.

(No, they weren't actually walking through the mass grave)

Bullets were too precious to be used, so people were bludgeoned to death instead. This is the tree against which they used to smash babies' bodies...

 

I cannot even imagine how it must feel for a Cambodian to come face to face with a former Khmer Rouge official. In the words of my guide, "I met one, and I really wanted to kill him. But I knew I would get into trouble, and I have a family. If I killed him, I would not be able to support my family, and how would they eat without me?"