Day 2 in Phnom Penh

Day 2 of our trip can be summarized in two words "mass murder". Sounds morbid and it really was. We started off the day going to something called the "killing fields". The killing fields in Phnom Penh is an old military camp that is now a tourist attraction. Many people consider what happened here to be the worst human atrocity outside of the holocaust. In the 70's, millions were killed here during the military Ku (sp?) and subsequent reign of the dictator Pol Pot and his government called the Khmer Rouge . This Pol Pot guy basically overthrew the government and tried to kill everyone that stood in his way or thought maybe one day they would. The killing fields is where they took the people to kill them. When the Khmer Rouge was overthrown this site was excavated and now there are empty holes where mass graves once were. There is also a monument with piles of human bones and skulls.

After that somber trip I guess we hadn't had enough of the depressive theme so we went to a place formally known as S-21. This was the place where the people that ended up at the killing fields came first to be brutally tortured by the Khmer Rouge and made to confess things they did and probably whatever else their interrogators wanted them to. There were pictures of all the victims. Women, children etc. The rooms were all set up like they were back then with the torture devices still sitting around. It was tough to believe this all went on in the 70s. Seems like someone would've done something to stop it. But then again similar things are going on today and they aren't being stopped so..

From there we were really amped to do something about the attrocities of the world to make sure they never happen again. Our newfound revolutionary mindset inspired us to be extremely brave and go shopping at the central market for knockoffs. Not only would buying these less than authentic brand name goods serve to financially support the locals but they also contribute to our approval rating from those Americans back home who look for that kind of thing...Haven (but not close enough to know the fake). Thats free markets at work. Hooray capitalism!

We found ourselves a bit hungry after the market so we asked our tuk tuk driver where the best pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) could be found. He took us to a great place near the riverfront that had very good pho and we treated him to lunch for all his hard work in lugging us around all day. After that we went to what is probably the most famous tourist attraction in inner Phnom Penh which is the royal palace. It was cool and all but I think by this time we were over tourist attractions for the day. We spent a long 45mins here and headed back to the guesthouse for a swim to cool off from the scorching heat. The rest of the day was a mix of lounging and eating and a little sleeping on my part. After another great dinner and a little bit of patio people watching...we find ourselves exhausted and ready for bed. Wish you were here. Later.