Phnom Penh

We ended our first full day in the capital city of Cambodia drunk on a boat in the river. It was a converted club and full of some very obvious prostitutes, some obviously prostitute seeking men, enough marijuana to start a cartel and a wide mix of other colorful characters.

But our day began with a walk around the city of Phnom Penh.

Cambodia is an interesting country because of what it has been through so recently. One in five Cambodians were killed as a result of the Khmer Rouge, a political party that abolished money, killed people who wore glasses for being intellectual and set up notorious interrogation camps. The most brutal was S21. 14,000 people went through the camp, were violently interrogated and then eventually killed by being clubbed to death in the infamous killing fields.



The interrogations all usually started with the same line from the abusers. "Why do you think you are here"? This was asked because the interrogators had no idea why they were torturing the Cambodian before them and often the Cambodian did not know either. This was the insanity of the system, under pressure of torture a victim would be forced to write a "confession" and also strings of names who were additionally conspiring against the Khmer Rouge regime. Under torture these names were either made up or people the victim knew from everyday life. These people would then be rounded up and the killing machine would work on a loop. The confessions themselves were the saddest part of all, often lasting hundreds of pages because the victim knew that as soon as they stopped their confession it would mean their death. All this happened in recent history. I visited the killing fields where some mass graves contained up to 450 bodies.


So walking around Phnom Penh it's surprising to find a city full of so many people smiling. The place has character and life and a real sense of people looking forward to things to come. We ate at a local restaurant on the street where the lady could only point and tell us we were consuming "cow". A rat was scurrying around under her table and I have seen some stalls selling cooked spiders, frogs and cockroaches so I was pleased at her bovine confirmation. Tuk Tuk drivers harass you by the hundreds for a ride but are quick to smile an laugh if you explain that walking is better for your health. Kids come up and ask for money or try to sell you fake DVDs, books or bracelets but will still chat even if you don't buy anything, some have even imparted the occasional gem of tourist advice.

I like this city but it is quite an intense place. Everyone is living for the moment.

So how did we end up on a boat drunk?

Martha is the name of the girl that we are travelling with at the moment and she turned twenty years of age on our first full day in Phnom Penh. She is the ultimate backpacker, travelling with nothing more than a rucksack sized satchel for two years that puts my massive bag to shame. We needed so celebrate the end of her teenage years and so found a bar, found some locals for advice and then found a club on a boat in the river. We returned home to our hostel on a Tuk Tuk at 4am that broke down once on the way. Upon arrival we were offered opium, weed and an assortment of drugs. We declined and the dealers just smiled and went on their way. Just like everyone else in this crazy little contrasted city.



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