This morning I woke up at five-thirty to recorded music playing across the street. When I looked out, I saw a rectangular red tent that stretched from the shopfronts out into the street. The tent must have been constructed during the night, because I did not see it yesterday. It was pleasant dozing to Cambodian music for an hour or two. I found out later in the day that the tent was for a wedding. Sunday seems to be the day for weddings here--I must have seen six or seven.
During breakfast at the waterfront, a tuk-tuk driver stopped at the curb to wait until I was finished. He spoke fairly good English and since I was planning to see sights that are too far to walk, I hired him. First, we drove out to Choeung Ek, one of the killing fields where the Khmer Rouge liquidated their prisoners after interrogations at Toul Sleng, the prison in Phnom Penh. There is a memorial at Choeung Ek containing the skulls of the bodies that were unearthed from mass graves there. The buildings are no longer standing, but the mass grave excavations are everywhere.
I talked a bit with my driver on the way back into town for the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Between his accent and the traffic noise, it was often hard to understand, but he is an interesting man.
The tragedy in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge hit me much harder at Toul Sleng than at Choeung Ek. Even though Choeung Ek was the sight of the actual murders, it was at Toul Sleng that the Khmer Rouge tortured their prisoners to extract confessions. Of the thousands of people who where incarcerated there, only seven survived. The hundreds of portraits that the Khmer Rouge took of their victims on display in the actual mass detainment cells paint a tragedy of ordinary people.
I returned to my hotel around one-thirty and read the history section of my guidebook, trying to understand the context of the Khmer Rouge. I can't say I succeeded.
This afternoon I hopped a moto to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which is maybe ten blocks south of my hotel. The Royal Palace is a compound comprising the royal residence, a throne hall, and several others buildings. Some of the buildings are open to the public and contain exhibits on royal clothes and seals. Immediately next to the Royal Palace compound is another slightly smaller walled section. The Silver Pagoda stands imposingly in this section amidst a few other pagodas and monuments. Most parts of the floor in the Silver Pagoda are covered with carpets and rugs, but those parts that are not reveal the silver panels that give the building its name. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in any of the buildings on the grounds.
Now, I'm at an internet cafe I found walking back to my hotel. Tomorrow, I have an early bus to Siem Reap. I've gotten a couple requests to upload more pictures, so I'm trying to set up a Flickr account. Right now, it seems to be impossibly slow, but hopefully I can make it work.
During breakfast at the waterfront, a tuk-tuk driver stopped at the curb to wait until I was finished. He spoke fairly good English and since I was planning to see sights that are too far to walk, I hired him. First, we drove out to Choeung Ek, one of the killing fields where the Khmer Rouge liquidated their prisoners after interrogations at Toul Sleng, the prison in Phnom Penh. There is a memorial at Choeung Ek containing the skulls of the bodies that were unearthed from mass graves there. The buildings are no longer standing, but the mass grave excavations are everywhere.
I talked a bit with my driver on the way back into town for the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. Between his accent and the traffic noise, it was often hard to understand, but he is an interesting man.
The tragedy in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge hit me much harder at Toul Sleng than at Choeung Ek. Even though Choeung Ek was the sight of the actual murders, it was at Toul Sleng that the Khmer Rouge tortured their prisoners to extract confessions. Of the thousands of people who where incarcerated there, only seven survived. The hundreds of portraits that the Khmer Rouge took of their victims on display in the actual mass detainment cells paint a tragedy of ordinary people.
I returned to my hotel around one-thirty and read the history section of my guidebook, trying to understand the context of the Khmer Rouge. I can't say I succeeded.
This afternoon I hopped a moto to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, which is maybe ten blocks south of my hotel. The Royal Palace is a compound comprising the royal residence, a throne hall, and several others buildings. Some of the buildings are open to the public and contain exhibits on royal clothes and seals. Immediately next to the Royal Palace compound is another slightly smaller walled section. The Silver Pagoda stands imposingly in this section amidst a few other pagodas and monuments. Most parts of the floor in the Silver Pagoda are covered with carpets and rugs, but those parts that are not reveal the silver panels that give the building its name. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in any of the buildings on the grounds.
Now, I'm at an internet cafe I found walking back to my hotel. Tomorrow, I have an early bus to Siem Reap. I've gotten a couple requests to upload more pictures, so I'm trying to set up a Flickr account. Right now, it seems to be impossibly slow, but hopefully I can make it work.
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