Killing fields / S-21

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Originally uploaded by teign_cambodia.

Hello again. We are now writing from a different part of the country – the city of Siem Reap. The city is smaller than the Cambodian capital, but is much more pleasant, due to the smaller number of people, and (slightly) more tidy look to the streets. But more of that in the next entry.

The day before yesteday, we did some sightseeing, such as visiting the killing fields and S-21. We travelled to these by moped-drawn carriages named Tuk-Tuks. These were very enjoyable, especially on the off road sections. Although in Phnom Penh, the difference between the main roads and the off-road parts is quite small.

Both the killing fields and S-21 give an insight into the atrocities commited by the regime of Pol Pot in the seventies. It made for an interesting, if slightly grim, experience. We wont go into detail, but we learnt about the millions of people who died.

After doing this, we went to the British embassy to be briefed on safety issues that could arise during our stay in Cambodia. But not before lunch, of course.

In the evening, we went to a authentic Cambodian restaurant. The choice was small, so we all went for the "noodles with beef ball". When it came, a debate soon sprung up to decide what was actually meant by beef "balls". It is still not certain if they were cow testicles or not - sadly, not even the taste gave us the answer. When a few of us lied and claimed to have asked the cook and to have been told that they WERE testicles, a few faces went an interesting shade of green.

We then went to our rooms, where a large proportion of the boys ended up getting very little sleep, spending the night deep in discussion over various high-priority issues. In the end, several of the aforementioned males got rather vociferous in the coridoor with their opinions, until the manager came to complain.

But it was a great day, especially since we had largely countered the effects of jet-lag. The same cannot be said for the next morning.

- Danny, Matt, and Dom.