Cambodia!

CAMBODIA DAY 3:

Our first stop today was at the Cambodia Genocide Museum located at what used to be a school but was converted into a prisoner holding facility.  Every classroom had torture machines or pictures of hundreds of victims.  After, we visited the killing fields where thousands of Cambodians were brought and killed immediately upon arrival or even buried alive.  As we walked around the beautiful area covered in flowers and lily ponds, I could only think about the poor people who were thrown into death pits under my footsteps.  There was one 9-level tower that displayed thousands of skulls and bones excavated from the site.  It was terribly sad learning about the brutal means of killing one’s own kind. 

Finally done with the heartbreaking part of the day, we made our way to the local market for some souvenirs and culture.  I bargained for some shirts and gorgeous scarves to bring home but didn’t find much value in the other 80% of the market that was selling fake name-brand wallets, clothing, and bags.  My mom, brother, and I jumped in a ‘tuc-tuc’ for a quick ride around the town.  These ‘tuc-tucs’ are roofed carts pulled by motorcycles with room for four people.  It’s a fun way to get around town if hoping on the back of a motorcycle or in a rickshaw bike isn’t your idea of safe transportation. The crazy two-wheeled vehicle traffic patterns continued in Cambodia just like Vietnam’s chaotic, but somehow functional, system. On our tuc-tuc ride we saw another elephant but didn’t have time to go for a ride.  My mom was quite disappointed! 

After a quick 45-minute flight to Angkor Watt, Cambodia we dropped our bags at the luxurious hotel and changed before heading to a dinner/show.  This evening’s meal and traditional dance was a tourist mob scene with long bench tables and hundreds of foreigners crammed into this buffet style experience.  Luckily it was only an hour long and we got dropped off in the old town area where the exciting nightlife is. Right as we got there we saw a fish take where tiny fish would nibble the dead skin off of one’s feet or hands.  All the boys did it right away and laughed the entire time about who had more fish clinging to their feet.  It really was hysterical.  There were 50 cent beers advertised in front of every bar but we had been told specifically about the ‘Angkor What?’ bar.  It was a blast; we even got to write our names on the wall.  I didn’t recognize the prostitute presence at first, but we ventured to Temple Bar where there was a dance floor and right as we walked in I realized it was full of young girls in tiny skirts and high heels playing pool.  There was even a pregnant girl sitting on a bench watching the others dance with old white men.  I had never seen anything like this before so I was partly disgusted and partly amazed by the entire scene.  When we left to grab a tuc-tuc back to the hotel I noticed how every girl walking up and down the street was also a prostitute looking for business.  Quite the wake-up call again to the different lifestyle than many people are forced to live.