Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh - it's capital-time! This is our 10th capital on our trip so far. What we notice: there are much more cars and much less scooters here than in Vietnam. This makes it much quieter and enjoyable to walk around. And as you can see here, there's a lovely river promenade. Good times!

Amazing temples with their characteristique Khmer-roofs.

The Royal Palace...



When sunset arrives, many people come out as temperatures drop (a bit) and streetfood-stands pop up everywhere...

... and many people get really active, playing football, jogging...

... or doing collective aerobics: a highlight to watch!

If you want to know what your future looks like, you can let the fortune-teller predict your life... You can choose from around 100. They all just sit on this 20 meter street section every two meters, male and female fortune-teller. All with their own indispensable individual accessory...

We also popped into a nice ceremony...

Wat Phnom, a really nice and quiet temple site in the middle of the city...

Yes, monkeys are here, too...

Okay, now some hard stuff: Choeung Ek, also known as a Killing Field... As you probably know, the Red Khmer killed nearly 3 out of 8 million Cambodian people in just about 4 years - that was from 1975-1979... It must have been a terrible time and words cannot describe the terrors people must have lived during those times... Cambodians killing Cambodians... Here is the commemorative stupa filled with the sculls of the victims...

During the 1980ies the mass grave site was discovered... Up to 300 persons were killed here daily... But not with bullets, as they were too expensive... Primitive tools as axes or iron bars were used... and even children were killed by smashing them at trees... then the bodies - some not even dead - were dropped in mass graves... even today bones and clothes still surface after rains...

Before being killed here, the persons were locked up and tortured in a prison called S21, which we also visited later that day. No pictures allowed. Also very sad and terrifying...