Phnom Penh

We arrived at peak hour in Phnom Penh on Saturday night and I must admit I was a little overwhelmed at first. The traffic was just incredible - I mean compared to Manila it wasn't too bad (because the traffic here was still moving at least). We found our hotel after a little hiccup. Our Cambodian friend was a bit concerned because she thought we were staying in or near a hotel known to be frequented by pay by the hour prostitutes. Thankfully we were at the wrong address. We were going to be spending five nights here and I was torn between trying to see as much as I could (as Em had seen most of the touristy stuff here already), and resting and recuperating (from my heavy workload as part of the logistics team :). I think we got the right balance in the end.

Sunday we checked out the National Museum which was quite interesting. There were a lot of artefacts from the Angkorian empire and information which supplemented what we'd seen and been told by our guide at Angkor. We were surprised and then proud to find an animation that was created by Monash University. 

We checked out the river front and there were many pubs and eating places. There were a lot of dodgy looking foreigners hanging about the place and it didn't have a very nice vibe.

On Monday we met up with Em's friend Srey Touch who she'd met on her first trip to Cambodia as part of a team from York Street Church of Christ. She showed us the Russian Market where we made some clothing and genuine DVD purchases. I'm still not sure why it is called the Russian Market - There were no Russians to speak of nor any Russian items for sale. Okay, thank you Google - apparently it is called the Russian market because of its popularity with Russian ex-pats in the 1980s.

Srey Touch & Naomi

On Tuesday we visited Choeung Ek one of the more famous sites in Cambodia also known as the Killing Fields. It's hard to say how it went, I mean I still feel sort of numb to that whole experience. Basically you wander around these mass graves with an audio player plugged in and it gives you the background and some first-hand accounts of what took place. It is estimated that as many as 3 million people were killed during the reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge. I think the population of Cambodia at the time was around 8 million - it said on the audio - imagine if one in four people where you lived were wiped out. People were killed for wearing glasses, for being literate, or popular, having talent or for having soft hands... I would be a goner! Words just fail me, I can't fathom that this could happen, that people could do this to each other. One of the worst things is that basically the world sat idly by while all this was happening. Developed countries such as the US, UK and Australia supported the Khmer Rouge's seat at the United Nations and even provided financial aid to them. This is not ancient history we're talking about, we're talking about between 1975-1979... I was surprised to see that Pol Pot was still killing people still in 1997. Atrocities, although perhaps not to this scale, are still being committed by human beings everyday - Why does the developed world depose one dictator and let another reign unhindered (and/or even support them?!). Anyway as you can tell it got some cogs turning and I'm still processing a lot of this.

The memorial stupa

New life at the mass grave site

Em (and our tuk-tuk driver taking a leak)

We headed to Central Market for some retail therapy which was larger than the Russian Market and had large areas of jewellery and technology. Even though there were a lot of stores, it felt like they were selling a lot of the same or very similar items.

We caught up with a friend who we'd met with T.A.B. who took us out to dinner at a local restaurant. She works at a University and is a vocal campaigner for equal rights for women. She is at the forefront in Cambodia of challenging gender roles, norms and stereotypes. She said that if a man has an extra-marital affair it's basically accepted, however if a women did this she would be ostracised from her family and her whole community. It's these double-standards which she is directly challenging. I was very inspired by her because she won't accept that the way things are, are the way things have to be - and she is taking action to initiate change.

Yesterday we headed back to the Russian Market and did some souvenir and present shopping and then caught up with Srey Touch and her family for tea. All you can eat buffet for $4 per person... BARGAIN :)

This morning we fly out to KL at 11. I am sad to be leaving but also very thankful that I have had this experience. One of my favourite bible verses is Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I believe that God is working in me and using things like this trip to help me be the man he wants me to be and to achieve His purposes for my life. My beliefs and what I value are being challenged - and that is okay. I think Em would say that God's purpose is for us to move to Cambodia... I guess we'll just have to wait and see, I'm grateful that he sees the bigger picture.