Category: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, 2018

Markets, Killing Fields and a Walk by the Mekong

January 30. Fabulous eggs Benedict at FCC hotel restaurant (bar pictured below).

Off to two markets, the first the central market, an ornate yellow%domed covered market that sells many jewels. Supposedly arty shot of windows reflected in jewelry case not very successful. Oh, well.

Second is a great local market, which is photographically interesting, despite all the markets I’ve seen around the world.

From there, we visit grim Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also called S21, the former School converted to a jail and place of torture for prisoners who were later transported to the Killing Fields to be murdered. We have an excellent guide, who speaks very good English and has traveled to the US to visit the Holocaust museum in DC, Alabama (to learn about civil rights) and Stanford University. We see the prison and torture cells, see photographs of all the prisoners and learn more about the horrid details. And are even spoken to by one of two survivors of the prison.

From there we drive to the Killing Fields (All driving is done in tuk-tuks today) and see the memorial there and walk around in high heat and humidity and listen to a tape of what we are seeing, which includes a tree against which babies were killed. Not fun, but important to witness.

We drive back to the hotel, and Carol and I go to the National Museum, which houses a wonderful collection of old sculpture. We are too tired and had inadequate time and exposure fully to appreciate it, but we were still glad to have seen it.

We run into Robert there, and walk to have cold drinks at a café across from the Mekong River. Carol (the whimp) goes back to the hotel to rest, but I walk by the river photographing monks, people selling flowers and cute kids, a great antidote to a rather dreary day. I’ve included too many photos here.

Rather than go straight to dinner, as I’d attended, I have mercy on my dinner companions and run up to the hotel to shower and change. We all the tuk-tuk to a very top Phenom Penh Restaurant, Bistro Langka, for an excellent dinner (the highlight, for me, being a slow-cooked egg appetizer with a delicious sauce). I don’t expect to have trouble sleeping after finishing this damn blog.

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