Cambodia's capital: Phnom Penh

Our bus ride from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh was...interesting. 6:30 am pickup, then transported to a large bus terminal, tagged our luggage and then onto the bus. The guide spoke in english throughout the trip but we could not understand a word of what she was saying. We kept looking at each other and saying "did you catch a word of that cause i have NO CLUE what shes saying?" Which was followed by bouts of laughter. Ha. Then the AC started dripping on us, which was nice in a way since the bus was so hot and it helped me cool down. The bus driver apparently had some errands to run because we stopped on the countryside, he bought some food, called his wife (assumption), then an hour or so later, dropped off the food to someone who was waiting on the side of the road. Also, there were stops for his roadside bathroom break and drop-offs of two women on the bus in the middle of nowhere. Nonetheless, about 7 hours later we arrived in Phnom Penh, all in one piece and luggage intact.

Outside the Central Market

Since we had about 24 hours in the capital city, we decided to forgo lunch and head to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Luckily along the way, we stumbled across an upscale cafe called Brown and grabbed a snack. We spent about two hours in the museum walking around in rooms where people had been tortured and killed. Pictures of victims filled up many of the rooms, along with written accounts of some of their time there. From what I gathered, during the Khmer Rouge Regime, innocent people were captured and taken to the secret prison and interrogation center called S-21. There they were accused of crimes that they had not committed and tortured and beaten until they gave a full confession. Then they were piled into a truck and taken to the killing fields.

After, we walked around the bustling city for a bit, stopping by the Central Market and then sat on the riverside to people watch. We tried out Phnom Penh Indian for dinner (thanks Neeluz!) and it was delicious. Best garlic naan ever.

they would smash babies on this tree

The next day, we took a long ride through dusty streets to the Choeung Ek killing fields. We walked around for a few hours, listening to the audio tour. Just unbelievable how cruel people can be and that genocide has occurred so many times in history...

bracelets in remembrance of women/children

Tried a local fave for lunch - Beef Loc Lak. Very yummy, but only if you like peppercorn.

Next: 2 pm bus from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City. We considered flying but it was more than we wanted to spend and decided that we'd give Mekong Express another go.