A bizarre city

We took the bus to the capital of Cambodia on Monday. The journey to Phnom Penh took a good 6 hours. There are no highways here. We constantly drove through small villages. That's why the journey took so long.

When we arrived in Phnom Penh we were amazed at the many skyscrapers. From the bus ride we could see how rural and poor many people in Cambodia live. That's why we didn't expect a skyline like that. It is estimated that over 30 high-rise buildings adorn the city. Many with LED lights or huge spotlights on the roofs. We booked a hotel whose rooms are on the 29th floor. So we have a fantastic view from our room (and no, we didn't spend a fortune on it. It works here for 30 francs a night). The view from the pool and gym is even better. They are on the top floor, on the 39th floor. There you really have a great overview of this city of 2 million inhabitants.

Phnom Penh is an amazing city. If you consider that almost 50 years ago the brutal Khmer Rouge ruled the country for almost 4 years and sent almost all of the city's residents to the countryside for forced labor, it is impressive how big everything is here. There are often temples or monasteries between the high-rise buildings. These are usually all gold. On a somewhat questionable sightseeing tour we saw a very bizarre temple with LED lights and a cartoon Buddha statue. Not far away was a temple in a golden ship.

Unfortunately, Simon's health wasn't really good. So Sonja visited the royal palace and the genocide museum alone. The latter was not an easy visit, but an important one. With an informative audio guide, I learned more about the history of Cambodia and especially the Khmer Rouge. Under his government, 2 million people lost their lives under the most cruel conditions. It is Cambodia's darkest chapter. The visit made me very thoughtful and helped me understand the country a little better.