Phnom Penh

In terms of weather, the difference between Koh Rong Sanloem and Phnom Penh couldn't have been greater: constant rain versus blazing sun. But of course there are also huge differences in terms of landscape and size between a small island in the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Cambodia. There is a lot to do and the tuk-tuk drivers know what tourists' hearts desire. Namely the attractions that they have pictured on their laminated sheets and immediately put in front of every passenger. And because they are so well prepared, they want to be hired as drivers for the next day (or even better: for the next few days). We politely declined every time, but still got around well.

A visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a must. The current museum was built in the 1960s as a high school, but in 1975, after Phnom Penh was captured by the Khmer Rouge, it was used as a prison called S-21. The classrooms were used as prison cells and torture chambers. While initially it was mainly soldiers and officials of the previous regime who were brought to S-21, by the time Cambodia was liberated by the Vietnamese, civilians, students, intellectuals, etc. were also prisoners there, often with their entire families.

S-21 was known for not leaving alive. The prisoners were tortured until they confessed to the crime and were then killed. The latest estimates suggest that around 18,000 people were imprisoned in S-21 during the four-year rule of the Khmer Rouge. Only twelve of the prisoners survived, including four children. Two of the four children were there when we visited the museum and let us take their photos.

In the museum you can see a number of torture chambers, solitary and mass cells. There are also some paintings by one of the survivors and an incredible number of display boards with thousands of photos of the victims. The idea is that the bereaved can search for their family members in the museum to find out what happened to them.

All in all, not necessarily a pleasant, but rather depressing, but very interesting and informative museum visit. The National Museum, on the other hand, was unfortunately not worth it at all, although it was highly praised in the travel guide. Perhaps one should trust Google reviews more these days...

Otherwise, we visited a few tourist attractions such as the Russian and Central Markets, the Independence Monument, Wat Phnom and the Royal Palace. We also happened upon a wedding while out for a walk and were immediately invited to lunch. And at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap, there were several people selling sparrows. The idea behind buying sparrows is that you release them back into the wild straight away, which is supposed to bring good luck. We didn't try it, but there were people who bought a whole cage. The only question that remains is whether the people needed that much luck or whether each individual sparrow only brings that little luck...