Days 63-64.5: Phnom Penh

Our next stop was Phnom Penh. We hadn't actually planned on going, but it was the cheapest way for us to get to Singapore afterward. This time, our bus ride was actually comfortable and enjoyable. We did splurge and spend 3 extra dollars for the "top of the line." The coach bus' seats were spacious, and they even played movies! There was a short stop in rural Cambodia where people were encouraged to visit the preferred restaurant, but we instead struck off in search of bugs again. This time, we were a little bit luckier, finding some fried crickets. They actually weren't all that bad - basically fried exoskeleton. I was disappointed though because when Heather was in Cambodia about 4 years ago, bugs were reportedly not this hard to find. Must be a sign of improved economic conditions.

Tasting the cricket

Feeling as though I had only seen the nicer aspects of Cambodia, I decided to dedicate my short time in Phnom Penh to the more sobering sites that are a part of the country's more recent history. Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng prison, also known as S21. At this converted schoolhouse, the Khmer Rouge detained, interrogated, tortured, and then systematically killed an estimated 17,000 of its own people in the mid to late 1970s. Only seven ever survived the prison. It was an appalling genocide that decimated a third of the population. It was truly eerie to be at a place where such evil occurred just over 30 years ago. As I walked around and saw older Cambodians, I wondered what it must be like to see the world through their eyes having lived through that era, and more darkly, were some of these people responsible for these acts?

That evening, we headed down to the Mekong riverfront where we found some large celebration going on - we still aren't clear what it was. We found a nice roof deck bar overlooking the river and enjoyed some cocktails. Later we headed to Romdeng, a sister restaurant to Makphet where we ate in Vientiane. We are suckers for their mission of helping local children in need. Really, though, I was still looking for more bugs! I had heard that their menu had both tarantulas and red ants, so naturally I was going to order both. Unfortunately they were all out of tarantulas (not sure how as we arrived at 630)! I had to do with just beef stir fried with red ants. The dish was actually rather flavorful, but the ants were much bigger than I could have imagined. I expected your run of the mill fire ant size, but these morsels were finger width size with massive wings!

Rooftop dragon fruit martini

Red ant with wings and all

The next morning, I headed out early to go to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, while Heather headed to the National Museum before having to catch our flight. Heather had been to the Killing Fields before, and it's not really a place where you want to visit more than once. I caught a moto and took the 45 minute ride out. Having arrived so early, it appeared I was only the second person there, which made the place ironically peaceful given the death that made this area so famous. As the name would imply, the Killing Fields are where many prisoners of S21 were brought to be executed. Almost 9,000 bodies have been recovered here where massive pits served as graves. I won't write about the all horrors this place saw as it is really overwhelming. The most poignant part of my trip was not just seeing the central monument where the skulls have been placed inside a glass enclosure but also seeing rags of clothes coming from the ground. Apparently as the years go by, clothes, teeth and bones are occasionally found protruding from the earth. If you ever visit, I would also recommend coming early and listening to the beautifully well done audio tour at your own leisure.

Central monument to those that were killed here

Some of the thousands of skulls inside the monument

Rags of dead prisoners slowly being extruded from the earth

Traveling back to town, I still wasn't about to give up on my search of more bugs! I asked my moto driver to find me some. Weaving in and out of stalled traffic, he searched high and wide but to no avail. I guess it just want meant to be, so now we are off to Singapore for some really tasty bug-free food.