The 'Killing Fields' Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We arrived in Phnom Penh and found ourselves starving after the long ride. We immediately went searching for food after we checked into our hostel. We found this a harder task than anticipated. It's not like most of the other touristy places in Cambodia, but the food was super cheap. I ran out of cash so I headed to an atm where I received a couple 100 dollar bills. I thought there's no place I can break this. We ended up walking around a while until we found a Chinese store. Something comparable to an office depot. First one we'd seen. The had pens costing $1000 to dvds for $2. So I bought despicable me just to hang some change. While walking away we got a nice shower from a woman mopping her upper deck and dumped the dirty water over the edge. We spent the evening walking around the city, visiting independence monument and getting a watermelon shake. That night we spent at our friend's hoste listening to live music.
We reserved the same tuk tuk driver who gave us a ride from the bus stop to our hostel to also take us around the killing fields and S21 (prison camp). It was extremely somber walking through the rooms where prisoners were tortured death. Out of nearly 20,000 of the prisoners who were kept here only 7 survived by the end of the regime. To think this was nearly 40 years ago. You really do notice a generation missing from the streets. They city was desolate during the mid to late 70s. Some of the survivors wrote brief stories of what happened during their stay. One who was a painter by trade was told him and his wife were going to teach in the city but were taken to prison instead where they were tortured until unconsciousness set it, then revived, interrogated and tortured some more. Today I went to see the "killing fields" Where around 1/4 of Cambodia's population was murdered under genocide. This all happened nearly 30 years ago. I never even knew until now. I don't think it's something you learn in school growing up. Its crazy cuz you notice on the street there are little to no old people. Basically an entire generation is missing. There are dozens of these gravesites around the country where an estimated 3 million people were killed. If one member of a family was killed then they all were. For this reason they didn't want anyone left to seek revenge. The Khmer Rouge's slogan was, 'To dig up grass you must remove the roots'. There were gruesome before and after pictures of the prisoners. You can see the Cambodian people are still suffering from this

Independence monument

They used barbed wire so prisoners couldn't attempt suicide

Bone fragments still lay in the uncovered graves

Theu placed a loud speaker in this tree and played calming music while killing the prisoners so the blindfolded ones who were next in line would not panick

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

After our 12 hour bus ride we arrived in Sihanoukville, a nice beach town (one of the only ones in Cambodia). A city filed with tourists, we fit in nicely. It's so nice not having to hear the locals asking if we want massages. They simply wait for us to approach them. We mostly just enjoyed the beach and worked on our tans while here. We did a little hike up a mountainside over to another beach area where very few people spend their day. They say it's the "calm beach". We enjoyed some BBQ on the beach a couple nights in a row. Only three bucks for some fresh fish, potatoes and some salad. Shakes are always a dollar. We also celebrated Australian Day while here. Mostly they just get hammered all day is what a group of Aussies told us.There are a good number of foreigners who come here and settle down worth a local lady. Most of them own their own restaurant or bar. But the living is so inexpensive almost anyone can pack up and start a new life here. Very tempting knowing you're next to a beach and the weather is always warm..

Battambang, Cambodia

Jared left to catch his flight bank to Bangkok while Bryson and i.. well, we took yet another bus, but to Battambang. We were picked up from our hostel and taken on a four hour bus ride all for 5 dollars. Never in a million years could you get that service nano in the states. The seat behind us is a bit crowded considering there are three natives sitting in two seats. Sadly I understand why. They are a poor country. Even last night we had what looked like a 9 year old try and sell us crack.. Even at the entrances of the temples there are children (as young as 3 or 4) selling souvenirs for dirt cheap kowing their life revolves around tourism and selling from sun up to sun down. While we were getting five dollar massages the other night my masseuse said she's been working there for seven years and never once had a holiday And she's only 24. She kept telling me she was too old. Apparently the average age of marriage for women here is 17. And I thought Utah had a young average It's very advantageous they primarily accepted American dollars here seeing how I've had a few hundred dollars sitting in my pack since I left home. A tuk tuk driver waved us down. He spoke really good English wit an Australian accent, though he is Cambodian. He took us to ride the bamboo train. Rule on the bamboo train is who ever has the least amount of people per carriage has to disassemble their cart and let the others pass by. But the question is every time you reassemble back on the track, did you do it properly? We had to place the wood/bamboo frame on the metal ball bearings. It was a rough ride and went fast but it was stuck a rush. We hung out and had a dance party with some local children who gave us some homemade grasshoppers out of grass. Cute and entertaining kids.
The next day we visited a crocodile farm. There were somewhere around a thousand of them divided within three different pens. We held one of the baby crocs. I even jumped in with some of the smaller crocs only to have them scurry into the water. I was able to grab one of their tails just before it got away. We spent the rest of the day shopping for necessities like a sweatshirt since the mornings and nights are starting to get chilly, a belt I so badly needed. I've been using a tie the past four months. Also earphones, snacks for our13 hour overnight bus trip to the coastline, and some heavily medicated over the counter drugs to help us sleep on the bus. Bryson got a massage from a blind guy. He said it was the best massage he's had so far. I I'm sure being blind the masseuse can concentrate more on other senses like touch.

Our food for the 12 hour bus ride

5 bucks

They made us grasshoppers out of grass

Dance off with the children

Banana wrapped in sticky rice

Bakong (Roluos Group)

The largest temple of the Roluos Group is surrounded by as moat. This is where you will find disabled locals playing musical instruments for donations. Some may be missing limbs and others have lost a sense but still find ways to enrich the atmosphere and make money to survive. This is a five tier pyramid made of sandstone. On the east end of the lot they were filming for what looked like a local film due to the one man camera crew and natives on set.

Onset filming