Mike slept ok, I slept really well. We had breakfast in the hotel and then joined our group for the drive to the killing fields. It is terrible and shocking to think that this happened only 40 odd years ago. We never learn do we? We do it over and over. Cambodia, Rwanda, Sarajevo, Syria and many other places I haven't mentioned and the many atrocities that happen that we just turn a blind eye to, or just don't know about.
We went to the Choeung Ek killing fields . Originally it was a Chinese cemetery. This site was chosen because people did not frequent it. The killing could be done without witnesses. Music was played loudly so nearby farmers could not hear the screams of those killed men women and children. No one was spared.The stories were brutal. It was hard core. Very difficult to hear the stories but they must be heard. There is a large stupa there which houses many skulls and bones.
From there we went to S21. It was formerly a high school but became a notorious prison where many were tortured and subsequently executed. There are rooms of photos of men, women, boys, girls, babies. The pictures are just head shots, with numbers. In a few the victims are smiling as if having their picture taken for something else.
There were only 12 survivors. Only 12, in a place that had thousands go through it. Two Australians were killed there. Ronald Dean and David Scott were on a yachting adventure and strayed into contested waters thinking they were in Thailand. They were tortured and ultimately murdered . It brings it all a bit closer to home. It was tough going. I lasted a fair while and then had to retreat to the garden. Mike said I probably picked the right time as there was a lot more gruesome stuff on display.
We later stopped for lunch at Khmer Saravan Restaurant. Mike had amok fish and I had banana blossom salad - very yum. We arrived at our hotel - Natural Bungalows - lovely spot on the Kampot river. Paradise, so far removed from the atrocities we'd seen earlier in the day.
Very tropical, with frangipani and hibiscus blooming, their scents filling the air.
We went for a walk into town, stopping to try durian along the way. Durian is known for its stench - the riper it is, the stinkier it is. Ours didn't smell too bad. The texture is the tricky thin. It's quite soft and slimy, almost gooey. It was more pleasant as you got into it. Definitely one of those things that you enjoy more if you grow up with it I think. In town we had a cocktail or two, before dinner.
Dinner was kampot chicken with green pepper. Mike had a noodle dish and calamari dish. Food was pretty good, and very cheap. Then back to bed after a draining day.