The Paragon

Konichiwa - I did learn how to say hello in Khmer yesterday, but now I forget, sorry.

We've moved hotels! This has made me extremely happy. It turns out Cambodia is not FULL of sex tourists HOORAY! After drinking many $1.00 beers on Monday we went upstairs to have a nap, which turned out to be a 12 hour nap! So we woke up at 6.00am the next morning and decided to go on a hunt for a new hotel. Being so fabulous, Courtney lent us her Lonely Planet Cambodia Guide and had been highlighting certain things in it for herself. Thanks to this, we are now staying a a much cheaper much nicer hotel called the Paragon. Which reminds me of the name of a ship in a book I once read.

We explored Riverside (kind of like Brisbane's Riverside except with more Cambodian people and no Story Bridge). I love it here, there are bars and restaurants (with minimal sex tourists) and food markets just around the corner.

While stinging around Phnom Penh on a tuk tuk, we ran into a tuk tuk, car and moto driver (a man of many talents a vehicular transport) named Dara who was introduced to us by Kim the day before. Dara is hilarious, he is so happy (he reminds me of Cho in Hanoi, Chotally Awesome!).

First up, Dara took us to the Killing Fields. May I just say, tuk tuk's are awesome. Except when we rode past the "Bog of Eternal Stench''. Labyrinth fans, this Bog does indeed exist, and it is located underneath a bridge, spilling out into grass fields on the way the The Killing Fields. Watch out of Hoggle and Ludo. ""Smeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeells Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!"

Walking through the Killing Fields was a very sobering experience. There are massive ditches in the ground the once were mass graves, holding hundreds and hundreds of Khmer people. Unfortunately, during school no one ever mentioned the genocide that occurred quite recently in Cambodia. I'm not sure if this was the case for yourself, but I will briefly explain. Some absolute loony called Pol Pot, put together a 'political party' whose aim was to create a 'new improved' Cambodia. The way to this 'new and improved Cambodia' was to slaughter educated people, old people (over 60), politicians, families of educated people, families of old people, families of politicians, doctors, lawyers and their families, anyone suspected of being a traitor, and their families. You may see a slight problem in their categorizing of who dies - it's everyone.

So after rounding everyone up, sending those that didn't fit into the categories above to work in rice fields (the aim was to have no industry except for rice, again, another problem), he sent the remaining people to S21, a school turned prison to be "interrogated" (read: tortured) then to the Killing Fields, to be finished off by a blow to the back of the head. All of this occurred between 1974 though to 1978. So I ask the question - when the complete genocide of the Khmer people was being committed, where was the rest of world? And the answer: Nowhere, because it wasn't happening on the door step of a super power and because silk and rice just doesn't earn the dollars that oil does.

After having our eyes firmly stapled open forever, we headed back to Phnom Penh. Dara had offered to take us to lunch at a RIEL (see there it is again - fuck I'm funny) Cambodian restaurant. After lunch we headed back to our new hotel and came across a sign in the foyer "THE NEXT DUMP RUN IS THIS WEDNESDAY". Cambodia is a very poor country and there are some of the living conditions are HORRENDOUS. Just out of town there is a rubbish dump and in this rubbish dump hundreds of people live. They are scavengers, who sort through the rubbish for bottles and cans to hand in for small amounts of money (about 100 cans will get you US$1.00) to help them feed themselves. A group of people have started running volunteers up to the rubbish dump to bring food, fresh water and medical assistance to the children that live in these appalling conditions. So today, being Wednesday, we are off to the rubbish dump to help out. It costs just $15 per volunteer and they end up feeding around 400 people a couple of times a week.

So I'm off to Bogie and Bacall's now to catch the truck up there!

Love, hugs and rainbow families.

Shanngelina