To Dwell in Possibility: Cambodia

Cambodia

Towards the end of December (read: Christmastime) I was able to follow my host family on holiday to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Cambodia reminded me a lot of Vietnam, but still had a beautiful culture that was interesting to experience. Strangely, we ate a lot of really delicious Malaysian food as it is difficult to find Halal restaurants that serve Cambodian food.

As seems to be the case in many Asian countries, the people were incredibly friendly.Admittedly, it was humorous watching them try to figure out the relationship between me and my clearly Malay host family. But what else is new?

The shopping there was excellent, a great blend of classy upscale knock-off designer stores and traditional markets. Did my fair share of spending, of course.

Anyways, it would be a bit tedious to read a day-by-day account of the holiday, so here are some photos for you to enjoy. I highly recommend you all put Cambodia on your to-visit list, it is a truly amazing place.

The National Monument of Cambodia

Cambodian flags in a beautiful sky

Next few pictures are from a former prisoner holding facility. It was eerie being there, as if the souls of those who had been killed still stayed in the place. Strange how we don't learn about things like this in our history classes...

Shackles they would chain the prisoners to

Barbed wire covered the walls to prevent prisoners from escaping or committing suicide by jumping.
The most interesting part of the experience was being able to see a survivor of the camp and read a book he wrote about his experiences. In a strange twist of events, he lives across the road from one of his former tormentors and there's nothing he can do due to the problems with the trials of former war criminals.

Map of Cambodia made out of skulls. Haunting.

Hungry birds. There were about 6 or so young children who tried to sell us corn kernels to feed them and were relentless. Even after we bought them, they wouldn't stop swarming us.