Hello readers,
We find ourselves on the final eve of our time in Phnom Penh. Yesterday the group visited the Killing fields. It was quite emotionally trying. We saw the Bone Tower which housed thousands of skulls of the victims of the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. We then moved on to see the many mass graves that were scattered all around the surrounding field. It was very painful just learning about the atrocities committed in this country. After wandering around the grounds for a little bit, we stopped to sit under a tree,just thinking about everything we’d seen. James pulled out his mandolin and played some tunes, something that the group really needed after the sadness of the day.
Later in the afternoon we went to visit S21, the Khmer Rouge prison. There were thousands of photos of prisoners and Khmer soldgers. Our tour guide was herself a victim of the Khmer Rouge.
The group came back and stayed in for the rest of the day, reflecting on everything we had seen and heard. It had been an emotionally exhausting day and it’s something I don’t think we’ll ever truly understand – how things that horrible can happen to good, innocent people – but we are all glad we saw these places. All our educations had great holes in the times of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. It’s nice that they are now filled and that we know more about this wonderful country we are in.
Tomorrow we head out by bus to Battambang where we are going to begin some volunteer work. There might not be internet access there so until next time, over and out from the Seasia team.
