We had read something of the “legal traps”At the border crossings to Cambodia. We can say that we were already notified and that we had a kind of plan not to fall into the hands of corrupt border police. Everything was useless, first to be stamped in our passport in the Laotian part, after the last ones refusing to pay the 2 dollars per head that the kindly corrupt man asked for made a 50% discount (or a 2 × 1), is it because Christmas is coming?
Already on the Cambodian side they asked for 3 extra dollars for the issuance of the visa, 1 dollar for a medical check-up (if it can be called) and 2 dollars for putting the entry stamp, we go for a robbery ... Here there were more people willing to stand up , although after about 45 minutes of discussions, threats and why not a few laughs, that group of irreducible ones were reduced and forced to pay the extra 3 dollars of the visa. We could skip the sanitary control and the 2 dollars of the seal I think that seen the scandal that had formed and fearing that it would go further, we were not asked.
Seen from the negative side we have contributed 4 dollars each to the corrupt system, seen from the positive we have saved another 4, after a few discussions, being the fattest caused by this beautiful photo that Lety could take of our beloved Cambodian police.
After this adventure that we almost missed the bus, we arrived in the capital of Cambodia: Phnom Penh, busted for 15 hours of travel. We were a tad worried about how the people here would be, after the bad experience with the policemen we weren't quite sure what the town of Cambodia would be like, but any doubt evaporated in the early morning hours of the next day.
Normally in the capitals people tend to be more sour, but here it is not fulfilled, and most of them, both those who want to sell you something like those who do not, greet you very cordially and with a big smile. Of course, the city is super chaotic, and not even the Mekong can bring a bit of tranquility. Phnom Penh is huge and the traffic is governed by the law of the strongest, the street markets are crowded with people, and at every step we have a tuk tuk driver asking if you want to go see the "death camps".
Cambodia has a recent horror past, with the genocide at the hands of the Red Khemeres and their leader Pol Pot, who with the excuse of returning to the year zero and sweeping with any sign of progress with what swept away was with 1.7 million Cambodian brothers (a quarter of the total population of the country) in four years. Phnom Penh suffered it with special cruelty because in those years the revolutionary army literally emptied the streets turning it into a ghost town until the arrival of the Vietnamese and the fall of the so-called “Democratic Kampuchea”.
It is impossible to know what the people with whom we continually cross, feel, of which the majority have lost some member of their family in those four years and quite possibly themselves being children have been formed by reeducation groups whose objective was to substantially wash them the brain and instill the principles that the party (Angka) established. What we do know is the force, outside the human, that this people has had and has to overcome that horror.
We did not want to visit the death camps, where there are still the remains of the bodies scattered by the mass graves. What we dared to see was the S-21, a school that in those years they turned into jail where thousands of Cambodians were tortured to death since according to Angka the detainees belonged to the KGB, the CIA, or were simply enemies of the state. It was customary to photograph both the living at their entrance, and the dead at their exit. These photos cover the walls of the cells in an exhibition that transports you to those years of terror.
The post is getting very sad, but we need to tell this that for many it is far away, although it is part of recent history since it happened less than 40 years ago, it seems incredible. Today the Cambodian people have, at least on the outside, a cheerful and fun part that has made us enjoy our passage through their capital. Also here we celebrate Christmas Day, and although it is clearly not the same, we have dedicated a luxury of food and also for a good cause.
We are already noticing how something big is coming and that our next visit will be nothing less than the temples of Angkor, the eighth wonder of the world. In the next post we will tell you.
Accommodation. Where to sleep in Phnom Penh?
Ok GH, room with bathroom and wifi, somewhat away from the center but a backpacker area with lots of atmosphere. 8 dollars. LongLin, more central, are 4 establishments in the same crossing, and there are rooms of all kinds all for 8 dollars.
Transport. How to get to Phnom Penh from Laos?Dondet (4000 islands) - Phnom Penh, 25 dollars. In recent times it seems that it has risen a lot, it is seen in the posters of the agencies, as they have erased the much lower old prices. Total were about 15 hours between boat, minivan and bus, with the stops of rigor.
Food. Where to eat in Phnom Penh?Friends Restaurant: delicious dishes. Help homeless children get their job opportunity. Next door you can shop around the souvenir shop.
Visits to museums:
The National Museum It cost us 3 dollars and is not worth paying. Upside down, the S-21 It costs 2 dollars and is highly recommended. We did not visit the National Palace Because it was very expensive.
