We endured the six hour mini bus trip from Ho Chi Minh to
Phnom Penh one warm March morning. The term mini bus has never been more adept
until you have your knees behind your ears while the angry pot-bellied German
in front of you continually tries to recline his seat so he can have a nap. The
journey passes through a variety of environments from shanty towns, to
beautiful rice fields and the occasional forest. Once the border crossing has
occurred, with surprisingly little hiccups apart from willingly handing your
passport to a highly stressed Vietnamese tour guide and hoping like hell it
gets returned to you, you enter the Kingdom of Cambodia.
Whilst the name conjures up exotic images of days gone by
that held treasures and excitement, the harsh reality of poverty is immediately
viewed directly after the border. Illegal casinos operate around the border and
our heads were filled with stories of people having their baggage held hostage
within these gaming realms until the travellers spent all their money on the
tables. Thankfully this did not affect us. After the casinos a wasteland
materialises on the horizon. It is the outskirts of Phnom Penh and it reminds
me of pictures I have seen of the Middle East. There are small corrugated
shacks leaning against trees, starving children salvaging food out of overflowing
rubbish piles and the smell of smoke is constantly in the air as all the
garbage is burnt. It is a sobering location.
Once the bus has pulled away from this part of the country
and we all turn a blind eye to the small children without clothes begging for
money, we are on our way to the capital of The Kingdom. We arrived at the bus
station and were quickly whisked away into a waiting Tuk Tuk with our newly
employed driver, Rhiboi.
Rhiboi was our mode of transport for the next
day as we explored the Killing Fields, Genocide Museum and Russian Markets.
Never have I experienced something quite as disturbing and emotionally draining
as the Killing Fields. To say Pol Pot was stark raving mad does not cover the
atrocities this man committed. He was insane. To the point where he ordered
over 3 million educated Cambodians to be executed for the simple fact that they
may overthrow his regime. Words cannot do justice to this horrible blood
splattered page of Cambodian history. 
