Cambodia: Day 3

Field trip day today!!! Chinov from His Child was so generous to accompany us and take us on a tour around the city. First stop was the Choueng Ek Genocidal Centre. This place is one of the many fields that were used by the Khmer Rouges to exterminate the citizens of Cambodia. Chinov said that almost half of the population of Cambodia were subject to this cruelty and perished. Even to blog about this now..sends chills down my spine. The moment I stepped into the grounds...and I saw the monument with skulls stacked up in a glass casing...just feels depressing....Some of the mass graves have been dug out and many still left untouched. Next stop was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This premier high school was converted into an interrogation centre and prison/torture during Pol Pot's reign. Classrooms were converted into prison cells, the beds and chains and blood stained floors still remain there to depict the horrors of that era.

Once we were done...stopped by at Khmer Life, a souvenier shop which sells items made by the less privelleged people of Cambodia. Bought a beautiful scarf there for 3usd...( the scarf that i wear in my facebook pics ). If i had a chance to go there again, with more money at hand....i would probably buy half of the stuff in the shop..hahaha.

Headed off for lunch at Eden Cafe, a new eatery opened by an Indonesian. Had Pinacolada!!! awesomest drink to cool down after walking outside under the burning hot sun!


Since i was craving for some rice...ordered a Korean dish, Dong Kas...i know i know..you must be thinking why I am eating Korean food in Cambodia..haahah..but it wasnt that bad...quite yummy actually but i wouldnt know how much it differs from the real Dong Kas. lol.

A Cambodian dish ( forgot its name..was a tongue twister)..
it tastes like chicken in green curry with kangkung....

After the yummy filling lunch, headed to the riverside for a boat cruise. The novelty of it wasnt the experience of sitting on a boat but rather observing the lifestyle of the people who live by the river. like:

boathouse

Last stop for the day was the Russian Market...this is like a smaller version of Chatuchak market in Bangkok..little tiny shops selling the 'Same Same but Different '. 'Tin Tin au Cambodia', ' Khmer Alphabet' shirts, keychains, rejected Gap shirts, rejected Abercrombie and Fitch shirts, silk handbags, scarfs, wooden stuff, ceramic plates, Tin Tin posters, The North Face bags, Kipling, Puma. Every alternate shop sold the same thing..haha....so what we did was..just choose one shop...buy lots from them and bargain. You would be surprised that they sell things to you 1/3 the price first quoted. LOL.

Evening came, went back home, did our usual cook dinner, eat while watching a movie ( we had cable tv there haha), wash up, sleep.