So now we begin a new country (country #3). We flew out of Manila straight into Phnom Penh. The night we spent in Manila is not even worth talking about, because it was so quick and uneventful. We had to have the next city & country decided on before we even flew to the philipines, because to fly in, you have to have proof that you plan to leave again. Apparently this is very common in some of these countries. So much so, that there are companies that will book you a “fake flight” flight for a small fee so that you have something to show at the airport, but you don’t actually have to plan that far in advance. Pretty cool service, but we didn’t need this. We knew we wanted to go through Cambodia next.
Phnom Penh is a big city with lots of historical sights and busy streets and good restaurants. On the first day, we got there early enough to go out and walk around a bit. Our first visit was the Wat Phnom, which is the city’s main Buddhist temple. Because the Chinese New Year was just a day or two away, people were lined up, ready with their eggs to crack on the lions head and strips of raw meat to put in his open mouth. We had to Google what the heck was happening here and apparently it brings good fortune for the new year….
Inside the National Museum of Phnom Penh, there are some pretty cool old things inside cases and it said not to take pictures but nobody seemed to be monitoring it, so here we go…
Garuda 
head of Buddha 
parts of old boats 
engraved writing from early Khmer people found on large pieces of stone, what they think were framing an entrance way. Ca. 1200yrs old
We also spent an obscene amount of money ($10 each) to go through the royal palace grounds. COOL INFO: Cambodia uses the US Dollar as currency until you go under 1$ and then they use their money… 4000 Cambodian Riel is equal to 1$. All ATMs give you USD. CAMBODIA still has a royal family that make no decisions and basically just look pretty. The country has been ruled by the same president and under the same party for over 30 years.
building where thrones are & ceremonies take place 
actual monks walking around 
Shoulders and knees MUST be covered. It was so hot. 
Different color for each day of the week 
wall paintings depicting the all-too-familiar story of the princess being stolen by the demon army and the monkey army working together with the human army to save her (a.k.a. Ramayana or Ream Ker)
Love the sound of this!
Unfortunately, we have some sad and slightly morbid things to share as well. I don’t remember learning about this in school, but in the late 70s the Cambodians were mass killing their own people. They were called the Khmer Rouge and they were communists led by a guy named Pol Pot, who was every bit as bad as Hitler. In under 4 years, millions of Cambodians were killed, men, women, children, and in such horrifying and disgusting ways that I cannot even write about it. I suggest going here if you want to know more. We visited a prison where many were kept and tortured until being forced to admit to crimes they didn’t commit so they could be killed for a documentable “reason”. This prison was formerly a children’s school and they used some of they play equipment to hang people by their feet and dip them into huge vats of human fences. I’m telling you, this stuff was absolutely horrifying. We also visited the so-called “killing fields” where they were kept until they were killed in such brutal ways and left in ditches, body on top of body, some maybe not even dead, and then buried, and then more killed and thrown in on top of the pile. What they did with the babies is too terrible to write. Click the links only if you’re prepared for some horrific images and stories.
Breaks and holes in skulls show how person was killed, normally by blunt weapon 
Memorial Tower with encased skulls and bones
This was a very quick summary of what we did in Phnom Penh. I am about 3 weeks behind so maybe I will add to this later. For now, that’s all there is. 🙂
Stories of Exploration and Travel 