We were quickly running out of time and in our research of Cambodia we learned that if you have to sacrifice your time somewhere it should be in Phnom Penh and not in Siem Reap so it's with a heavy heart that I tell you we only spent 1 day there. But we packed it with as much as we could. 


Our first stop was the seriously depressing Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. I really can't express how I feel about our visit there. It was such a sad place to visit and to think about how recently it occurred. With a lot of the genocides you hear about in the world I'm at least a generation or two removed from it all. Here it happened right before I was born. It was during my sibling's lifetime! Anyway I debated about 1. how many pictures to take when we were there and 2. how many to post on our blog since we try to keep a more fun happy tone to it. So if you don't want to see it/ can't handle it, scroll till you see Brittany in a tuk tuk :)... now

So this museum (if you didn't follow the link) was a high school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer regime. It was where a lot of people were killed and going there was pretty much a death sentence. 

Rules for the prisoners

One of the many rooms used for torture. Many walls still have blood on them

The officials at the prison took copious notes and photographs of the people who came through.

One of the many cells a prisoner was kept in, basically only room enough to curl up in a corner. The lucky ones had a cell... a lot of people just laid head to foot in a huge open room until it was time for their torturous interviews.
 I have a lot of other pictures and stories, but a lot of it I think is too precious to just post all over my blog. Needless to say there were tears in my eyes so many times and it really is terrible, I know many civilizations have done horrible things to people, but to see it up close and learn more about it and to meet people who are still living and trying to move on after such a horrible thing. It's amazing. Within about 15 minutes I completely fell in love with the Cambodian people.

Okay genocide done... for now. After the museum we decided that the grand palace would be next and the best way to get there? Tuk Tuk! I am so conflicted about tuk tuks vs cabs. I really loved them in that it seemed like the barrier to becoming a driver is low (ish I mean you need a motorbike and a trailer, but still) and they are everywhere and fast and fun, but boy oh boy did I hate bartering to get one to take me somewhere. 




Brittany and I bought matching elephant pants... you will see these so many more times because it was hot, they were cool and a lot of places required pants.

When I am rich I will make a replica of these gates for my home
 The Grand Palace was really quite grand and beautiful. It was fun to walk around and look and even more fun knowing it's still in use. I liked spotting the guards keeping tourists away from the residence.


Sleeves over your shoulder were required... Brittany's passed... mine did not so I put on my cloth cardi and tied it in the back because it was just too hot.
 There were a lot of cool carvings all over the palace so below you'll find a selection of our favorites.






Brittany wanted to do the same pose as the Buddha.

We copied... also, I can't do a "zen" face to save my life.


Elephant topiaries!!

A really awesome HUGE mural.

The queen's outfits... one for each day of the week. I like her style... I might try that.

We (Edit: Brittany and Michelle) were pretty obsessed with kid monks while we were touring SE Asia... and these were so cute looking at a model of Angkor Wat.

Oh my gosh this turtle killed me!! He was trying sooo hard to get out of the pond here at this ledge but right as he was about to one of his "friends" swam by and knocked him back it. But do you see the strain in that little neck? He looks just like Batman trying to get up onto our bed.
 After the palace our next stop was to the Killing Fields on another tuk tuk. Our driver was awesome, he had this Australian accent because he learned English from some Aussies.
Epically long and very cool park in the middle of the city.

Driving there gave us this crazy juxtaposition. On one side of the road, buildings as far as the eye could see. On the other rice paddies.
 Alright, if you don't like sad stuff again you'll want to scroll towards the bottom when I tell you about the cutest thing that ever happened in the entire world and was the perfect thing after spending time at The Killing Fields. 

So The Killing Fields is a site where the Khmer regime did exactly what the name implies. Killed a lot of people. It's now a beautiful, peaceful place, much like a cemetery, with such a horrific history. We had an audio tour and I cried more than once because of what I learned there.



These bracelets were everywhere, left to honor the dead.

This is the Killing Tree. They killed thousands of children by beating them against this tree.

This is a spirit house. It pre-dates all modern religions and it is the home of the spirits of people who died there.

This is the Memorial Stupa where thousands of skulls of those who died are stored.
 By far the hardest thing to hear while I was on the tour was about the Cambodian belief of burial. They believe that if the body is not properly buried then the spirit of the person cannot be at peace and is left in limbo forever. They estimate that almost 1.4 million people were killed here, so that means that the belief is that 1.4 million people will never find peace. It's such a sad thing to think about. 


OKAY. Sad stuff over. Only fake sad stuff, like when I leave Cambodia will be posted from now on. 

I really enjoyed seeing cows being walked down the road.
 Okay are you ready for one of the happiest moments of my life? I didn't get a picture or video of it because I was way too in the moment, but I know it will stick with me forever. We were in our tuk tuk heading back to our hostel when our driver turned down a street. Well, if you recall I said I instantly developed a huge love for the Cambodian people? It was especially all the ADORABLE kids there. So we turn down this street and it's the evening and everyone is out and about and the entire ride we would have a kid here or there wave or say hi to us, but on this street there were a million kids who came running out to the road waving, blowing kisses, and shouting hello to us! It was seriously the cutest thing ever and something I really only thought happened in movies. 

Chad said to Brittany and me (we were dying from cuteness overload) that we should take a picture or video and we were like "nah too late, our phones won't be out in time". He told us to take them out for next time and we said "no way would that happen again" and THEN IT DID. Like a minute later on another street we were just loved on by all the kids. Made my life. 

Anyway, we went and ate some Cambodian food and bought some food to sustain us on our trip to Siem Reap. We found a bakery with chocolate swirl bread and raided a gas station. It was seriously some of the best snacks I've ever had. Just another plus 1 for Cambodia. 


Here's just a few pictures of our drive. I was trying to capture how cool it was to see the countryside and all the houses on stilts, but really, the car was too fast and my camera too slow.