Travel and Minor Heartaches

Travelling isn't always smooth sailing all the time. Unless you're really lucky.

After a while, having had my share of bad and unexpected experiences, somehow for me some have become almost ... expected. Let's see:

Flight delays - usually KUL-BKI

Made famous by Air Asia. Haha. Yes, it hasn't really happened that frequently to me, so far the retimes and delays have not affected my plans that much (touch wood!). Expect it, then one won't be too upset.

And there was one time my delayed flight landed really late at LCCT, and I reached Sentral too late (just minutes before midnight) to catch the last monorail service. I had no choice but to get a taxi to Bukit Bintang; getting one which wanted to go there on a Saturday night was already a challenge, and after much negotiation I agreed on a cut-throat RM20.00. Because he said he likes us Sabahans and Sarawakians because we are so polite and friendly and he has a Sarawakian girlfriend. Er, okay.

The Morning After ... Sleeping at the Airport

Sore shoulders and tired eyes and grogginess due to lack of sleep. Well, at least this will result in me falling fast asleep during the flight. Will not hesitate to do it again when necessary though.

Bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

The bus driver failed to inform us that it was not stopping at the bus terminal at Wat Bo area as we thought we would, but at its 'branch office' located after the airport road. Had to shell out USD2 for a tuk-tuk back into town. Then my pre-arranged driver was a no-show too. Double blow.

Excess Luggage

On three occasions, I had to get my bag to be checked in on the return flight home as it was overweight for hand luggage. Lesson : stop shopping! Or at least, plan ahead and pay for luggage allowances online as it'll save me 50%.

LAGS check

My half bottle of sunblock made it through in my hand luggage from KUL-REP, but not on the return flight because it was 125 ml. I thought it was 100 ml. Oh, half-full bottled water, which I always forget.

Accommodation

There were occasions when the condition and appearance of the rooms were slightly below my expectations. Nothing major though, which is why most of the time I prefer to book just one night first and scour around for other places for following nights.

Currency

I ran out of the rupiahs in Bandung and had to endure driving around in the weekend traffic jam madness to locate a money-changer that was still open at night. Crazy. Massive massive headache. Never again.

Actually they aren't too bad, I cannot remember anything that was really major. For every heartache there's probably ten or more good things that made me smile. Mostly from the kindness of strangers, and things that seem to quietly fall into place to make your day better.

One day I think I'll write about them too :)

Jagung Bakar by the Roadside

When was the last time you had jagung bakar?

I forgot how good they taste, until last week when we stopped by the roadside on the way back from the northern parts.

Cambodia : The Killing Fields, or the Choeung Ek Memorial

On the way to The Killing Fields after Tuol Sleng, as I sat on the moto, I thought to myself that it probably wasn't a very good idea to lump my visit to the two places on the same day.

It might be too much of an experience as after a while in Tuol Sleng I just wanted to get out of the building. Some parts of the displays had me blinking furiously to stop my tears. Yeah, it was 'bad' like that for me :(

Anyway, I am glad I stuck to my plan, as it sort of provided a continuous thread for me to learn of the country's horrifying dark past under Khmer Rouge's regime.

The Killing Fields, about 15 kms from the city, was originally a Chinese cemetery, and the regime used the site as a burial and torture ground for thousands of genocide victims from 1975-79, all in mass graves.

Entrance gate. There was a disfigured man (I assume he's a victim of war or of the regime's cruelty) asking for money near the gate.

This Buddhist stupa was built as a memorial to the genocide victims; completed in 1989 it houses thousands of skulls (8,985?) that were found within the mass graves. The memorial is also intended to remind the younger Khmer generations to never forget their country's tragic history.

From the stupa looking out to the entrance gate.

Incense-sticks and flowers are available for sale to those who wish to pray. Shoes are removed before entering.

Reminders on both sides of the stupa.

These skulls are of juvenile Kampuchean - it seems they're divided into age groups.

A close-up.

Some visitors left mementoes - paper cranes and some other things I can't identify.

The skulls were placed on multiple levels in the 62 metre high stupa - 17 levels I think it was I can't recall now. I was expecting some kind of smell since the glass casings weren't actually sealed (they were more like sliding glass on some parts) but there was none. So you can really have a good look at the skulls.

The lowest level housed the victim's clothing items dug out from the mass graves. The sign says they've been 'cleaned by deodorants in 1988', I think what they meant was that they've been sterilised?

You can see children's and infants' clothes too :(

This was the only colourful thing inside the stupa - I don't know what it is. It was hung on the door handle.

After visiting the stupa I started walking around the compound. The wooden buildings no longer exist, so they have signboards like this to identify certain significant spots or locations.

Broken headstones belonging to the earlier Chinese graves.

Stupa viewed from the compound.

One of the mass graves for 166 victims, found without heads.

Another one, 100 victims.

And another, 450 victims.

Sunken shallow pits are mass graves which have yet to be properly identified.

They look like bunkers on the fairway. Be careful to stay on the footpath.

Because you don't want to be walking over some mass graves.

This is called The Magic Tree.

Why it's named as such is not known, but they hung a loudspeaker on it to drown the sounds of torture and cries from the victims.

This was the saddest spot, I thought. It's called The Killing Tree, where the executioners simply smashed babies against its trunk, and threw the bodies into the mass grave nearby. In the visitor centre, there was a painting depicting this (which I could not get out of my mind afterwards)

A glass case which stored parts of human bones.

Reminder. Again, as in Tuol Sleng, only the guides were heard talking.

After going through the mass graves area, I decided to continue walking along the perimeter. It gave me time to recollect my thoughts.

Later I walked to the visitor centre building to see further displays (pictures and information), as well as sit in for a short video show explaining more about Cambodia and how the The Killing Fields was discovered.

The sun was shining brightly in the midday sky as I left Choeung Ek, too numb to say anything to my moto-driver. Arriving back in the city, (covered with dust) it took me a few hours of rest to get back into the right frame of mind.

LOMO Pics - UWS Superheadz

I like the last one best. These were taken during my trip to Sukau.

The rest of the pics were too dark. Learning through trial and error :)

Cambodia : Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

On Day 2 in Phnom Penh, I visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum located within the city area itself. Formerly a school, it is also infamously known as S-21 (Security Prison 21) that was used by the Khmer Rouge as a prison, detention and interrogation centre during its 1975-79 regime.

Based on what I've read on Tuol Sleng, I thought I had sufficiently prepared myself mentally before this visit, but it still affected me quite a bit.

The fact that the buildings have been left very much as they were those days made me anxious and going through the rooms and exhibits I could imagine the horror that went on inside.

Main entrance : USD 2 fee.

Read this.

This was used as torture equipment.

They hung the prisoners (even upside down sometimes) and dip them into the water-filled urns.

Pictures of how prisoners were tortured.

Posters to remind you to be respectful. Except for the guides, everyone was talking in hushed tones.

There are 4 buildings within the compound : A, B, C and D.

I think this has got to be one of the most commonly taken photograph at Tuol Sleng. The single iron bed in on the ground floor of Building A.

'Empty' halls display pictures and information on the prison and its prisoners.

Apparently the prison kept extensive records, including individual pictures of its 20,000 captives. The bulk of these black and white pictures however remain unidentified.

Lists and lists of names and numbers.

The anthem of the Khmer Rouge.

I remember seeing this picture in a TV documentary. The number tag was pinned to his body directly with a safety pin :(

Shackles.

One of the rooms.

Building C with barbed wires to prevent escapes.

These stains and marks on the wall make you wonder what they did here.

Individual prison 'cells', the prisoner would be shackled inside.

The glass cupboard contains the prisoners' clothes.

More torture equipment.

Display room with skulls.

In the middle of it all I had to take a breather. Just stood at the corridor and looked out to the quiet, serene garden.

View of Block A. From the outside it looks just like an abandoned school building.

It was hard not to feel anything after Tuol Sleng. I even lost my appetite to try out the Bodhi Tree Cafe located across the street.

Despite its depressing history, I think it is still a must-visit place when in Phnom Penh, so one can better understand what this country has gone through over 30 years ago.