31 août 2007
People of Skuon
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30 août 2007
Of Spiders and Dolphins
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We have breakfast at the bus station whilst waiting for our bus to lead us to Kompong Cham. But it looks like this breakfast was too frugal… Two hours later, as the bus stops we experience something slightly wilder than the usual tea/croissant/fresh juice. Here we go for our first Cambodian speciality experience: the deep fried spider. We have indeed arrived in the sleepy town of Skuon - otherwise known affectionately as Spiderville. Locals here eat eight-legged furry friends for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A small mountain of big hairy spiders is on offer on the trays of the street vendors in this village.
Jérémie decides to try it. No much hesitation when he puts the first hairy leg in his mouth. No much reactions either. He carries on with the other legs. So I decide to try it also. It does have a taste, not so different from the other insects we’ve tasted in other places though (China, Congo); the smell of oil thankfully covers the spider’s genuine flavour. Jérémie gives a go and eats the whole spider.
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So far we’ve been improvising our trip completely. We decide to have a closer look at our guidebook, so that we don’t waste too much time. We only have three weeks here and want to get the best of it. So we eventually decide to give Kampong Cham a miss. As soon as we arrive there, we negotiate for a ride by taxi straight up to Kratie. That means two more hours on the road. As soon as we arrive, we jump on motorbikes and head 15 kms north. That is where one can see river dolphins. The Irrawaddy dolphins live in the Mekong River, but in ever-diminishing numbers. This freshwater dolphin is an endangered species throughout Asia, with shrinking numbers inhabiting stretches of the Mekong in Cambodia, and Laos and others found in isolated pockets in Bangladesh and Burma. Before the civil war, Cambodia was home to as many as 1,000 dolphins and their habitat included the Tonle Sap Lake. However during the Pol Pot regime, many were hunted for their oils and their numbers have plummeted. Dynamite fishing, whereby crazy locals chuck a grenade in the river has not helped much either.
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It is believed that there are only 75 dolphins left on this stretch of the river. After a 15 mns ride on the Mekong, we arrive at the dolphin’s location. We don’t see much to be honest. There are other boats around and it’s not as peaceful as we had wished. We can glimpse at dolphins though, but barely see anything else than their head, from pretty far away. The scenery at sunset on the Mekong is magical though. The highlight of the day, no doubt.
We finish the day by visiting Phnom Sombok, a small hill nearby with a peaceful wat.
Tip of the day
Bus from PP to Kompong Cham costs 10,000r (2.5 usd). Three hours to get there. Then we took a taxi to Kratie. Costs 30 usd. Took 2 hours and 15 mns. The road is ok.
A grilled spider costs 500 riel!!
Hotel Heng Heng II. Room at 12 usd. Nice views over the Mekong. We ate at Red Sun Falling. Food is ok.
Dolphins: 5 usd for a return motorbike ride. To see the dolphins it costs 7 usd per person to get there by boat.
Phnom Sombok offers some views over the Mekong from above but nothing really special.
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29 août 2007
Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison
Voices from S-21: Terror and History in Pol Pot's Secret Prison, by David CHandler
During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, S-21 was used as the prison, interrogation centre, and finally, the place of execution for several thousand Cambodians who were suspected of counter revolutionary activity.
Between the years of 1975 and 1979, it is estimated that 14,000 prisoners entered S-21, but only four survived. The horrors of S-21 were uncovered during the liberation by the Vietnamese who found the prison's ghastly remains.
Chandler used the S-21 record which were microfilmed by Cornell University in the early 1990s and synthesized the archive to produce this book.
Chandler's poignant use of confessions forced from unfortunate and often innocent victims paints a grizzly portrait of power without constraints. It mattered not that neither interrogators nor prisoners knew what crimes had been committed, it was merely enough they had been arrested and sent to S-21, therefore they were guilty. With their de facto "guilt" established, it was the interrogators job to obtain a proper confession of these unknown, but treasonous, crimes. With or without a confession, there was only one verdict: death.
Chandler manages to draw interesting parallels between the Nazi concentration camps and Stalin's terror in the 1930's, and the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the 60's. He shows that some ingredients of terror are always there, no matter if it happens in Treblinka, Moscow, the countryside of China, or in the killing fields of Cambodia.
Chandler's book is more than just a story of an awful prison in Cambodia. It is about the mechanisms that make some humans commit unspeakable acts (apparently by their own free will) against their fellow human beings, simply because of a belief in a political ideology.
With "Duch", the former S-21 commander, now in detention awaiting judgement for crimes against humanity during the Pol Pot regime, "Voices from S-21" is most timely for anyone interested in the thoughts and methods behind the slaughter of millions of people in communist and fascist countries in the 20th century.
28 août 2007
Tuol Sleng
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In 1975, Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security prison 21 (S-21). This secret prison soon became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country. Between 1975 and 1978, more than 14,000 people held at S 21 were killed. Only 7 detainees survived.
S-21 has been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum, which serves as a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge was meticulous in keeping records or its barbarism. Each prisoner who passed through S-21 was photographed, sometimes before and after torture. The museum displays include room after room of harrowing black and white photographs, virtually all of the men, women and children were later killed.
As the Khmer Rouge regime reached even greater heights of insanity, it began devouring its own. Generations of torturers and executioners who worked here were in turn killed by those who took their places. During early 1977, when the party purges of Eastern Zone cadres were getting under way, S-21 claimed an average of 100 victims a day.
When the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh in early 1979, there were only seven prisoners alive at S-21, all of whom had used their skills such as painting, or photography to stay alive.
Prisoners who were most of the time regular citizens, not criminals, were numbered, photographed in the same way, then interrogated, tortured and sent to the killing fields. Each old classroom now contained miniscule cells with brick walls, hardly the size of a human being, a steel chain fixed to the soil, and a metal box. The violence that took place here can be felt rather than seen and you have to use your imagination when you see those fading traces of blood on the floor. Take time to let yourself inside one of the cells for a few minutes and gaze through the barbed wire to the surrounding buildings. You shall feel the atrocities the Cambodian people lived under this regime.
Other buildings contain torture tools and paintings of torture techniques on the walls. The building adjacent to the small cells has large interrogation and torture rooms. Downstairs is a haunting exposition of photos: mainly passport photos (Khmer rouge style) of all the victims with their numbers. There are lots of women and children. The collection of skulls and bones is towards the end. The whole place leaves a powerful feeling and a lump in one’s throat.
We need to change our mind and decide to head to Psar Tuol Tom Pong also known as the Russian market: A labyrinth of stalls selling everything from scarves and silk cloth to kitchen utensils. Certainly the best place in town for shopping. I wonder around while Jeremie is stuck at the DVD and CD section. I buy some scarves and look around for good material to make silk sheets. We come out after 3 hours with around 50 DVDs. Fruitful shopping indeed!
Tip of the Day:
Tuol Sleng museum is 2 usd to get in. There are some guides, but watch out, some ask for ridiculous prices.
In front of the genocide place, Bodhi Tree, great place to relax and have a drink or a meal. Nice setting.
Tuk Tuk can be rented for the day for 10 usd. Drivers usually expect the day to finish around 6pm. If you wish to rent for the evening also, just make sure this is agreed upon beforehand.
Russian market certainly is the best shopping option in town. DVDs can be found for 1,5 usd. (It can be bargained down to 1.3 usd if you take loads, like us…). Antiques, clothes, shoes, CDs, souvenirs, food, you name it. Bargain hard of course. Here are some prices after some skilled bargaining:
A silk or cotton scarf : 1 to 1.5$
Pashmina scarf: 3$
Cotton t-shirt: 1.5$
CD: 1.3$
Lunch at the Melting Pot, a snack place, just by the Russian Market, owned by a French-Khmer couple. Great paninis, salads and shakes on offer. A bit expensive for Cambodia but nice place to chill out after/during the shopping craze.
We had dinner at the Foreign Correspondant Club (FCC). Great setting, great views over the Mekong. Try the Tastings (3 for 10 usd).
27 août 2007
Our first day in Phnom Penh
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It’s been a weird night. Jérémie wakes up, looks at his watch. Hey, it’s midday already! We’ve been sleeping for more than 15 hours!!! I am ready for a shower when Jérémie looks by the window. Mmmh, it’s dark outside… That means we’re still in the middle of the night and we have barely slept 3 hours… Of course, impossible to sleep after that. We eventually make it and here we are, ready for the day.
We head to the National Museum housed in an old imposing building. It is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture. There is a good collection of Buddhas of all sizes. The museum was built by the French in early 20th century and is housed in a terracotta structure of traditional design. The museum comprises four courtyards, facing a garden. The atmosphere and statues in the garden is very pleasant. Some highlights include the eight-armed statue of Vishnu from the the 6th century AD, the statue of Shiva and the sublime statue of Jayavarman VII seated. The museum also contains displays of pottery and bronzes dating from the pre-Angkorian periods of Funan and Chenla (4th to 9th century), the Indravarman period (9thand 10th centuries), the classical Angkorian period (10th to 14th centuries) as well as more recent works. There is a permanent collection of post-Angkorian Buddhas, many of which were rescued from Angkor Wat when the civil war erupted.
We then head to the market for a feel of the city. Psar Thmei is a large Art Deco structure in dirty yellow that acts as a roundabout. It’s not so big to get lost but we start enquiring on prices and seeing what’s available. Rita tries various wigs of not so bad quality.
The Royal Palace cannot be missed by the end of the river lane. The place is filled with traditional structures of no great interest. The most “interesting” is the silver pagoda, so named because of the floor is covered with over 5,000 silver tiles weighting 1 kg each. It was constructed of wood in 1892 by the French during the rule of King Norodom. The Silver Pagoda was preserved by the Khmer Rouge to demonstrate to the outside world its concern for the conservation of Cambodia’s cultural riches.
After this long day we head for one of our favourite activities in Asia: massage. The best ones usually are carried out by blind people. We go for a Japanese massage: Shiatsu and Amna to relieve the fatigue of the past days.
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Tip of the day
Be aware that photography inside the National Museum is prohibited (yes it’s ridiculous). One can take photos in the garden but has to pay for the privilege…
We had lunch at Khmer Borane Restaurant, 389 Sisowath Quay, just close to the Palace. Food is ok. Fish Soup is excellent.
The entrance fee at the Royal Palace is very expensive: 25,000r. Don’t go with shorts and sleeveless T-shirts. Or you’ll have to pay to rent or buy “decent” clothing. Photography is not allowed inside most buildings. Not sure we could say it’s worth it. Way too expensive for what it is.
You want to save some money on guidebooks? Whereas LPs are around €20 back home, they can be found everywhere on the streets of Phnom Penh for less than 4 usd, brand new (you can easily find any LP guidebooks here). Of course, this involves that you do not prepare your trip in advance!
Seeing hands massage has changed address. It is now just in front of the Post Office, street 13, house #12 EO. A one hour massage is 5.5 usd. Massages there are okay, but definitely not the best ones.
You can have dinner by Sisowath Quay. We chose randomly “Le Resto du coin”. Nice terrace and good food. Lobster can be had for less than 10 usd.
25 août 2007
A very long journey
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Everything is in order and we hit the road. It’s a 5 hour drive to reach Paris and catch our plane in late afternoon. Traffic in Paris being unpredictable, we need to leave relatively early. Still, it gets a bit longer than expected to reach the airport. Time to park, leave the car to the agency and moving to the right terminal. As we reach the terminal 2A, we look at the board to see where we shall check in. It’s 1 hour and 20 mns before our plane takes off. It indicates: check in counter closed!!!! We suddenly panic. How is this possible that check in closes so early??!!! We just can’t imagine missing our flights. Since all planes are fully booked, our holidays would be completely spoiled and nowhere to go. We start running like crazy, with our mountain of luggages, all over the terminal, looking for where Cathay Pacific check in facility is located. Of course, it is at the complete end of the terminal… When running I was thinking of all possible arguments to use to allow us in, trying not to think about what we would do if we miss this flight. We run over some people with luggage who understandably scream at us, but hey sorry, we’re in a hurry. Out of breath, we reach Cathay Pacific and run into a hostess. Check in is not over! It’s just about to close. Five minutes later and we would have missed our flight. Don’t ask me why they have this policy of closing the check-in counter so early. In all those years of travelling, I’ve never seen this before.
The journey will be no problem. A 12 hour long flight to Hong Kong. Flight is okay, the service is good. But the food is disgusting and the movie system in the plane doesn’t function well, with a very poor choice of movies. Luckily, we have some reading to do. Landing at Hong Kong, a couple of hours of transit and we take a second plane to Phnom Penh. Needless to say we are quite tired. We’ve left Brittany more than 30 hours ago with barely an hour of sleep. We pick up a hotel randomly and go for a deep sleep.
Tip of the Day
We were told that because it’s low season in Cambodia in July, no need to book a hotel in advance. Certainly true if you’re looking for budget, backpacker type of place. If looking for a hotel in Sisowath Quay, it is quite likely to be full. At least for the most popular ones. We were tired so after 3 unsuccessful attempts in the hotels we wanted, we end up in Mekong Palace Hotel, 253 St Preah Sisowath. 30 usd for a room with a river view. Rooms are nothing to write home about but ok. There are windowless rooms at 15 usd. Breakfast usually is not included in the room.
Bougainvillier Hotel (www.bougainvillierhotel.com, 277 Sisowath Quay) is one of the best mid range of the area. Great rooms starting at 58 usd (suite at 85 usd). Breakfast not included. Book ahead as it’s almost always full. (bougainvillierhotel@bougainvillierhotel.com)
24 août 2007
Last day in Brittany
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It’s a nice day with nothing much achieved except enjoying the sun and the day passing by. Jeremie does a bit of gardening again whereas Boris and Rita read some newspapers and rest. After another excellent lunch, time for Boris to head back to Paris. We bring him to St Brieuc so that he catches his train and we head back home. We leave tomorrow to Cambodia and still have many things to do: packing the house, packing our bags, etc. Not many fascinating things to say about it I am afraid…
23 août 2007
Côte de Granit Rose
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Briac has left early, as we were still asleep. He has to get back to work. With only a couple hours of sleep, I guess his day shall not be the very productive…
We wake up pretty late and enjoy the morning. Time for some tourism. Since this is Boris’s first time in Brittany, we want to show him around and do some tourism. Hard choices, there are so many things to do in the region. We decide for the Cote de Granit Rose (the Pink granite coast) so called because of the colour of the stones in this part of Brittany. The weather is slightly less nice today, and we fear some showers will spoil the day. From home to Paimpol, it’s an hour’s drive through some roads. We reach the coast and picnic on the beach. As we finish, it starts raining, so we drive around, showing Boris the countryside. We reach Tréguier, a city full of character with a superb traditional architecture. The Cathedral is stunning and not to be missed. We wander around the city a bit and then drive to Perros Guirrec. This is where one can find the world famous pink rocks. The weather is now superb, it’s late so very few people are around and we can enjoy the place at our own pace.
Back home, we prepare Brittany’s speciality (there aren’t many anyways…): galettes (buckwheat pancake) and crêpes. Not to forget Brittany’s equivalent to water: Apple cider!
Lovely evening by the fore again. But we’re all pretty tired so do not last long.
22 août 2007
Eating, Drinking, Gardening, Drinking, Playing, Smoking
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We all wake up late and don’t do much in the morning. Jannig has to leave, since Lison has to take sailing courses later in the day. Briac stays with us. Jeremie goes to St Brieuc to welcome Boris who came to pay us a visit. That’s his first time in Brittany (he comes from Avignon, Southern France). With so many French around, I guess there aren’t much choice but doing the national sport: aperitif and good food. The weather is still excellent, so barbecue is on offer. Everyone gets busy preparing lunch. We enjoy it all under the tree. Boris tries to get accustomed to the weather. For us, it’s hot. For him, used to Southern France’s heat, it’s almost cold here. Even under the sun!
We’ve drunk significantly and need to exercise a bit. Jeremie suggests to his friends to help him out in the garden. At 7p.m. the three boys who for hours were clearing bushes and cutting the grass, stop and enjoy the last bits of sun for an aperitif outside. Team work again for dinner: a stunning salmon cooked “en papillote.” Red wine and white wine abound. We spend the rest of the evening by the fire, chattering about everything, drinking pear eau de vie and whisky. At 1 a.m., someone proposes to play Trivial Pursuit. We team up: Briac with me and Jeremie and Boris. Jeremie and Boris win the game, relatively easily. Boys get drunk progressively and Boris suggests another game. Briac agrees but only if this doesn’t last more than 20 mns. Forgot to say it’s 2:30 a.m. We play again and we got crushed. Jeremie and Boris – with a mix of luck and excellent responses – just got everything right. They have answered all questions in just 20 mns. The fastest game ever!
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21 août 2007
Friends arrive
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Still many things to do in the house and in the garden before our friends arrive. The weather is fantastic. Okay, looks normal since we’re in July but hey, it’s Brittany and one never knows. Beautiful blue sky, very sunny, some winds to clear some daring clouds, absolutely perfect for us. Briac and Jannig arrive, with their children Lison (8) and Marjan (a 6 months old baby). It’s been a very long time we haven’t seen each other. It’s good to meet old friends again. Briac is in charge of the barbecue, his speciality. Jeremie keeps on clearing some bushes to leave us space to eat outside in the garden. Rita prepares some Foie Gras, that we enjoy with a stunning Côteaux du Layon. We have lunch under a tree, enjoying a good red wine and various sausages. We spend the rest of the afternoon in the garden, enjoying the weather.
It’s a bit chilly in the evening and we have an aperitif inside. We make a fire in the chimney and enjoy prawns.
I want to apologise for talking so much about food. We miss all those goodies way too much. Looks like an illness to talk so much about it… Since we’re forgiven, let me just talk about dinner: braised white tuna.
We spend a lovely evening by the fire.
