Sunday 1 March -- We woke up moored next to the sister ship Mekong Prestige. Phnom Penh is a city of drastic contrasts. Luxury cars and high rise condos with naked homeless children. Cops openly take bribes to assist in stopping traffic and help with parking. There are a lot of scooters but not asmany as Saigon. More cars, though. Our first stop of the day was the Royal Palace with its Silver Pagoda and naga heads. The National Museum has a good collection of artifacts many with Egyptian and Greek influence and a lovely garden.
We preferred the Central Market to the one in Saigon. It is much cleaner, with wider aisles and quieter. I bought a pair of silver Buddha earrings. After lunch we went to the Genocide Museum (S21). Pure evil. I guess it is important to commemorate these actions but it sure is depressing. It seems like no matter where in the world you go, there are instances of man's inhumanity to man. Until about five years ago, the Khmer Rouge and the results of that era weren't taught in school. Now it is. I get the feeling that it is a badge of honor that the country survived after those three horrible years when 25% of the population was killed by its ruler. It took assistance from the Vietnamese army to liberate the country from its own oppressive regime. Today that date is a holiday. The U.S. Supported Pol Pot in order to oust the royals.
A children's dance and music group entertained us in the evening on board. After dinner we crashed.
We preferred the Central Market to the one in Saigon. It is much cleaner, with wider aisles and quieter. I bought a pair of silver Buddha earrings. After lunch we went to the Genocide Museum (S21). Pure evil. I guess it is important to commemorate these actions but it sure is depressing. It seems like no matter where in the world you go, there are instances of man's inhumanity to man. Until about five years ago, the Khmer Rouge and the results of that era weren't taught in school. Now it is. I get the feeling that it is a badge of honor that the country survived after those three horrible years when 25% of the population was killed by its ruler. It took assistance from the Vietnamese army to liberate the country from its own oppressive regime. Today that date is a holiday. The U.S. Supported Pol Pot in order to oust the royals.
A children's dance and music group entertained us in the evening on board. After dinner we crashed.
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