I imagine that many of you are aware of the recent history of Cambodia, but I will provide a brief summary if you are not.
In the 1970's a communist revolution overthrew the government of Cambodia and utterly destroyed the country. The Khmer Rouge transformed the country from a developing ex-colony into a rural agrarian society. They evacuated the cities and forced the entire population to become poor farmers. The Khmer Rouge killed all people who were educated, not communist, or had ties to the previous government. The Vietnamese ended up invading Cambodia and installing a less crazy communist government. The Khmer Rouge continued sporadic fighting until the early 2000's.
In 2011 I traveled throughout Cambodia and encountered a lot of interesting sights. I thought that some of you might enjoy seeing the remnants of their war, and what a country looks like that has only recently emerged from decades of violence.
As soon as my plane landed in Phnom Phen I walked outside and found a motorcycle taxi to take me to the hotel. This was the first indication of how readily available weapons are in this country. He told me that for $50 he could take me to the countryside where I could throw a grenade or for $200 I could shoot and RPG. I declined his offer.
In Phnom Penh I saw the killing field and the prison that most people were tortured at before they were murdered. Both sites were quite chilling considering everyone who worked and gave tours there experienced this horrible period of time.
I later went to Siem Reap, which is near the UNESCO world heritage site of Angkor Wat. The Khmer Rouge last stronghold was in this part of the country. The pictures that I am including are from a large field outside of town where they starting dumping captured and destroyed enemy munitions. Many of the destroyed tanks and vehicles were labeled with what year they were captured. A lot of them were destroyed in the last ten years.
Killing fields:
Multistory building filled with the skulls of genocide victims:
High school that was converted into a prison and torture chamber (of the 17,000 people who were held here only 7 survived):
Some weapons and destroyed vehicles in a field (you could climb on the tanks and play with the guns):
Cambodia is a beautiful country that is rapidly changing. If anyone is thinking of traveling there, I suggest that you do it soon. Tourism and development are changing both the culture and the landscape. Their historical sights are getting destroyed. Cambodia is ridiculously cheap to visit if you are already in Asia. I highly encourage you to see this awesome nation for yourself. Some of the historical ruins are truly breathtaking.
In the 1970's a communist revolution overthrew the government of Cambodia and utterly destroyed the country. The Khmer Rouge transformed the country from a developing ex-colony into a rural agrarian society. They evacuated the cities and forced the entire population to become poor farmers. The Khmer Rouge killed all people who were educated, not communist, or had ties to the previous government. The Vietnamese ended up invading Cambodia and installing a less crazy communist government. The Khmer Rouge continued sporadic fighting until the early 2000's.
In 2011 I traveled throughout Cambodia and encountered a lot of interesting sights. I thought that some of you might enjoy seeing the remnants of their war, and what a country looks like that has only recently emerged from decades of violence.
As soon as my plane landed in Phnom Phen I walked outside and found a motorcycle taxi to take me to the hotel. This was the first indication of how readily available weapons are in this country. He told me that for $50 he could take me to the countryside where I could throw a grenade or for $200 I could shoot and RPG. I declined his offer.
In Phnom Penh I saw the killing field and the prison that most people were tortured at before they were murdered. Both sites were quite chilling considering everyone who worked and gave tours there experienced this horrible period of time.
I later went to Siem Reap, which is near the UNESCO world heritage site of Angkor Wat. The Khmer Rouge last stronghold was in this part of the country. The pictures that I am including are from a large field outside of town where they starting dumping captured and destroyed enemy munitions. Many of the destroyed tanks and vehicles were labeled with what year they were captured. A lot of them were destroyed in the last ten years.
Killing fields:
Multistory building filled with the skulls of genocide victims:
High school that was converted into a prison and torture chamber (of the 17,000 people who were held here only 7 survived):
Some weapons and destroyed vehicles in a field (you could climb on the tanks and play with the guns):
Cambodia is a beautiful country that is rapidly changing. If anyone is thinking of traveling there, I suggest that you do it soon. Tourism and development are changing both the culture and the landscape. Their historical sights are getting destroyed. Cambodia is ridiculously cheap to visit if you are already in Asia. I highly encourage you to see this awesome nation for yourself. Some of the historical ruins are truly breathtaking.
