Phnom Penh Cambodia

A six hour dusty bus journey took us from Siem Reap to Cambodia’s capitol Phnom Penh – you have to pronounce the ‘P’ in Phnom, which I’m still struggling with!!!.  Once known as the Pearl of Asia, Phnom Penh was considered one of the loveliest French built cities in Indochina.  Sitting on the banks of the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers the city now seems to be getting back to it’s former glory after the devastating take over of the country by the Khmer Rouge dictator Pol Pot between 1975 and 1979.  We visited the Killing Fields where much of the Genocide was carried out and S21 a former school that was used as a prison vacility for torture of captives.  Needless to say a pretty harrowing day, but one we felt we needed to witness to get a feel for how far the people have come since.  We also visited a Russian Market and spent a lovely afternoon exploring the Grand Palace.  Our day usually ended at the FCC (Foreign Correspondence Club) for cocktails overlooking the river at sunset – nice!!!