Royal Palace and The Killing Fields

On our first day in Phnom Penh, we went to the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. Throughout the trip, we ate at many NGO run restaurants, and my favorite was Friends. I bought their cookbook, which is really beautiful. I can find the ingredients when I go home, but not here in Japan.
The next day, we went to Cheoung Ek, the Killing Fields and the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum at the prison known as s21. Our guide had lived through the rule of the Khmer Rouge, so he told us about the places we visited, plus his personal account. One thing that really struck me was that he was such a nice man who was able to smile even after retelling the horrible tragedies that occurred. But when he spoke about the leaders, he wished the same torture upon them that all the people endured. It is very sad to see how no one is taking responsibility for this tragedy. They all say what they did was on someone else’s orders. The pictures here show just a fraction of the amount of skulls found here including babies. I can’t believe how recently all of this occurred. I was a baby at the time. Another thing about this trip is that I am learning about the history Cambodia, which without this, I would not have known.
That night, we visited an orphanage for children rescued from a garbage dump near the city. They did a variety show for us that included dancing, karate, and a short skit. It was really amazing. The kids were adorable. I wish I could post pictures, but they asked us not to. After dinner, we went to a bar that is on a boat on the Mekong River. It was Midori night, and I won a T-shirt. It was really fun.