Many things have been written and said about Phnom Penh. And whether you like it or not…… Hmmmm. What can I say, it’s quite a city that’s for sure. It’s like any other huge city, noisy and in my opinion particular smelly and the traffic is just organized chaos. But I guess it all comes down to what you are in to.

The word goes that you can get everything for cheap money, that includes weapons, ganja (mahijuana) and girls. The last two mentioned was offered to us occasionally. When walking on the streets people would simply ask with one word, ganja? Mahijuana? Or weed? Well, I can’t really say that “we” were offered girls, but 9 out of 10 times Dieter would walk the streets alone, cap drivers suggested a quick drive to a brothel very close by or moto drivers (motorcycle taxies) tried to persuade Dieter to hop on and they would find him a pretty girl or even a very young girl, 13 years old.

Of course I don’t approve to any of the above written. Especially not the girls, who are being abused, sold like slaves across the borders and are very likely ending up dying of AIDS at a very young age.

But when that is said it should not be forgotten that the poverty is enormous not to mention the corruption. I talked to several people who just wished for a new king, the present having a past closely connected to Khmer Rouge. And the people wish for a new government, where in today’s government there are several members who were also Khmer Rouge, including the prime minister Hun Sen. Hun Sen, were further more allied with Viet Nam, when they invaded Cambodia. Today Hun Sen, should be the one more or less running the country on his own.

A lot of people do think that Cambodia not even exist in 30, 50 or 100 years – The country slowly destroying itself or is sold to neighboring countries.

But Khmer people are wonderful people, not always easy to understand their mentality but they are friendly, helpful and all smiles.

Prince Sihanouk used to ruled Cambodia as a monarch but in 1970 General Lon Nol, deposed the Prince in a military coup. Since that the Lon Nol democratic government fought a civil war with the Communist Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge finally won and from 1975-79 Kampuchea, (Cambodia) was ruled by Angkar, which means “the organization” led by the extreme communist Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge soldiers.

Today Sihanouk is King in Cambodia.

In 1962, S-21 was a high school. During the KR, (Khmer Rouge)regime the high school was set up as a prison to detain individuals accused of opposing Angkar.

According to some KR reports found at Toul Sleng, the total numbers of prisoners from 1975-78 was 10,499 and that do not include the children.