Killing Fields & Prison - Phnom Penh

To me, Phnom Penh was a place of constant exhilaration to the senses - the sights, the sounds, the smells - but mostly it was a place of heart ache. That heart ache began with The Killing Fields and the prison. This is where The Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia and killed about 2 million people from 1975 to 1979 (about a quarter of Cambodia's population at the time). If you are not familiar with what happened in Cambodia I suggest reading "First They Killed My Father" It's a really well written book that from a child's perspective during the era of Khmer Rouge. I highly recommend it.

I can only imagine what these walls have seen




They turned the schools into prisons.


It's difficult for visitors.

Here is where they keep the Skulls of the prisoners that were killed here at the Killing fields




The holes in the ground are only a few of the mass graves where the bodies were recovered.

Singapore

It's true what they say about Singapore. It's a nice clean and safe city. With that said, it's damn expensive! We spent three nights, four days there in a cute hotel in Little India. The decision to stay in Little India was a strategic one, as we are both huge fans of Indian food. We were able to eat Indian food at least 3 times (once for breakfast) and satisfied, our stomachs were full of delicious samosas, dahl, korma, paneer, and most importantly - GARLIC NAAN BREAD!

We did most of our exploring around Singapore by foot and by MRT (there rapid transit system). It was easy to get around and people were so friendly, often stopping to ask if we needed help with directions. Our favorite spots (besides the curry houses) were two Quays we found on the river. The first one had restaurants lined along the river, each with someone standing on the walkway trying to entice you to choose their restaurant (this can get annoying). The second Quay was even larger, with buildings in pastel colour and lots of patio seating. The lonely Planet described this area as "Dr. Suess like" and it was.

Overall we enjoyed Singapore very much.

Malaysia

Aside from Singapore, Malaysia was the shortest amount of time we had in one country, so it difficult as it is such a lage country. Our time restrictions prevented us from seeing the best of it. So instead of rushing through Malaysia we decided to pick a place or two and enjoy them as much as possible (at least this was the plan). Kuala Lumpur was the first place. It was definitely a change from other major cities we have seen in South East Asia, seeming more like a western city with modern monorail, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels and anything else you could get in the western world (including over-priced everything). The city also offers an extensive amount of things to do for tourists and a wide variety of restaurants both of which we took advantage of.

I think both Jen and I had a great time in KL, but with a few different highlights and lowlights. For example, one of my highlights was the day that Jen got chased and then robbed of her ice cream cone by a monkey as we were just casually walking down the city street. This, on the other hand, was strongly one of her lowlights.

Another exciting experience for us was our visit to the KL Towers for which we woke up at 6am andraced our way to the Towers so we could line up at 7:30am for the 9am opening of the towers. Lucky for us the line was short. Unfortunately this was due to the fact that the towers are closed on Mondays for cleaning. So not really the outcome we hoped but we still made the best of the day and headed off to Singapore. (which Jen will tell you about later).

Our second place in Malaysia was Tioman Island about 6 hours out of KL on the East Coast in the South China Sea. It's a hotspot with locals for a weekend getaway, but not too popular with tourists. We had a lazy but good time on the island which was sleepy but friendly. There was a lot to explore, but we left all the good stuff til our last couple of days, but we had to jump on a boat back to KL as it was a holiday in Malaysia, and the boat was booked up. So it was back to KL for our remaining days in Malaysia enjoying Indian Curry, shopping and finally seeing the towers on a day they were open to the public

Carlos' Photos from Singapore

Carlos' Photos from Malaysia

Jen's photo's from Malaysia

Indonesia Overview

By the time I left on this trip, I was not looking forward to Indonesia. My Mother had single-handedly convinced me that while in Indonesia I would be robbed, kidnapped, be on an over-crowded ferry that would sink, have my passport stolen and my identity and credit compromised, treated like a lower class citizen because I am female, be condemned for wearing shorts and a tank top, have someone plant drugs on me, be put in jail, beaten and sentenced to death. And that was just all in the first day.

So needless to say, I was no longer too excited about my trip.

The Canadian government only contributed to my growing fear of Indonesia. The travel warning there is on high alert: "avoid all unnecessary travel." Frankly (and excuse my language) I think it's bullshit. Sure, Indonesia has had more than it's share of problems; earthquakes, tsunami, the Bali Bombings of 2005, but every place has their problems. The Twin Towers in NYC, flooding in New Orleans, Gang wars in Vancouver. There's risk in going anywhere, doing anything... but we should not live our lives in fear, paralyzed by the ideas of "what could happen."

In my three weeks in Indonesia (which was not long enough by the way) my worst complaint was at times people ripped us off. And by ripped us off I mean they charged us $1.50 for a half hour taxi ride instead on $1.

Besides that, I encountered a land of beautiful people. People who were dedicated to their religion and living good lives. People who smiled and said "good morning" and "sweet dreams." People who wanted to have their picture taken with me and practice English with me. People who gave us gifts, taught me Indonesian dance, and helped us when we were lost. And people who told me I was beautiful even though I was hot, sweaty and wearing the same clothes for the third day in a row.

The news is made up of 99% bad news, so of course the news you hear about countries like Indonesia will most likely be negative. I guess the point of this is you can't always believe what you hear. People have a fear of the unknown. You just have to go and discover it yourself.

~Jen

PS. love you Mom :)