1.man.among.13,607,069.fists

who said the above famous line? correctly respond with the answer first, and i'll mail you a teeshirt of my favorite angkorian temple, banteay srey.

full recap of my 4-day trip to siem reap/angkor soon!!! be excited, very excited.

with much anticipation from friends and family, i finally have some pictures developed, scanned, and uploaded on to my blog. you can view in three separate album folders:

phnom penh
sihanoukville
kampot

the state of cambodia's safety and security is the subject of today's reality check.

so you tell your over protected and loving parents that you want to visit cambodia (with or without their blessings) by yourself.  their mouth drops.  now here it comes.

"son, don't you know cambodia is lawless and unsafe?"  calmly utters my mom.
"ohh, the road conditions is horrendous.  arent you afraid of car and moto accidents? 
"at night, locals will rob you because you're a foreigner."
"i'm sure you heard stories about motodop drivers putting a spell or drug you, then rob every penny in your pocket."
"landmines.  ohh, don't walk off the paved road or you will risk yourself in getting your limbs blown off!"
"and don't talk to any girls there.  most of them are prostitutes and their only intent is to get you drunk so they can steal your money!"

"heuyyy" (the english equivalent of a sigh).

by no means is my testimony the *best* interpretation to the reality that plagues cambodia (as i've been here for only 15 days), nevertheless, let me share you my thoughts and observations to the aboveforementioned issues.

yes, much of cambodia is "lawless."  but lawlessness, in my view, implies "anarchism."  surely, not here in good ol' phnom penh.  you can piss outside and you won't get whipped like singaporeans or ticketed for indecent exposure like in the land of uncle sam.  if you get in a car accident, no police will "come to your rescue."  no claim adjuster.  no car insurance, no problem.  two people (if thats the number of people involve), they settle through a cash settlement.  usually, locals find a way to resolve the matter through non-violent means.  motodops drivers are the most friendliest people i've met here.  many know that i'm not local when i talk and are curious to talk to me about america.  i never once felt uncomfortable or in danger when riding with them.  and though landmines are synonomous with cambodia, much of the heavy hit regions are remote and uninhabited.  of course phnom penh doesn't have that problem and surprisingly, i haven't seen a local who suffered from a blow from a landmine as i anticipated i would.  local khmer girls?  well, i haven't met any new faces to make judgment, but of course, the reality is not what my mom stated above.

the issue of one's safety and security is a matter of common sense.  trouble comes when you put yourself at risk by making dumb choices.  at night, walk in a small group.  don't carry backpacks as that just screams, "get me, i'm a tourist, i got money!"  arrange for a familar motodop driver if you are to take one back home at night to risk confronting a "stranger" who might pose a threat.  if you hear loud screaming and shouting, of course, veer away from the scene.

all said, i want to make clear that although my interpretation is by no means the most accurate to the realities of cambodia, what cloud of uncertainty you might have for visiting because of our parent's grim and paranoic views, should be put aside and cleared away.  come with no doubt that cambodia has progressed tremendously since peace was formalized when the khmer rouge surrendered in 1997.  most of the region is safe to explore and most people here are genuinely hospitable.

humanity at its worst is illustrated through the horrors of tuol sleng prison.  before war erupted in cambodia in 1975, this 3-story building was a high school tucked in the heart of phnom penh.  the other day, with enough courage, i decided to visit the now converted touristy museum.

at first, my body felt numb as i walked through the gated fence.  the place was at peace. the several dozens of tourists walked slowly from room to room, emotionless at times, and lifeless to the reality they saw as depicted through daunting black-and-white photos, murals, and other props of torture.

only 7 people survived tuol sleng when the vietnamese defeated the khmer rouge in 1979.  over 17,000 perished.

my body began to cripple as i began walking through the rooms.  each room had a chilling picture mounted on the wall to display the grossness of the regime's violence.  also found were a bed frame and tools use to handcuff the prisoneers. 

one room had the apparatus used to drown prisoneers.  on the walls showed paintings by vann nath (a survivor) illustrating this and other horrendous forms of torture.  my stomach began to queeze up.

building b showed images and stories of those who died at tuol sleng.  i saw the famous picture of bophana, the prisoneer who secretly wrote letters to her lover.  her story has been the focus of one of rithy panh's films and a book by elizabeth becker. 

in the photo exhibition ghosts of tuol sleng, the photographer captures a shot of the prison and mounts a face/silhouhette of a prisoneer to create one "haunting" piece.  there were a couple dozens of these photos; making my experience a bit "uneasy."

overall though, i'm glad i had the courage to come visit the place.  skulls, blood stains on the floor, handcuffs, cells, weapons of tortures, and everything else you can possibly see in the face of war, only help crystalize my knowledge of studying about this dark past.  a place that i sincerely recommend khmers and non-khmers to visit.  however, definitely not a place for the weak stomach.

i lit some incense, paid my respects to the spirits as i walked out the entrance.