SE Asia Day 7 (Phnom Penh)
Woke up feeling out of sorts. The crappiest hotel of the trip (stinky towels, mosquitos coming in through a crack in a window sill, crappy lighting and our room information on display at the front desk for strangers to see).
Mood not improved by the royal palace. A friend was turned away because her shirt sleeves were too short. Ladies, cover yourselves in SE Asia, lest you make a monk horny with your shoulders. It’s the least you can do.
Decided to skip the temples and any other attractions with the word “royal” in their name simply out of spite. We went to get massages at a spa next to the royal museum then lunch at an English pub. Both lifted the spirits.
Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek dashed those raised spirits. Took a few pics at Tuol Sleng, then deleted them. There’s nothing I need to document there, and the place has seen enough photographs already. Walked through the cells for 10 minutes, and wanted to leave. Teeth and clothing still wash out of the soil in the rain at Choeung Ek. Despite hearing kids laughing at Tuol Sleng and seeing dogs play at Choeung Ek and meeting a lot of nice Khmers, it’s hard to have much hope for this place. That’s not to say I don’t like the country. I like it a lot. It’s got a rough and long way to go to prosperity.
Hopefully, this is the “off” day, the downer day of the trip.
