I got to meet and get to know the six other intrepid travelers that I will be with until May 5th at a meeting last night. No one from the “states”, 4 from the UK And 2 from down under. This tour is just the kind I like—-accommodations, transportation, some scheduled outings and a guide (Felia). Most meals, especially dinners are not included so we go to local restaurants recommended by the guide.
This morning I went to the Royal Palace of Cambodia where the current king lives. It is a large compound containing a number of buildings that met my preconceived perceptions of the “Far East”.
After takng a walk by the riverfront, I took a Tuk Tuk (Cambodia’s precursor of Uber) back to the hotel and lunch at a student staffed local restaurant.
In the afternoon we had a van transport to the Killing Fields about 9 miles from the capital.
In 1975 the US army pulled out of Cambodia where we had been fighting with the Vietnamese. A large gorilla movement/army gained control—Khmer Rouge. They were about 115,000 strong, mostly from northern Cambodia and followers of comunism. This regime instituted a policy of genocide with the goal to rid the population of all class differences.
In less than four years, 1.7 million persons were executed and and another million starved to death. This was almost one half of the population. The Killing Fields we visited was one site of mass executions and graves. I could not take any pictures.
The Vietnam army took control of the capital in 1979 and the regime was toppled. This horrible period was followed by a civil war that lasted 20 years. This was a very sobering/sad visit!
Tomorrow we are leaving for Battambang, a city a few hours by van north west of Phnom Penh
Barb Does The World 
Barb, my mom adopted a Cambodian family that lived in Bellevue. She was teaching reading for the Pittsburgh literacy council. The father told us that when he as 10, his father, a professor, along with his brother, a college student, were taken from their home and murdered in the street, right in front of the family.
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Interesting. I can only imagine how you felt at the killing fields. We visited a concentration camp in Austria — it’s important we remember these barbaric events.
I so love your blog… looking forward to the next installment
Joyce
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