Oh my, Oh my this is different!

I was going to do a blog about Vietnamese government and lifestyle but it's going to be next. Instead I need to write this about our current country we have landed in, Cambodia and Pnom Penh.

My oh my do I see a contrast to what we have seen so far! This city and the country is nothing to where we have been yet. I feel like I have landed in the middle of India, in a dirty, smelly and chaotic city as Bombay, seeing all the films and documentaries and reading books about India, this is the best comparison to make.
The is litter on the streets in tons! I'm not talking of pieces of paper only. You wouldn't believe the smells sometimes coming various things such as rotten meat on the street or trash bags thrown everywhere!
It always totally surprises you when walking down the street, enjoying the day and the wall of smell suddenly hits you haha =)

It does have it's charm though and there is something about this tuk tuk filled city, it could be the river promenade full of life or the kindness of it's people! See this blog is really dedicated to the people of this land and this city, I knew the history here is one of a kind but nothing could really prepare me for what it really is, told from the one's who experienced it only 20 years ago. I recommend you to wiki on this and learn of the saddest piece of mankinds history, The Khmer Rouge.

See somehow this party got the hold of power back in 1975 and within days started mass colonialisation of the entire country back to stone age! They're vision was to get rid of all that reminded of imperialism and to recall total communism on a level not seen before. The short version was that they managed to kill ca 3 million of their own people within 4 years and desert all major cities (yes the cities stood empty) and move people to the country side to work as peasants by force. All educated people were exterminated along with children, women even babies. And it is the way they did it that makes even old arsehole Hitler look like a nice old grandpa sitting in a rocking chair. They would just throw them on trucks, blindfolded and cuffed. The truck would stop at the "killing fields" and they would be killed instantly without question and killed in the most inhumane ways only, clubbed, axed or beaten to death with tools for farming. They did this to 3 million people of their own, who never did anything, even the babies had the same going.

It is sad history for this country, who is fighting hard to come back to democrazy. It has come far and it is a country of warm people who definetely know what to value in life! I am eagerly awaiting to see the rest of what this country has to offer! Tomorrow it is bus to Sihanoukville with sandy beaches and untouched islands for a few days!