end of week 1

Cant belive its been a week already! i have already experienced so much aswell. I'm so glad i came on this tour as our tour leader knows all the local knowledge and so we always get the best experiences and dont get ripped off. He is hilarious, a tiny little peruvian gay man with a massive personality. he's called Rod but we all call him Rodders. So yesterday we were in Phnom Penh which is the capital of Cambodia. In the morning we went to the s21 genocidal prison museum and killing fields which was... well i cant really think if a word for it but i think we all found it really emotional. It is the place where the prisoners of the Khmer Rouge were taken under Pol Pots Regime and tortured and left to die. over one 3rd of the entire Cambodian population were killed and Phnom Penh was completely wiped out. Anyone who was suspected to be a spy or enemy or the regime was automatically taken to one of the prison and under the dictatorship they were forbidden to challenge what the interrogators were asking them, so they couldnt even defend themselves. basically if they thought someone was an enemy, they had no chance and were sent for certain death after months of torture. It was heartbreaking, we saw the cells were they were detained and one still had bloody handprints on the wall. then we went through rooms and rooms of mugshots of people who were all brutally killed. The wives and children of all who were captured were also taken to the killing field where they were also killed. We saw a tree that thousands of babies and children had their heads repeatedly smashed against until they died and were thrown into a mass grave. The Khmer Rouge didnt want to spend money on expensive weapons and guns so they used blunt and self made weapons, sometimes just things like shovels and garden hoes as weapons which made the murders even more slow and painful. it was definitley an experience. i didnt take any photos out of respect so thats why ''m covering it in so much detail. The highlight of the trip was when we actually got to meet one of the 3 remaining survivors (there were original 7 out of over a million, but 4 have now died) it was only by chance he was there but our tour guide knew him and asked if he would tell us our story and the tour guide translated it. He was incredible, so brave and strong considering he was telling us how he got his back broken by the Khmer Rouge and had each toenail ripped off individually, his fingers broken and was made to lick up his own blood off the floor. He said it meant alot to him that we had come all this way and spent our money to come and see the prison and learn the story so that the victims of the regime were not forgotten. He also wished us luck and fortune in our lives.
Anyway, onto a lighter topic! in the afternoon we went on a cyclotour of the city which was absolutely hilarious. we were sat on these chairs with bikes attached to the backs of them and cambodian men cycling us along the road. i have already explained that the traffic here is completely mental so i did fear for my life a few times, especially when a four byu four was heading towards me with no sign of stopping! they do not use their brakes in Cambodia, they just beep their horns for people/motorbikes/cyclists/tuktuks/random cows chilling on the road to get the hell out of the way! i must try not to pick up any bad habits as i dont think this kind of driving will be acceptable back home. For dinner onboth nights in phnom penh we went to non profit restaurants which raised money for local schools. at the first restaurant the kids put on a performance for us which was so good!
This morningwe got a bus to Sihanoukville which is our last stop in Cambodia... the beach! we are staying in beach huts whish are 5 minute walk from the sea, have been sunbathing all day and swimming in the sea which is lovely and warm. also briefly went to the floating water park in the sea however there were a load of annoying cambodian children trying to pull my bikini top down so i made a quick exit after telling them to go away but not so politely! there had soooo many people who approach you asking to buy things or give you a massage they are so annoying. all the local people also stare at us (mainly the men) because we have light skin and they think its amazing. its weird, all the women cover themselves up and in the shops there are loads of lightening skin products, thats the last thing i want!
anyway better be off, going to have a nap and a shower ready for the beach party tonight! cant wait. Thanks for all your comments on the blog i enjoy reading them. Speak to you soon, miss you all! x