We arrived in Cambodia by bus from Saigon, the 6 hour journey was lined with beautiful landscape. Upon arriving in Phnom Penh we found a hotel and also found a really cheap restaurant. All the meals are $1.50 and they include all the rice you can eat, so this became the spot where we ate all our meals! Strange thing about Cambodia is that they not only use the dollar, it is their currency. If you withdraw money from any ATM, it dispenses dollars.....not sure what the arrangement is with the US?!!?
Cambodia is a beautiful country with a very bloody recent past. From 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge killed over 1/3 of the population in brutal ways. They targeted all the Monks, educated people, people of foreign decent, those that wore glasses, artisans....basically the only people they didn't kill were the farmers and peasants. After they lost power in 1979, thanks to the Vietnamese, there was a famine that killed a million more people. So, in just a short time this country has tried to rebuild. However, they are still haunted by the past as there are thousands of landmines still covering the country, and each year many children and adults die or lose limbs because of them. Despite the past, the people here are so friendly and kind, and they are constantly saying hello and giving smiles!
Tras la retirada de las tropas estadounidenses tanto de Vietnam del Sur como de Camboya, en Phnom Penh se instauró el régimen de Pol Pot, máximo líder de los jemeres rojos (Khmer Rouge en el original francés) , quien lideraría el país hasta octubre de 1979. La aplicación literal del maoísmo y la declaración de una nueva era denominada Camboya Año Cero, dieron lugar al genocidio camboyano. Entre las primeras medidas que el régimen de Pol Pot implantó en el país estuvieron la eliminación literal de los conglomerados urbanos y la declaración de los habitantes de la ciudad como enemigos del Estado, la desaparición de la moneda, el comercio, el mercado, las escuelas, la literatura, toda forma de arte, cultura, y las religiones. La aniquilación sistemática de la oposición con sus familias y todos los que a los ojos del Estado eran declarados enemigos, como por ejemplo aquellos que fueran o parecieran intelectuales, hicieron que se instalaran prisiones de tortura en algunas de las antiguas escuelas. El fin del régimen de los Jemeres Rojos, en 1979, fue consecuencia de la invasión de Camboya por Vietnam. Las cifras de los muertos durante el régimen de Pol Pot son todavía inciertas, pero no son menores de dos millones de personas de todas las edades y condiciones, cerca de una cuarta parte de la población estimada de Camboya.
The beautiful children playing at school 
The markets
The S21 camp set up by the Khmer Rouge, in 4 years they tortured and killed over 20,000 people here, burying their bodies in mass graves outside the city.
The 14 bodies that were found in S21 when the Khmer Rouge fled the city, these 14 got proper burials. 
The torture chambers, this is a very grim place, but the Cambodians what to preserve it to remind others of what happened and reinforce the importance of peace.
The small cells that people lived in before they were killed. In 4 years, 20,000 people came through this camp and only 7 survived. The Khmer Rouge kept detailed evidence of all their disgusting acts.
Some of the skulls of the people that were killed. The Khmer Rouge killed babies, children, old people....they were absolutely ruthless. I cant believe this happened in MY life time, and it is still happening in the world today. It is horrible-
Our Tuk tuk ride around the city at night-
Phnom Penh at night- this is a tuk tuk driver....there are many in Cambodia, its a popular way to get around the streets. Cambodia's costs: $1.00= 4,150 Riel, however dollars are mostly used Beer= .50 cent Meals= $1.00-$10.00 Hostel= $6-9.00 Tuk tuk ride= $2.00 5 hour bus ticket= $4-6.00 Massage(1 hour)= $4-7.00 
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