This is the first time around, that I have been in a Buddhist country. Already after leaving the airport, monks in their orange/red robes run around the streets with their sunbrellas, tuk tuk drivers try to haunt you down for their next job on every possible street corner and frog and snake selling ladies run around with big baskets on their heads through the streets. After loud and noisy Jakarta, Phnom Penh seemed like a sanctuary. It was clean, friendly and quiet. No honking on the streets but simply easy going.
Phom Wat, the central temple in the capital was a little paradise for monkeys trying to steel their next bananas from street sellers and an elphant was strolling down the main street whilst all the tuk tuks and cars were overtaking his slow motion speed.
Captured birds could be bought in order to be set free again. This is orgiginally not a tourist trap but actually what Buddha Gautama did. He bought birds on the market to set them free again.
The temple itself was overly decorated with a gazillion of candles, Duftstaebchen and even more Buddha statues than candls.
Our next stop has lead us to Tuol Sleng S.21. A museum dedicated to the genocide victims of the Khmer Rouge era. This builiding used to be a school which under the Khmer Rouge was transformed into a prision, hosting *suspicious* detainees and enemys of the government. Enemies were intellectuals, politicians, former militar, monks, landowners,... Most of them were executed.
A reminder of human cruciality.
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