Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (Killing Fields): From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge took control of Cambodia and forever changed the country’s history and trajectory. The Khmer Rouge started as a communist political party founded by a group of Cambodians educated in France, most notably Pol Pot. It turned into a totalitarian, autocratic regime that carried out a genocide and many other atrocities, resulting in the murder of 1 in 4 Cambodians in four years. The Cambodian genocide (often referred to as part of the Cambodian Civil War) impacted every single Cambodian family – most of the people we met in Cambodia who were alive during that time lost immediate family members and were displaced due to the forced migration policies of the Khmer Rouge. The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, known colloquially as the “Killing Fields,” is a place to learn about the genocide and remember the victims and survivors. At Choeung Ek, we spent several hours walking around while listening to a well-curated audio guide and reflecting on the tragic history of the place where over 8,000 Cambodians were brutally murdered and buried in mass graves. One of the most heinous and memorable parts of Choeung Ek is the killing tree where Khmer Rouge soldiers smashed the skulls of infants and young children and threw their bodies into a nearby pit. Not only did our visit to the killing fields cause us to reflect and remember the Cambodian genocide, but it also made us think about the atrocities going on in the world today that go unnoticed by the West (like the Cambodia genocide did at the time). In particular, we thought about the ongoing genocides in Myanmar against the Rohingya and China against the Uyghurs – two countries in close proximity to Cambodia. This visit also made us reckon with the United States’s involvement in Cambodia prior to the Khmer Rogue which killed 100,000+ Cambodians through bombs and caused mass displacement. Visiting Choeung Ek was a difficult but imperative part of our time in Cambodia

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21): After our time at Choeung Ek, we headed into Phnom Penh city center to see Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, also known as S21. S21 was the most infamous prison and interrogation center in the Khmer Rouge system. Here, 15,000+ prisoners were detained throughout the Khmer Rouge reign of terror with many perishing at S21 due to gross mistreatment and the rest sent to Choeung Ek to die. We walked through S21 listening to another well-curated audio guide that described the horrors of being imprisoned here. One of the most disturbing parts of visiting S21 was learning about the meticulous reporting and documentation done on every person that entered S21. Each person had their photograph taken, name written down (it was then cross-checked at Choeung Ek before they were sent to their death), and report written up by Khmer Rouge soldiers. All of these people, with the exception of 12 survivors, went on to be brutally murdered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. It was another very difficult place to see but important to understand the full history of Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge regime 

Walking the Mekong River: The Mekong River runs straight through Phnom Penh and we were aching for a pleasant walk (Phnom Penh isn’t a walking city per se), so we figured we would check it out. The walk was a bit lackluster. The riverfront was filled with patches of garbage, unpleasant smells, and unappetizing street food (and we eat a lot of street food that doesn’t look great at first glance). We didn’t see many other people walking which wasn’t a huge surprise. It was also insanely hot out and the river didn’t offer much relief, so we were dripping by the end of it

Bassac Lane: After dinner one evening, we decided to have a nightcap at Bassac Lane where it looked like there were a lot of bars. Indeed there were! Bassac Lane looked like a manufactured version of Golden Gai – an area of Tokyo with tons of adorable bars and places to eat. It was a fun place to walk around and scout out all of the bars and one of the more happening areas of the city. It didn’t feel like there were many tourists in Phnom Penh at the time we went, but we could imagine this area being full of backpackers come the summertime rush

Phnom Penh Night Market: We weren’t planning on going to the night market, but we happened to be close by one night so we went for it. It was a very small market that mostly sold clothes and meat on a stick. We didn’t stick around for more than ten minutes, but it was still nice to see and not very touristy at the time we went

Russian Market: This market was one of our favorite spots in Phnom Penh. We came here right after our short trip to the night market and it couldn’t have been more different. The Russian Market was a true local market with fish, meat, and produce housed under a patchwork of corrugated tin roofs. We especially loved watching the “fish lady” pick up a fish, descale it and gut it with her massive knife while barely paying attention to her hands. It again reaffirmed Jessie’s desire to go back to veganism when we get back

Party with Panha: One of the highlights of our time in Cambodia was spending time with our friendly, knowledgeable, and fun homestay host, Panha. One day before we went out to explore, Panha told us that he would make us fries and we could drink some homemade rice wine later that evening. Preparing our stomachs and our spirits with a few beers throughout the day, we enthusiastically made our way back to the homestay. As promised, Panha whipped up some fries and pulled out a small jar of rice wine. What started as a casual hang quickly turned into a party as we knocked down the first jar of rice wine and Panha pulled out another one. We talked about life, politics, and business while sharing songs from our respective countries. We learned some Cambodian rap (it’s awesome) and in turn Panha learned about the likes of Rihanna, the Beatles, and Lizzo. Jessie danced through a lot of the music cultural exchange (missing silent discos…), but wasn’t successful in getting Panha or Doug to dance