For most of us today was a chance to rest our cycling legs and sleep in. I wouldn’t have thought it but I had a sense of something missing this morning not to get on the bikes. It did allow us to get our washing done. We weren’t inspired with confidence when our washing was in a collective pile and not ready for collecting at the nominated pick-up time at 8am but they managed to get it right except for one of Deb’s socks being a casualty and for a while Peter’s nicks were missing – they didn’t understand what they were! The bus was there at 8am for our tour about the city starting with the palace. The blue flage was raised indicating the king was in residence, and we were a bit disappointed we didn’t get an audience with him given how good the tour has been otherwise. Quite often during the trip there a moments of missed translations and misintepretations – this morning Janet thought the King was a belly dancer (not ballet dancer) which had her bemused for some time much to our amusement. I thought the architect of the palace complex was trying to make it as hard as possible for the builder with the curly bits on the roof and lots of carved bits everywhere – I know Australian builders wouldn’t have stood for similar plans. The gold buddha’s were impressive though I wondered about security levels given one diamond encrusted piece weighed 90kg. I guess it would be hard to get that one out under your arm. From there it was the national museum and another look into the history of Cambodia. I usually try to follow the history as best I can but there has been so much complexity that I know without notes that I’ll forget it tomorrow. Vuttar (my spelling) as usual gave an excellent commentary on religious and historical background and the palace grounds were peaceful and the few water lillies were very photogenic. From there we had a definite change of scene at the Tuol Sleng museum a former high school that was transformed into a prison by Pol Pot’s regime in 1975. A total of 17000 people went through here and died after being tortured. It was a bit surreal being set amidst the city and seemed to be left in pretty much original condition with lots of graphic photographs to get the message across. A sign had some rules that prisoners had to adhere to including not to cry out if subjected to torture ! I was interested in the photo of an Australian journalist who was sent here and died and wondered why he isn’t more well known back home and I made a note to find out a bit more. As they couldn’t bury any more people here they took them out to a place 14km from the city and put them into collective pits – one of many killing fields. The scale of this tragic period in the history was made more real as this place ranked 10th in scale of people killed – number one had over 170 000 people killed. The fact that everyone was photographed and documented makes it more bizarre. Even though some stayed in the bus the few of us that went were moved by the experience. I kept trying to decipher the history of Cambodia and how it can move on today. I’d like to think that there is hope for the future but it does require a lot of help from outside and willingness from the leadership of this country. It was obvious that it is difficult for Vuttar to visit here so I really appreciated the effort that he went to. Then it was time for lunch at a chinese-cambodian restaurant. While Marion and I enjoyed the excellent sauted fish with lemon grass, Deb and Mrs Jo didn’t fare so well with the gristle chicken much to Vuttar’s embarrassment. A few of us then headed to Wat Phnom the only hill (27m) in town and site of the first pagoda erected in 1373. More buddhas to hear about courtesy of Lee Hay this time. I chuckled at the nga the dragon who turned into a beautiful woman to seduce the man – gave a new meaning to a dragon lady! The rest of the afternoon was free time to rest, swim, shop, or just soak in the city’s vibe. It gave Lois some time to catch up on the bagpipe practice though I missed hearing that. Marion, Janet and I enjoyed a shopping experience getting fair trade goods made to benefit local communities including the place ‘Friends’ that helps former street kids prior to some happy hour beers at the FCC (foreign correspondent club). That was also the venue for dinner – ‘tapas fusion’ would be my description – lots of interesting blends of flavours including peppecorns in Peter’s margharitas and chilli in Steve’s. They seemed happy enough with the tast as I was with a beautiful melon and passionfruit smoothie. Deb’s lime dacquiri was good enough to have seconds too. We left full and full of praise for the place – I’d rank it equal to anything we’ve had on the trip. Conor’s marinated grilled eggplant, capsicum and veges in spring roll with basil dip, brad and Marion’s mango salad, while Janet and I raved about the curried pumpkin soup with a few other things in it that made it sing. I felt sorry for Mrs Jo who skipped dinner to rest a bit more. Tomorrow is scheduled to be the biggest ride of the trip 93km towards Battambang though Vuttar is concerned we may not have enough time. We have to drive an hour out of town first so we are leaving at 6am with breakfast on the bus before we start riding. Peter has cautioned us that the day after a rest day can be the danger day of the trip so it may well be wise to go steadily not that we will be able to put the reigns on Brad, Neil, Lois and Peter. Steve is opting out of these next to legs and is going directly to Siam Reap. The awards: Star award went to Brad for finding Marion’s beloved cycling peak cap next to the computer. He got at least 6 hugs from her as well. Galah award went to Peter for opting for a real sauna (58C) this afternoon. We thought that we’ve been living in one the last week! Crossing attendant went to Deb so she can blow the whistle at us with extra authority. Post by Joe Courtney
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