Phnom Penh

Visiting Phnom Penh is like being a goldfish in a bowl of barracuda. Even the little green man at the traffic lights is running. The people make you mad, happy, depressed and excited all at the same time.

After arriving in the city we were bombarded by tuk-tuk drivers and they did well to sustain their mosquito-like presence throughout our stay. Whenever you pass 1 on the street you are greeted with 'hello tuk-tuk' and it got to the stage were I advised them that in the interest of their well being they should rather call me Brad.

It has a tremendous energy and I'll have to admit that I loved the buzz of the Russian Market. We bargained for a couple of things and watched our french friends send an antique salesman into early retirement. A visit to the disturbing Tuol Sleng Museum brought us quickly back down to earth with a shocking history that is brought across at a very personal level with photo's of all the prisoners and many of their own words and stories. To summarise, the Khmer Rouge and the vicious dog named Pol Pot set about exterminating intellectuals, monks and whoever they wanted to and the result was the deaths of between 2 and 3 million people. Twelve thousand spent time at the Tuol Sleng Prison but only 12 survived. They were tortured in the most terrible ways and generally treated like animals but what makes the tale even worse is that most of those responsible have never been charged or prosecuted for any wrong doing. The Cambodian people are not interested in revenge or finding justice, all they want is to live in peace and to have a meal at the end of the day.

As a country, Cambodia has been bullied by it's powerful neighbours for an eternity and it seems like the international community has no interest in assisting but rather in taking. Money talks in Cambodia and if you're lucky enough to have it you can literally shop for your preferred position of power. Most popular is the Police Chief portfolio because with the smallest amount of responsibility comes a license to kill. The same applies to tourists, if you have the cash you can purchase all forms of drugs, sex and weapons. There is even a company that will take you to a shooting range and let you blow up a cow with a handgrenade or rocket launcher.

Our final meal with Stephane and Faustine was at a riverside restaurant called Pon Lok, 'home' to an army of juvenile waiters and some wonderful food. Our waiter was just 16 and he wasn't working for pocket money. He spends his mornings at school and then rushes to the restaurant where he works every evening. He sleeps at the restaurant and only occasionally goes home on weekends. He sees none of the money he earns, with 100% of it being paid directly to his parents. The waiters all worked as a team, never complaining and always smiling. They were very interested in where we were from and spent the evening practising their English. The youngest waiter was just 10 and he worked as hard as anybody else. We enjoyed the meal but couldn't help feeling uncomfortable being served by kids. We'd much rather watch them play a game of football on a field.