When I left my room at 8am, it felt like it was already noon. In short, it was hot and stuffy. I walked along the boulevards, along the direction to Wat Phnom. Most shops were opened and everybody was busy going around on their businesses. After heading north by foot (went to a ATM for some extra cash and it actually dispenses US dollars!), I reached Wat Phnom within 30mins.

Although Wat Phnom looks non-appealing from far, it is a spot where citizens can come and pray for good luck/fortune/studies. As I was there on a Sunday, there were people who were there to provide offerings to the Buddhas and gods. Some were there to release caged birds: in order to earn good karma. Others were simply there to hang around, play traditional games, or just to enjoy the greenery and to get away from that traffic. Although the temple was predominately Theravada, it was slightly tweaked with a dose of Confucius and Taoist flavour. This is probably due to the Vietnamese influence in Phnom Penh.

There is a strong congregation of Chinese (especially the Teochews) in the northern part of Phnom Penh. Most of them set up small-scale businesses such as eateries (you can actually find Teochew porridge here!) or provision shops. I notice a similarity in towns (i.e. Medan, Hanoi, Phnom Penh) where it has a sizeable population of Chinese: the Chinese are usually bosses and they employ the locals as workers. Maybe the Chinese are more business-minded.

Now comes the heavy part of the trip. Based on the depressing comments from friends and guidebooks, I had been trying not to think about my visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (that is probably why I kept it till the afternoon). Before the 3-hour walk and the visit to the endless barren rooms and empty wooden cells, I would never imagine myself to experience such a down point in humanity.

And yet I did, in a vicinity, that so reminds me of a normal school, where kids could had ran around flying kites, that such darkness actually occurred. And yes, all these happened barely 30 years ago…