Desruction and insects

        In the morning, we headed to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the former security office 21 in “Kampuchea Democratic”, created at the orders of Pol Pot. It was designed for detention, interrogation, inhuman torture of the detainees in order to gain a confession, after which they were killed. The methods of torture were incredibly gruesome and Pol Pot's rules were as follows:
1.you must answer accordingly to my questions- Don't turn them away
2.Don't try to hide the facts by making pretexts this and that. You are strictly forbidden to contest me.
3.Don't be fool for you are a chap who dare to thwart the revolution
4.you must immediately answer my questions without wasting time to reflect
5.Don't tell me either about you immortalities or the essence of revolution
6.while getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all
7.do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet, when I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting
8.don't make pretext about Kampuchea Krom in order to hide your secret or traitor
9.If you don't follow all the above rules you shall get many lashes or electric wire
10.If you disobey any point of my regulations you shall get either ten lashes or five shocks of electric discharge

        Seeing the torture devices was incredibly difficult. And the rows up rows upon rows of faces or men and women who were slaughtered at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Worst of all was the children. The innocent children. Almost 11,000 men and women were held at S21, not including the number of children. Their imprisonment was 2 to 4 months of torture. 6 to 7 months for political prisoners.
        One woman's face really struck me. She was smiling. It seemed as if she refused to let the Khmer Rouge break her. No matter how hard she tried, she would not let them break her spirit. Even when her death was almost certain, she smiled right at the camera. I wonder what her story is? Her face gives the sense of extreme confidence and strength. It is so depressing to think of her demise...
        Next we went to the Killing Fields, where the detainees were taken for execution. Here there is a room with several shelves, each filled with around a hundred skulls of the victims, ranging from 15-60 years old. It was very controversial to display the bones because of the religious beliefs of the victims. Most were Buddhist and they believe that the body must be cremated in order to free the soul. But in the end, it was decided that it was important enough to visually communicate the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime and the skulls were left on display. The room was also filled with paper cranes, wishing for peace to the victim's souls and their families.
        I was overwhelmed with emotion. “The method of massacre which the clique of Pol Pot criminals was carried upon the innocent people of Kampuchea cannot be described fully and clearly in words because the invention of this killing method was strangely cruel so it is difficult for us to determine who they are. They have the human form but their heart are demon's heart. They have ot the Khmer face but their activities are purely reactionary. They wanted to transform the Kampuchean people into a group of persons without reason or a group who knew nothing and understood nothing, who always bent their heads and carried out Ankar's order blindly... They were trying hard to get ride of Khmer character and transform the waters and soil of Kampuchea into a sea of blood and tears which was deprived of cultural infrastructure, civilization and national character, to become a desert of great destruction that overturned the Kampuchean society and drove it back to the Stone Age.”
        Four skinny children stopped my near a fence asking for money or food, but I had only about 50 cents. Also, all the locals told us not to give to the beggars because it discourages them from attending school if they learn they can make a living just by begging. But it was heartwrentching to walk away from them, they looked so hungry.
        On the drive leaving, I just watched the scenes pass by my window. A farmer pulled out his dead crops, I wonder if he will still be able to feed his family. Children rumaging through a pile of rubble looking for any usable materials. People gathered around the local television, escaping the harsh reality of life through some pleasant film. The distribution of wealth is stark, elaborate complexes with rails of gold are fenced in from the world around where children live in shanty houses of scrap tin and bamboo posts. I should not assume they live a life of sorrow, for I know nothing about their feeling. But how hard their life must be compared to mine... I am truly blessed but do I deserve to be so....?
        We continued on with the itinerary to the Royal Palace. The palace was first built in 1444 when a war with Thailand in the north threatened the capital at Angkor. The current buildings were mostly built after 1900. The King of Cambodia still lives here but he was in China at the time of our visit, retrieving medicines for a member of his harem (yes, he has a harem of wives).
        The building are stunning! They are yellow and while with magnificent Khmer-style architecture. The roofs feature the traditional tiered towers, reaching up to the heavens. The top tower of the Throne Hall features the four-faces of God Brama which represent the four principal directions. The hall is used for coronation festivites and meeting with foreign ambassadors. A nine-stepped white paradsol on the throne represents the nine-steps to paradise. The stairways outside are decorated with sculptures of the Snake God and complete rendition of the Ramayana is portrayed near the Silver Pagoda.
        The floor of the Silver Pagoda is made of 5,329 tiles, each made of 1kg of silver. It houses a Buddha statue mixed with 2,086 diamonds, 19kg of gold and 1 10 karat diamond on each hand. It was unbelievably elaborate. It was a difficult shift going from all the destruction of the morning to the ornateness of the palace.
        On the bus ride to lunch, I had a somewhat upsetting interaction with another SAS student. MY friend Eric and I were discussing different economic and political systems (we are on complete opposite sides of the fence, him being a free-market economist and myself more of a socialist) and were engaging in an interesting and perfectly civil conversation. Neither of us were getting angry and we both found the discussion fascinating. But then the girl sitting next to him blatantly told me to shut up. When I asked why, she said she's on vacation in Cambodia and she doesn't want to talk about these things. She found our conversation “annoying”.
        I was a bit taken aback by this. We are supposed to be on an academic adventure, NOT a vacation. Of course, I didn't listen to her command and Eric and I continued our conversation. If she didn't want to participate, that's fine, but she has no right to tell me to shut up, especially since she claims to be in support of complete “freedom”. Whatever though, I can't let these people get to me. Its just frustrating because we should be able to engage in civil debates about politics and religion, but so many people just shut down or get so angry that they can't even have a discussion. I find it ridiculous and I think it is the main cause to many of the problems in our society. If only we could listen to one another...
        After lunch, we had some time to wander around a local marketplace. I got a tender coconut and enjoyed its milk (which was slightly fermented. I don't know if it was meant to be that way but it was still delicious and I didn't get sick so its all good). My mission, however, was to find insects to eat. I turned one corner, and there was a woman with barrels full! She had crickets and beetles and spiders and frogs and locusts. I paid her one dollar and asked for some of each. My friend, Arron couldn't believe I was actually going to eat them. But I did! The spider was tasty, so were the crickets. The rest I could do without. Most of the people I ran into in the market weren't willing to be adventurous, but Keith stood up to the challenge! He didn't even have to think twice when I said, “Want to try something crazy?” He was down from the get go! No I know, I can always count on him to try crazy stuff with me.
        Back on the bus, I managed to convince several more people to try some insects. Everyone was doubtful, but I'm pretty good at making things seem exciting and amazing, so I managed to convince them. Most people immediately chased the bugs down with a big gulp of water though. I even got Jenny's kids, Lizzy and Andrew to try some. Guaranteed they are going to go back to their friends at home and say, “Guess what I did! I ate a BUG! GROSS!”
        Then we boarded a flight and headed to Siam Reap.