Yesterday we hired two mopeds ($4 for 24hrs) and went exploring many of the deserted and unspoilt beaches along the coast. It was surreal being able to ride up and down the beach on our 125cc mopeds, if that was back home we’d have been locked up. Once we happened upon a nice spot, we had a few bevies and laid out for a few hours – heaven!
Not much else to report when you’re chilling out, sorry 
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We’ve spent the last few days here Sihanoukville – the closest thing you’ll get to Costa del Cambodia – on the south coast close to the Vietnamese border. The town is hemmed in on all sides with by palm-fringed, squeaky, white sand beaches and undeveloped tropical islands.
We were spoiled early on in our trip by Lonely Beach in Ko Chang (Thailand), but it’s still beautiful here and we’re making the most of it – swimming day and night. The few beach huts available come at a heft $20–25 a night – which is out of our budget – compared to our $4 which is a two minute walk to the beach. We’ve been living comfortably here with three good meals a day, beers and few cocktails every night all for a mere $20 – I really miss working on those bids 
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As mentioned previously, about 17,000 men, women, children and infants who had been detained and tortured at S-21 were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. They were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets.
The remains of 8,985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from the mass graves; 43 of the 129 communal graves have been left untouched. Bones and clothes still lie scattered around the graves – harrowing stuff.
More than 8,000 skulls, arranges by sex and age are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa. It is a pretty peaceful place today, masking the horrors that unfolded here less than three decades ago.
A pretty sad day by all accounts visiting the two main sites of Phnom Penh, S-21 and the Killing Fields. Many of the photos below are pretty harrowing and not for the squeamish, but these are real events and we have to show the bad as well as the good.
In 1975 Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). S-21 was Angkar’s premier security institution, specifically designed for the interrogation and extermination of anti-Angkar elements.
Between the years of 1975 and 1978 more than 17,000 people held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp Choeunk Ek, also known as the killing fields (next post). When the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh in 79’ there were only 7 prisoners alive at S-21, all of whom had used their skills such as painting or photography to stay alive. Several foreigners from Australia, France, and the USA were also held here until being murdered.
Like the Nazi’s, the KR were meticulous with their records, every prisoner was photographed and a small biography written accounting their life up to their execution, most of which is on display. The photos below give you a snapshot of the harrowing ordeal these people went through.
A few days ago we discovered that three of our credit cards were stolen from our hotel room in Bangkok. I had left my wallet in a ‘secret pouch’ in my rucksack as we hadn’t used it since we left the UK. When having a review of our finances Sam noticed that her visa card was missing, and after a long search, two of mine had also gone. We knew it was too much of a coincidence to loose all three at once and without hesitation it was off to the internet shop to check our accounts.
Sure enough our statements were showing fraudulent activity, all in Bangkok, the majority for Boots, Tesco Lotus, some mobile phone shop and several ladies clothing outlets – around £650 in total so far. The hotel staff must have searched our sacks while we were out sightseeing. Interestingly, only the cards which had the ‘visa’ logo were taken.
Several expensive calls later to our banks, they have agreed to refund the money but only when we sign disclaimer forms which they plan on sending out to us in the next day or so (somewhere).
Now we are travelling with only one visa card until we can get the replacements shipped out to us somewhere – we’ll have to ask Debbie nicely in the next week or so.
Yet another valuable lesson learnt.
