killing fields

Lonely Planet describes Phnom Penh thus: 'It's exotic, it's chaotic, it's beguiling, it's distressing, it's compulsive, it's repulsive.'

This guide may be rubbish at recommending hotels, but it's spot on with its description of the Cambodian capital. This really is a place that has the capacity to exhilarate you and appall you in equal measure.

Today I went out to the Killing Fields, the scene of where Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge infamously murdered thousands and thousands of their own people after gaining control of the country in the 1970s.

The most chilling part is, obviously, the skulls piled on top of each other. You can detect how some people were killed - bullet wounds can be seen on some skulls. Others were beaten over the head to death to save bullets. Some people were actually buried alive - presumably to save on the effort of having to do anything at all.

It was, as you would expect, a pretty chilling sight. The rest of the fields, as they are now, do not give the impression of having been the place where genocide on an unbelievable scale was committed. In fact the place is very peaceful. Then occasionally you come across a sign that informs you of what was there previously, such as the place children were beaten to death against a tree.

As I walked around learning about the history of Cambodia, I was also given an uncomfortable insight into its present. Around a dozen or so children, who couldn't have been older than around six, incessantly begged me and other tourists for money. Begging by children is rife here - I estimate to have been approached by more than 30 a day - and it is really, really upsetting to say no to kids growing up in such poverty. But say no you have to - if I paid each of them and all the adult beggars here that come up to you, I could easily spend up to 100 US$ a day in handouts. The scale of the problem really is that high here. Plus the kids are often doing the work of the parents, who don't share the money they earn with them and deprive them of a school education in the process. It's a wretched situation, and although tourists are told they make it worse by giving into child beggars, that doesn't stop me from feeling like the biggest c**t in the world when I say no to them. And all of this was going on as I walked through fields where these kids' grandparents may well have been butchered.

As my taxi drove me away from the fields, I reflected on my experience so far in Cambodia and what I had just seen. On the one hand, this is a country on the up. Tourist numbers are increasing and with that comes greater prosperity. The people here are also genuinely warm, friendly and do tend to leave you alone if you don't want to get into a bloody taxi. That said, there are some huge problems.

I mentioned begging by kids. Well there's also begging from the disfigured and the maimed - victims of the thousands of landmines that remain in Cambodia following the civil war. Some of these people are also very young.

Whilst walking back to my hotel last night, I also got another insight into some of the more unsavoury activities out here. As endless people offered me taxis or motorbikes, one guy also asked if I wanted 'young girl'. I just walked away from the guy as quickly as I could, something I now regret as I should have reported him to somebody. I don't even want to speculate as to who his client was or how he knew her. Then shortly after that, another guy asked me if I wanted any 'Charlie'. Again I carried on walking as fast as I could. Cocaine in Cambodia has quite a reputation - for not being cocaine. What they sell is apparently in most cases very pure heroin. Bung that up your hooter and it may well be the last thing you do, as many backpackers find to their cost every year. The shocking thing is the people selling this shit must know it, but don't seem to care.

After visiting the killing fields I was driven to a museum of the genocide - a former prison. It is here you can see pictures of many of the dead, and even look at the clothes they wore or the conditions they lived in before they were murdered. I didn't hang around that long. There really is only so much human suffering I can spend an afternoon witnessing.

After all that, it's fair to say I needed a beer. I made my way to the Foreign Correspondents' Club - an expat hangout for journalists, diplomats and travellers. As I sat on the balcony looking out onto the river and the traffic below, a heavy rain storm lashed down down on the street with incredible ferocity. Then, after the rain had cleared, a main guided an elephant down the street, which merrily shat all over the floor while tourists laughed and took pictures.

Yup. Phnom Penh. It's beguiling, it's distressing and everything else Lonely Planet said. It's also, without question, unique and unforgettable. I'm now off to a restaurant in an old french colonial building for dinner...

Stop Press: I've just had my first Khmer style meal. It was an incredible mix of what you would call typical Asian food and other cultures, principally French. My starter was a massive plate of spicy sauage meat, huge chunks of garlic, ginger, red onion and chilli - accompanied by a Thai style salad. The main course was billed as noodles with pork, but came cold and in a salad dressing. The meal was at times delightful, and at others regugnant. The restaurant was lovely and relaxing, but full of loud Aussies. Yet again this city manages to to touch every emotion...

On my way from the restaurant to this internet cafe - where I am checking details of later destinations - I have again been offered various drugs by about six people in the space of two minutes. I think it's about time I retired to my hotel room to watch BBC World and have a welcome diet of unpredictability...