Glimpses of Cambodia

Our bus trip continued  for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening, but before it got dark we got to see the countryside, and a few homes along the way. 

Cambodia seems to be a poorer country than Vietnam, just by viewing their homes, clothing, and transportation.  The land is fairly flat, with intermittent trees, similar to home, but we know the jungle is coming.

Hoss read the book, They Killed My Father First, a true story of a small girl's life during the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot.  The Khmer Rouge implemented one of the most radical and brutal restructurings of a society ever attempted.  It's goal was to transform Cambodia into a peasant dominated agrarian cooperative.  It was impossible to tell how many people were killed but it's estimated between 1-2 million, with thousands dieing from disease and malnutrition.  The upper class was the first to be decimated.  No one with an education was allowed to live!  Pol Pot was arrested in 1997 and died in 1998 before standing trial.  If you are at all interested in history, it is a recommended read, along with The Killing Fields.

                                          Cambodian architecture.

                                         Cambodian tuk-tuks(pronounced took-took).

                                          The capital city Phnom Penh.

                                          Rural homes.

                                          Many rural homes have thatched walls.