120909 Saturday [Phnom Penh]

Ravy picked me up punctually at 8am and drove me my first destination - Royal Palace. Known locally as Preah Barom Reachea Vaeng Chaktomuk, it is the official residence of the Cambodian monarchy since 1866, with a large part of it open to the public. I've always love to admire the architecture of temple, paying attention to the title details here and there as well as the carving. In photos, I love to capture them in such a way that it comprises of a few levels within 1 shot. Within the accessible royal ground there's the chan Chhaya Pavilion, The Royal Throne Hall, the Royal Banqueting Hall and the Napoleon III Pavilion. The Pavilion was said to be initially given by Emperor Napoleon III to his wife The Empress Eugenie, who in turn had it taken apart and send to Phnom Penh as a present to King Norodom in the 1870s. Further down south is the compound for Wat Preah Keo (Silver Pagoda). This structure, so named because its floor was lined with more than 5000 silver tiles weighing more than 1 kg each. There were also some small exhibition halls within the compound that display traditional Cambodia stuff.

Ravy went on to drive me pass the National Museum, Wat Ounalom, General Post Office Oformer French Quarter), Wat Phnom and Psar Thmei(Central Market - under renovation).

We then head south to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. It is here that during Pol Pot's years in power, around 18 000 people were interrogated under torture and subsequently murdered, usually with their family members. This place was originally a school. Thank God once again for the great timing that I manage to reach just in time for the movie, which screen only once at 10am in morning and 3 pm in the afternoon. It was a really touching movie which interviewed people who had lost their family members, people who served in Khmer Rouge, prisoners who managed to survive and a love story of a couple who were separated during that time. Initially only the class people, intellectual and government officials were killed. But the atmosphere had became such that there was no trust among people at all and many were wrongly accused. Even the Khmer Rough officials suffered the torture and execution when they were betrayed by others. When I walked around to view the exhibits, I felt like something kept stinging my heart. The photos of the scene during the revolution, the people who were involved, the people who suffered and all the heart pricking stories. The cells that were built for the prisoners were still kept intact, including the blood stains on the ground. The interrogation room, the skulls of the victims showing the cracks as a result of the abuse and the equipment used then. I simply couldn’t bring myself to take any of the photos of the displayed photos of the actual suffering. Only paintings painted by painter who went through and seen everything, and thank God is still alive to tell his stories through his painting. Every spot where certain inhuman activity took place was labeled. Many a time I really wanted to walk out but I hanged on as I told myself I must finish the journey and truly understand the situation. Throughout my 2 hours there, there was very slight drizzle. It really felt like God’s tears. It was like God crying over the loss of his innocent lovers out there. If this is hell on earth, how scary would hell in the spiritual world like. It’s eternal suffering in hell. Who wants to go there? If you are very sure you don’t want to ever step into hell, quick repent and follow Christ. For the judgment time is near. You have to be a righteous person AND a follower of Christ before you can every enter Heaven. Me, too, is still a sinner and have a lot to repent.

When I walked out of the museum, I realized I have been frowning for the past 2 hours. For my brows area was actually aching due to the long hour of frowning. Indeed the visit was really enriching but not something that I would want to visit again. I really thank God that He is giving me a chance to go into His Kingdom. But of course it’s only a chance. The rest is up to me.
Went on to drop by at Russian Market for about 15 minutes before heading for lunch. The things on sale there is very much similar to the souvenir from Thailand and many cheap T-shirt. Nothing much that interest me though. Asked Ravy to recommend me a nice place for French food for lunch but he brought me to a western café where I only manage to grab some sandwiches which I don’t really think it’s really French. Nevertheless, it was a nice place to rest before he picked me to up collect my backpack and head off to the airport. On the way to the airport, it rained heavily again. My realization about this last downpour was a message from God reminding me once again the importance of God’s Word. Word is like water that we must consume and use every day. We must cleanse ourselves with the Word every day so that we would not end up in hell. Thank God for the enriching trip and the wonderful message. I would work hard to follow your will.