The Malaysian Battalion in Cambodia

Incredible thank you for your very tourisy description of your visit to Cambodia. I remember my visit to Toul Sleng 13 years ago before they cleaned up the place to accomodate the tourists, most of the cell walls were still up, the dried blood, body parts, feces littered the floor. There was even a cell where the blood stains on the floor was said to be fresh every night and looking at the stains in the day seems like it was just spilled...*brrr* Of course, that time, there were armed men prowling the streets, armoured vehicles at every junction, just like those Vietnam war movies. And the nights are usually filled with the sounds of shootings. Out in the country side, the roads were really bad, made worst by the sabotage and occational minings by the many bandits and factions. Apart from the killing fields of Cheong Ek, there are numerous other killing fields spread out all over the provinces and cities. At Battambang, on the way west, there are several lime stone hills and caves where the bodies of the victims have mummified due to the action of the limestone, where else in the world can you find dozens of mummified bodies piled up one upon another? There are also villages that have been entirely wiped out in the fightings, the only thing left are the concrete floors. Guns, grenades, mortar pits, gun positions and ammunition dumps dot the country sides, mines are a perpetual threat as everyone there has them. The number stood at around 13 million mines for a country with a population of only 3 million at that time. A wonder everyone not wiped out. Mine injuries are the worst, you see mine victims in the local hospitals lining up, awaiting their turn for the seorgeon to saw off their shattered limbs, some swollen larger than a football with blood and stuff oozing out. Medicines were scarce in the hospitals, but costly at the marketplaces. The less you have to pay, the more doubtful the quality of the medicines... Today, I really enjoy walking the bustling streets of Phnom Penh and the crowded lanes in Battambang. It is incrediable, the misery and distruction that man can bring upon their own kind. May it never repeat itself again... I am off to Phnom Penh again on the 10th.. ciao!