Steamy...

We had a great view of the King the other day - it was the last day of the anual Independence Celebration and we happened to be in the right place at the right time to see him leaving the palace - open window waving (Beth claimed he was waving specifically at her and based upon the reaction of Khmer men in general to pasty skinned American woman in the non tourist areas I tend to believe her). She had just finished posing with his personal motorcycle guards who were waiting outside the palace. We then got to see him again returning towards the palace - this time standing up in his Mercedes (through the sunroof - he isnt actually short enough to stand up in a car although it's close) waving to hundreds of school kids who had been assembled along the streets - I of course didnt have a camera on this occasion but daughter did. Contrast this public appearance with the Prime Minister who was inside darkened car with army guards everywhere. Both Beth and Jandy (her friend) were very popular with all of the soldiers and sailors who were leaving the parade/function - I guess military boys the world over are no different.

90 degress today with 52% humidity making it feel like 94 apparently. Headed down to Sihanoukville on the coast tomorrow - 4 hour bus ride - 2 nights and two days down there - I will be spending my time stuffing my face with fresh crab and shrimp and just bobing around like a soon to be beached whale - the "kids" (Da, my daughter and her friend) have ideas of discos and shopping in the evenings but I foresee air conditioned bar-stools.

Yesterday we went out to the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum - my second visit - it hasnt become any less humbling, upsetting and/or depressing - it certainly isnt a fun day but in my opinion a must-see if only to once again reinforce the ability of man to impose cruelty on man and also to reinforce my absolute hatred of Nixon and Kissinger and to highlight the irresponsibility of powerful countries where poor undeveloped countries are concerned. This was the first time Da had been to either location and naturally it affected her on a completely different level - her mother and father and her eldest brother had been part of the forced depopulation of Phnom Penh at the hands of the Khmer Rouge forced to march for many days out to a distant province where ther were then forced to work in the fields for one cup of rice per day - they were all separated for three years before reuniting in 1979 after the Vietnamese invasion - what, you dont know the history of this deplorable chapter of history? - welcome to the club - the "West" ignored the genocide completely - indeed the Khmer Rouge had the Cambodian seat at the UN (supported by the US as the KR opposed the Vietnamese) even as they killed 1.5million of their own countrymen - and they believed in complete slaughter of entire families - better not to leave a child alive to grow up to seek revenge - the slaughter tree at Choeng Ek shows where they simply beat the children to death while holding their feet and swinging their heads against the tree. I found Da in tears at least three times yesterday - not sure whether I should have taken her but she said she was glad she went. Sorry if this descended into a rant about distasteful subjects but I encourage people to read up on this period.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8350313.stm has a surprisingly topical story.

On a far more uplifting note I heard a great story on the BBC World Service today about a US Navy ship which docked in Vietnam today captained by a Vietnam born Captain - his father was CO of a South Vietnamese Naval base at the end of the war - on the fall of South Vietnam he escaped with his family on a fishing boat navigating it to the South China Sea where they were rescued by a USN ship - taken as refugees to US - now the son who was with him has returned home for the first time - pretty cool I thought.