We're all going to the zoo tomorrow

The other day we asked our tuk tuk driver to take us to The Killing Fields. He took us to Choeung Ek which is a memorial to many thousands of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime.
The first thing we see on entering,is a large white monument, a monk sitting outside handing out sticks of incense and flowers to visitors. We all take some and lay it in respect.  Everyone is completely silent.
It took a few minutes for my eyes to focus on the windows of this large Stupa - it was filled with thousands of skulls, men, women and children,sorted into ages,16 to 20, 20 to 40, 60 and above, the very old, the very, very young....

Unbelievable.

Around the site, mass graves, the site of a special killing tree for the infants, a magic tree which used to play loud noises and stuff to make the sounds of people being killed magically disappear. Oh such wonderful people we humans can be.

Next day we went on our longest tuk tuk journey yet. We wanted to visit Phnom Tamao animal sanctuary which I'd been reading up on. The centre takes in and looks after animals confiscated from traffickers or saved from traps laid by poachers. On a recent visit to my fave download shop, i had learned that they, "Rogue music", had in fact put up the money to give one of the rescued elephants a false foot after falling victim to one of these traps.
Mister tuk tuk breaks down three or four times along the way.  It made for a long old journey in that thing but he got us there.

We were taken around the sanctuary by a lady whose name I forget, though she was lovely. She's been working there as a guide for some eight years now and was headhunted for the job by a guy who we later see snogging one of the tigers. She fills us in with stories of each and every animal and how it came to be there. We're followed around for a while by some deer. There are crocodiles just the other side of a fence that seem just a little too close, Malayan Sun bears, pythons, lions, gibbons, otters, tortoise.. we saw a baby bear playing with some volunteers... it is a fantastic place and we all have a ball, even if our tuk tuk driver cuts it all a bit short saying he has to get back to another job for 4.30 and gives us a stupidly fast and bumpy hour long journey back to our hotel. Thanks mate!

Things are hotting up around here as everyone gears up for the annual water festival. It promises to get very busy. We saw a large replica of the Eiffel tower being put up a couple of days ago, lights and various stages. Should be fun.
All visa'd up now so we can continue our journey. We're out of here in two days on Sunday morning to the countryside,  I think to see some more elephants!!

GIANT HOGWEED LIVES !

Location:Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary