After an all you can eat buffet breakfast, the group and I believed
that we had been well prepared for what Aaron and Jack Ross had planned for the
day ahead. However, we were grossly unprepared for the horrors of Pol Pot’s Khmer
Rouge. The Choeung Ek Genocidal Center was
a chilling echo of Nazi death camps, we witnessed the brutality that the
Cambodian people had to endure for the four years of hell that was Cambodia
from 1975-1979.
While the visit to S21 showed us more of Pot’s ‘‘agrarian
utopia’’, the Security Prison also gave us example of extreme heroism and resilience
in defiance of the totalitarian communist state, such as the Aussie Kerry
Hamill and Brit John Dewhirst who convinced the Khmer Rouge that Colonel Sanders
of Kentucky Fried chicken was their CIA commanding officer. This experience seeing
firsthand the reality of Cambodia’s history is one I’m sure not the group or I
will ever forget. (*Ed. Difficult day
for the boys…some of the photos show what they witnessed but goes nowhere near
how they felt…IMHO an essential experience for a visit to PP Cambodia…Some may
disagree!)
When we arrived back at the hotel around 15:00 many of us
were shattered after a long day that had challenged us both mentally and
physically, so we migrated to the pool to relax. Unfortunately there was a
group of girls in there so we all had sit quietly in the opposite corner, until
they left when Mr McMillan entered the ring. We emptied around half the pool
with our antics and enjoyed the rest and relaxation. After a chat on how we as
a group have grown in the last 3 weeks we pumped out 44 press ups with ease
except cliff (who I think was starting to struggle in is old age). (Ed. He’s not wrong!!!)
As this is our last night in Cambodia we congregated for
dinner as a group and had a generous budget of $10 per person. A trip round the
night market and being chased and beaten up by the little street children
finished us off and we all went to have a well deserved sleep, barring me who
stayed up to 1am to write this blog. (Ed. Dedication!) We all can’t wait to get
home and see you all again. See you soon...
p.s. mum plz get some hay for the rabbit, I need to change
him when I get back
p.p.s Robbie says to his family he hopes you remembered to
re-cork his clarinet, bring money for a McDonalds on the way home and that he
loves and misses you all and can’t wait to get back. Also did Megan get
selected?! See you soon
Ethan Cheuk
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