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| Nick ponders at S21 |
Today we had our first day in Phnom Penh. After breakfast at the hotel we traveled to S-21. S-21 was originally a high school however during the Khmer Rouge regime it was converted into a Prison camp. Over the four years of the Khmer Rouge Regime it held over 20,000 prisoners and only 7 prisoners survived. Now the prison camp has been converted into a memorial museum. As we toured the museum we were confronted with testimonies from the survivors as well as stories from the guards about how they indoctrinated by the Khmer Rouge. Along the way we also saw pictures of how the prisoners were treated. This experience was very challenging as it was really the first time many of us had been confronted with the harsh reality of Cambodia’s history. This was disturbing as none of us could understand how another human being could treat others like that.
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| Georgina explores the cell blocks |
After S-21 we traveled to Tabitha to receive our briefing for the house building tomorrow. We met Jan, the founder of Tabitha, and she told us what was expected of us as Tabitha representatives. She was both a passionate and inspirational person. After receiving our Tabitha briefing as well as a lovely embroidered scarf to wear while house building, we had an opportunity to shop at Tabitha. They had some lovely silk products.
After shopping at Tabitha, we had pizza for lunch, and some of us stopped at the ice cream shop on the way back to the hotel for some relaxation. Some of us decided to sleep while others had the option of going back to Tabitha, or visiting the Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace was a good example of how Cambodia throughout history has had several religions. It was a fascinating place to learn about the Royal Family and its influence in Cambodia’s history. It was interesting to see the combination of Khmer architecture with the influence from the French Colonial days. We visited the coronation hall, the silver pagoda which had 5329 silver tiles with a 90kg gold Buddha. We finished our tour of the palace with a visit to the elephant house which now held hundreds of silver elephant statues.
On returning to the Hotel we had free time until devotions. Following devotions we went to dinner which was Chinese and Vietnamese food. After dinner we all flocked to the supermarket to buy our energy drinks and salty chips for house building tomorrow. After buying the shop’s supply of Gatorade and other sports drinks, we returned to the hotel.
At the hotel we debriefed about the day, made arrangements for tomorrow and after a very emotional and tiring day we are all looking forward to a good night’s sleep and unfortunately an early morning.
Liam McGovern
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| Jan Ritskes leading the briefing at Tabitha |
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| Royal Palace |
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| Matt, Aiden and Nick at the Royal Palace |
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| One of the views from our hotel |
After shopping at Tabitha, we had pizza for lunch, and some of us stopped at the ice cream shop on the way back to the hotel for some relaxation. Some of us decided to sleep while others had the option of going back to Tabitha, or visiting the Royal Palace. 
The Royal Palace was a good example of how Cambodia throughout history has had several religions. It was a fascinating place to learn about the Royal Family and its influence in Cambodia’s history. It was interesting to see the combination of Khmer architecture with the influence from the French Colonial days. We visited the coronation hall, the silver pagoda which had 5329 silver tiles with a 90kg gold Buddha. We finished our tour of the palace with a visit to the elephant house which now held hundreds of silver elephant statues. 
On returning to the Hotel we had free time until devotions. Following devotions we went to dinner which was Chinese and Vietnamese food. After dinner we all flocked to the supermarket to buy our energy drinks and salty chips for house building tomorrow. After buying the shop’s supply of Gatorade and other sports drinks, we returned to the hotel. 
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