WednesdayWalk | A Solemn Afternoon Walk

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Wednesday Walk

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Inspired by #Wednesdaywalk by @tattoodjay

Photos featured are from my collection. Cambodia Tour, February 2020.

I have put off writing about this part of the trip, as I kinda get sad whenever I look at the photos that I took back then.

However, today I was feeling a bit sad. Perhaps it's just from the heat, as it feels like it's still the middle of summer. Usually, April is the hottest month. It's May now, but it still feels like summer has no end. I'm just waiting for May showers.

So, I thought I might as well write about this and share photos. I was thinking that two negatives = positive. 😂🤣 Of course I was being silly. I'm actually feeling quite OK now. First, there was my banana smoothie to cool me down. Plus, I have done my bit of rant on my #iamalivechallenge video. 😁😁

My daughter took charge of planning the details of our Cambodia trip. She's also a bit curious about its history, so while we were in Phnom Penh, we also got to visit the infamous "killing fields." Such a dark period indeed in Cambodia's past.

We got to see and pay homage at the memorial stupa that was built in honor of the thousands who were massacred in the field. It was unnerving to see it in person. Whereas some folks walked inside the stupa, we remained outside and just offered our prayers.

We had our own share of dark history in our country during the martial law in the 1970's. I was but a toddler, so I didn't get to learn much about it until the dictatorial government was overthrown in 1986. By then, I was finishing high school. We learned of similar atrocities where victims simply vanished and were never found. Most were presumed dead. Unlike in Cambodia where thousands of bones were discovered, they didn't find any specific mass graves here.

It felt surrealistic when we were walking on the killing fields. There was even a tree where the executioners bashed the heads of infants before throwing them in an adjacent grave. Thinking of it still sends me chills.

The place is now known as the Cheung Ek Genocidal Center. The tour was quite an experience. It made me value freedom and democracy more. I don't believe we would want history to repeat itself.

Thank you for joining me for another #waybackWednesday feature on #Wednesdaywalk.