Eduardo — Ed — yes this year is the 30th anniversary since the fall of the Khmer Rouge on Jan 7, 1979. I visited the killing fields today as well as the highschool (S21) where many people were tortured. Vietnam occupied Cambodia for ten years afterwards, until 1989. Pol Pot died only in 1998.

I’ve enjoyed Pnom Penh — it’s a wonderful city although chaotic at times. Here are the highlights of my time here:

• Talking to monks (one invited me to his family’s farm in Battambang if I ever come back to Cambodia)
• More blessings in the main pagoda at the same place I met the monks (this involved getting water splashed on my face)
• Riding a moto (motorbike taxi) in peak-hour traffic — there were three of us on it!
• Eating rice gruel with salty egg and sweet pickled onion for breakfast (ok not a highlight but memorable)
• Buying pirated Chinese CDs (hope I can take these out of the country into Vietnam)
• Watching people eat fried crickets and other insects
• At a night market today, watching a Çambodian kid’s variety show — one 4 to 5 year-old knew his rock-star moves, complete with head-banging and encouraging audience involvement. It was super cute.

I’m sad to leave this country. It’s a very special place. I hope to come back someday. Tomorrow I go to Saigon.