Leaving Laos and Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The Killing Fields

After leaving the COPE center on June 7th, we did some sight-seeing around Vientiane, Laos. Our first stop was the Pha That Luang, one of Laos’ most important religious symbols. The beautiful Golden Stupa is 45 metres high, and is surrounded by 30 small stupas.

Our next stop was the Patuxay, or Victory Gate of Vientiane. It is a huge gateway that closely resembles the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was built in 1962, and is dedicated to the people of Laos who fought in the struggle for independence from France.

This was our last day in Laos, as we would be traveling by plane to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in the morning. I really enjoyed the country of Laos. The natural beauty of the Mekong River and mountains were breathtaking, but on the flip-side, I was very saddened to learn about the devastation caused by the United States during the Vietnam War from the 260 million bombs they dropped. It makes me really sad to think about how the effects of those actions are still severely impacting the people today. I am happy that I visited Laos, and overall Laos was a very informative, eye-opening and beautiful section of my trip.
On June 8th we took a flight from Vientiane to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Phnom Penh is a large and very busy city in Cambodia, an it was a nice change from from the cities we had seen in Laos.  We immediately hopped on the bus and headed to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
Visiting this museum was a very saddening experience. Learning about the genocide in Cambodia that killed 2.4-3 million Cambodians under rule of the Khmer Rouge was an eye opener for me. It is so awful what the Cambodian people have been through. In case those reading this blog don’t know the background, I’ll try to briefly summarize it.
The Khmer Rouge were the ruling party in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, and were led by Pol Pot, also known as the “Hitler” of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge were a communist party, and believed that peasants were the ideal communists, while city dwellers were the root of all capitalist evil. They began their ruling by forcing all city dwellers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to abandon their homes as quickly as possible and migrate to the countryside. They were then put to work for 12-14 hour days of hard manual labour working in the fields. The Khmer Rouge believed that to have the ideal communist society all people would have to live and work as peasants in the countryside. This manual labour lead to many deaths from starvation and overwork.

But this was just the first of many steps taken by the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge then banned religion, money and private ownership. Communications with the outside world were strictly forbidden and family relationships were demolished.
Anyone who fit into the category of a supposed “enemy” (including people committing the forbidden acts listed above) were arrested, tortured and eventually executed. Professionals and intellectuals, or even people wearing glasses, were considered “enemies”, in addition to anyone with connections to the former Cambodian government, or any foreign governments. Christians, Muslims and Buddhist monks fell into this “enemy” category as well. Anyone who the Khmer Rouge believed was against them, or was supporting capitalism was considered an “enemy”, in addition to all of their family members and children.
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is the former Security Office 21, which was created by the orders of Pol Pot. Previously this area was the Tuol Sleng Primary School and Tuol Svay Prey High School. This security office doubled as a prison, and was used for detention, interrogation, torture, and then killing of Cambodian “enemies”. This was a place where people went in, but never came out. The main purpose of this location was to extract confessions from prisoners before they were taken away for execution.



There was barbed wire outside the buildings, so that prisoners would not escape, or commit suicide by jumping from the higher floors of the building.

Each room was converted into a number of small cells, and each small cell would contain a number of prisoners.


The Khmer Rouge collected photographs of the prisoners and films of the confessions. The photos were displayed in the museum.

Once the prisoners were tortured and interrogated, they were taken to the Killing Fields to be executed.
It is not exactly known how many deaths resulted from the rule of the Khmer Rouge, but it is estimated that in the country of Cambodia (with a total population of 7 million people), 2.4 – 3 million people were executed by the Khmer Rouge. This number accounts for more than 30% of the population of Cambodia, that were executed on Cambodian soil by their own leader.
You can see in the photo below that many of the people were executed with blindfolds on, and ropes tied around their wrists.


Walking through the prison was very difficult, and it was devastating to see how people suffered through this period and the vast and atrocious number of unnecessary deaths of innocent Cambodian people that resulted from the Khmer Rouge rule.
We then visited the Killing Fields, which contain more than 20,000 mass graves. To save ammunition, executions were done using poison, spades or sharpened bamboo sticks. Children and infants of the adult victims were killed by bashing their heads against trees. The children were executed as a precaution in case they grew up taking revenge for their parents death.
While walking through the Killing Fields we saw a number of the mass graves.



The entire area contains bodies under the soil, and most of the graves have not been excavated, in order to let the dead rest in peace.


While walking through the paths you can see bone fragments in the ground, peaking up through the soil (it’s hard to see them clearly in the photo below). You can also see pieces of clothing peaking through the soil as well. This is because many prisoners were forced to dig their own graves, and they were too weak to dig very deep.

At the Killing Fields there is a memorial dedicated in the honour of the Cambodian people who died during the genocide. Inside the memorial are the skulls of the excavated bodies.


It was devastating to see how the Cambodian people suffered only about 30 years ago under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, leading to the death of 2.4 - 3 million people! All these deaths have resulted in a Cambodian population where currently about 50% of the population is under 20 years of age, as the majority of the older population was killed during the genocide.
This was a very sad day.

Vientiane, Laos: COPE

We left Vang Vieng, Laos, the morning of June 7th and took a 4 hour bus ride to Vientiane, Laos.
When we arrived in Vientiane we went straight to the COPE (Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) Visitors Center. This visit was a complete eye-opener for me, and it made me aware of a piece of history that is not normally told in the history books in Canada/America.

Did you know that Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita in the entire world? During the Vietnam War (from 1964-1973) the US Air Force dropped a planeload of bombs on Laos every EIGHT minutes for NINE years! There were more than 260 million cluster bombs dropped on Laos, and about 30% are still unexploded, scattered around the country, waiting to be discovered by an innocent child or passer-by. Currently there are at least 78 million unexploded bombs contaminating Laos today, and every year about 300 people are killed or injured by these bombs.
The worst part about all of this is that Laos wasn’t even involved in the war! They were dragged into it because Laos allowed North Vietnam to use it’s land as a supply route against South Vietnam. The United States initiated a bombing campaign against the North Vietnam people and bombed their route through Laos. The United States dropped more ordnance on Laos during this period than was dropped during the entire Second World War. I bet you didn’t learn that in your American history lessons…
This has continued to be a huge and devastating problem for the country of Laos, especially for children who are not educated on how to detect a cluster bomb, and the dangers of it. These unexploded bombs are laying around forests, they are on the side of roads, under rivers and in the bushes. They can be discovered by anyone at any time. And most of them are unstable, and could explode the moment they are touched. Also, during heavy rainfall the bombs are moved and shifted around when areas flood, or they are discovered and detonate during home renovations, area development, or farming practices because they are buried in the ground and are disturbed during these activities. 
The main problem are the cluster bombs. They are dropped out of planes in large canisters, and each canister contains about 680 individual cluster bombies, each with a killing radius of 30 meters. The canister breaks apart in the air, and the cluster bombies are disbursed over a large area.

Each individual cluster bombie is actually quite small, and after many years in the forests, they rust or they start to grow plant matter on them and become disguised, so children sometimes mistake them for fruit or other small objects.


Since the country is so poor, people (especially children), search for scraps of metal to sell for a week’s worth of food for their family. There are hundreds of children who have come across bombs, not realized they were dangerous, and were killed or seriously injured (losing limbs or their eyesight) while trying to collect them to sell.
COPE is an incredible not-for-profit organization that provides rehabilitation services for people injured as a result of these bombs. They provided artificial limbs (prosthetics) and supportive devices, in addition to physiotherapy and occupational therapy for those impacted. They cover the costs of devices, surgery and treatment for people who can not afford to pay, in addition to proving allowances for patients and their caregivers. They also work very hard to increase awareness of the services they offer, and to educate people on the dangers of the bombs and their impact.


We also had the opportunity to watch the documentary: Bomb Harvest. If you haven’t seen it then I would strongly recommend watching it (see www.bombharvest.com/ for more information on the documentary. It can also be watched on YouTube, it has been uploaded in 4 parts, search “Bomb Harvest” on www.youtube.com).
It is a documentary that follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist unit through Laos while they train locals in how to detonate bombs safely, and strategically deal with the detonation of a bomb discovered next to a school in Laos.
Watching the documentary brought me to tears. It is so devastating what the innocent people of Laos have been through these past 40 years. It is especially sad that they were not involved in the war, and were innocent bystanders, and because of this they have become the most bombed country in history. It is also devastating to think that the impacts of these bombs will continue through the country for many, many years to come as more innocent people are killed and seriously injured.
Many people in Laos are so poor they can not afford prosthetics, so they make their own prosthetic arms and legs out of wood, or any other object they can find.

While visiting the COPE center we were given the opportunity to make a donation to buy someone a prosthetic leg or arm, or donate money to provide services for these impacted people. I donated a prosthetic arm ($150 USD) to a patient in need.

I strongly urge you to visit the COPE website and make a donation to help this amazing cause. The donation process is very easy. Visit http://www.copelaos.org/ and click “Buy a Leg”. You can donate online using Pay Pall in any increment you want, even if it’s only $10, it makes a huge difference for the impacted people. $10 USD will buy a developmental toy for a child with a disability, or $15 USD will provide food for a whole week. For $75 USD you can buy someone a prosthetic leg, or for $150 you can buy them a prosthetic arm (the arms are more expensive because they require more movement in the joints).
We are so privileged, and I think that sometimes we forget how lucky we are. Please think about it, and remember that you can make a huge difference to someone in need for a mere $10 USD.

Vang Vieng, Laos

On the morning of June 5th we left Luang Probang, Laos, and boarded a bus to begin our journey to Vang Vieng, Laos. This bus ride was probably the scariest bus ride I’ve ever been on! The whole 6 hour drive was through the mountains of Laos, on curvy, bumpy roads. I could barely look out the window because when I did I would see a cliff drop about a meter away from the bus. I was shocked that they had no sort of barrier between the roads and the cliffs, especially on all the turns! The side of the road would just break off into a steep cliff… terrifying!
In addition to the scary cliffs, the ride was extremely bumpy. I’m pretty sure the shocks were removed from the bus, and the people at the back of the bus got some serious air time as they flew off their seats during some of the larger bumps.
If you disregard the terrifying nature of the cliffs, and the nauseating bumps and turns, the ride was actually one of the most beautiful rides I’ve taken. The mountains are gorgeous, and the views were amazing.



When we finally arrived in Vang Vieng, Laos I was pretty happy to be off the bus and on some stable ground! We would be in Vang Vieng for 2 nights, and the next day (June 6) was a free day where we had nothing planned and could spend it doing whatever we wanted!
Vang Vieng is a backpackers town, and the town caters almost entirely to the tourists. When you walk the streets all you can see are young tourists everywhere, and they are all here for one specific purpose: to go tubing down the Nam Song River. Tourists come from all over the world to participate in this activity. Basically imagine floating down the river in a tube (an inflatable round donut). Along the side of the river are bars, so as you float down the river the bar staff will throw you ropes and pull you into the bar and serve you buckets of free alcohol. There are areas with rope swings and zip lines, where you can swing and jump into the river. It’s basically one giant party.
Even though all of this sounds fun in theory, I decided not to participate. There are numerous deaths reported yearly, and many many injuries, some from people being extremely intoxicated and acting stupid, some from drowning, and quite a number from being smashed into rocks in the river. Our tour manager showed us a video of a guy who hit his head on a rock in the water. He cracked his skull open, and his friends had to shove tissue inside his skull to stop his brain contents from coming out. He had to be rushed to Canada for emergency surgery.
Instead of tubing, Kate and I decided to spend the day pampering ourselves! I woke up to the most beautiful view from our hotel:

I slept in, and then we went for traditional Laos 1 hour massages. After our massages we had manicures. It was very relaxing!
We then took some time to explore the town. There really isn’t much to the town. It has been totally taken over by young tourists, and it doesn’t appear that the town has a personality of it’s own. Because of the tourist take-over, there are specialized bars and restaurants with TVs dedicated to American TV shows. For example, there are a few restaurants with a number of TVs that constantly play episodes of Friends, other restaurants that are dedicated to the show Family Guy, etc. So tourists go to these restaurants, order food/drinks and sit for hours watching their favourite TV shows. It’s a strange phenomenon, these restaurants are everywhere here!
After exploring the town and relaxing at the hotel, we decided to go back to the spa and I had a 2nd massage, and Kate got some waxing done.
While I had my massage, Kate was a few meters away from me behind a curtain, getting her armpits waxed. For about half an hour all I could hear was giggling from the other side of the curtain. Lots and lots of giggling. I had no idea what was going on over there until Kate shared her experience with me after my massage. I’m not sure if this is a normal Laos waxing procedure, but basically when the wax didn’t work on her armpits, the ladies proceeded to pluck each and every hair from her armpits using tweezers, all while multiple ladies were bent over her inspecting her armpits to be sure they got every last hair. After the thorough hair removal plucking procedure, they spent a few minutes continually tickling her armpits with baby powder and giggling at her. The whole experience was pretty strange! And the crazy part is that she paid double for her procedure than what I paid for my massage (they were both under $10 CAN though)!
Apart from Kate’s strange waxing experience, Vang Vieng has been a very relaxing change from the normal action packed, busy days we’ve been having! We had the chance to take it easy, enjoy the scenery of the city, and spend some time pampering ourselves.

Luang Probang, Laos: Riding Elephants and Waterfalls

On the morning of June 4th, after making merit with the Monks, we departed for the All Lao Elephant Camp Mahout Training School to ride elephants!! It was AMAZING!!!
Each elephant has a seat strapped onto their back, and we had the opportunity to hop onto the seats and ride around for about an hour!

I got tired of the wooden seat and hopped into the drivers seat!


The view was incredible!



It was an amazing experience! The elephants were so large, calm and tame!  Their backs are a bit prickly though… they have rough hair growing out of their skin, which pricked my legs! It was well worth it though!

After riding the elephants we went to check out the Kuangsi Waterfall Park. There are a number of waterfalls that are absolutely beautiful! The water is so clean and blue… and very refreshing!





Such an amazing day!! Elephants and Waterfalls! Who could ask for more? I’m loving my time in Laos!

Luang Probang, Laos: Making Merit with Monks

On June 3rd, while cruising down the Mekong River in Laos, we made a stop at the Pak Ou caves, on the side of the river, inside a limestone cliff. the caves contain about 4,000 Buddha statues.




The view of our boat from the caves:

After the caves we got back on the boat and made our way to Luang Probang, one of the larger cities in Laos. After checking into our (air conditioned and wi-fi enabled) hotel, we set off on a tour of the town. Our first stop: The Vat Xieng Thong temple.




We then stopped at a street vendor that was selling Whisky with different snakes and lizards fermenting inside of it! It looked disgusting!! (I didn’t try it… but a few people did and they said it was really strong!)

We at dinner at a restaurant that had a cooking grill in the middle of the table, so we cooked our own food! It was really good!

The raw food:



The following morning (June 4) we woke up at 5am to make merit with the Monks during the Monks procession and we took part in the ritual giving of alms. Every morning the Monks walk down the streets in a line, collecting rice and food for the day from citizens, travelers, etc. We were all given rice for the Monks and we lined up on mats to prepare for the procession.




Me and Kate giving them rice:

There were about 200 Monks in the procession, and each got a small handful of rice from us. Their bowls were actually quite full; other people gave them crackers, bananas and meat.
It was really interesting, and it was well worth waking up at 5am!!