A note on the Khmer Rouge. . . . its a complicated topic that can not easily be given justice here. The following is what I've gathered in the short amount of time that I've been here. . . . In 1975, around the same time that Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, The Khmer Rouge, Cambodia's own communist party led by Pol Pot, overran the country and took control of the capitol.
Upon taking control of Phnom Penh, the Khmer Rouge, in what can only be described as complete madness, immediately implemented one of the most radical and brutal restructurings of society in the entire history of the world. There goal was to turn all of Cambodia into an agricultural cooperative dominated by uneducated peasants, whom they considered "pure". The entire population of Phnom Penhn (2 million), and all of Cambodia's other major population centers, were forced to abandon their homes in cities and towns, and live as virtual slaves in "farming cooperatives" where they were subjected to hard labor for twelve to fifteen hours a day and then afterwords participate in public self criticism sessions in which everything they said was recorded and filed away by government officers. There were no exceptions for sick or elderly citizens. Even the city's hospitals were "evacuated." Privacy and individualism of any kind was strictly forbidden. Disobedience brought immediate execution. 1975 was officially changed to year 0. Currency was abolished. Families were separated and assigned to various collectives (slave labor camps.) Society was divided into two classes: "old people" (uneducated poor peasants considered "pure") and "new people" (city and town dwellers who were looked down upon as "polluted"and not trusted by the Khmer Rouge.) "New People" had an especially hard time.
The Khmer Rouge attempted to "cleanse" Cambodia of any and all threats to the revolution. This meant that anyone who disagreed or, in most cases, gave the appearance of potentially disagreeing with what was going on was labeled an "enemy of the revolution" and was promptly detained, tortured, and then killed. The Khmer Rouge attempted to eliminate all educated people, going so far as to execute all of the Cambodia's doctors and replace them with illiterate peasants who were given a three month crash course in medicine.
My impression is that Pol Pot basically wanted a nation of ignorant mindless zombie people growing rice. A Cambodian, about the same age as myself, whom I spoke with on the subject of the Khmer Rouge described them as promoting fairness, explaining that they wanted everyone to be equal, nobody would have more than anyone else. He then quickly added that they shouldnt have killed so many people.
The Khmer Rouge didn't last long, nothing that crazy could. They made it three years and eight months. In that time they killed over 1 million innocent people. From 1976 on, the Khmer Rouge instigated series of unwarranted attacks on Vietnam. In 1978 Vietnam launched a full scale invasion of Cambodia toppling the Khmer Rouge regime in just a few weeks and installing a new government led by former Khmer Rouge army officers who had defected to the Vietnamese. The Khmer Rouge couldn't have lasted much longer anyway. By the time they were toppled they were essentially in the process of eating themselves (Pol Pot was paranoid and was attempting to eliminate potential traitors from within the party.)
To make a long story short, Pol Pot and his followers fled into the jungle near the Thai border where, for the next ten years, they launched guerilla attacks on Cambodia's new government and continued to terrorize the general population. Pol Pot died in 1998 in Khmer Rouge captivityafter his followers turned on him. Trials for a small handfull of Khmer Rouge leaders are currently under way. Other former Khmer Rouge leaders are currently serving in Cambodia's new government. Most former party members are living comfortable lives among the very people whom they committed unspeakable crimes against.
Its hard for me to imagine all that has taken place here in the not so distant past, especially when people all seem incredibly kind and friendly. Everyone I meet is smiling. People here really do seem happy. Everytime I see people over the age of 35 I wonder what they've seen and experienced. I have allot of respect for people here.
Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda: basicaly a walled complex in the city center that is home to Cambodia's King Sihanouke. . . . Cambodia is a kingdom. The complex consisted of the king's residence, a few temples, and some administrative buildings. . . . it was worth taking a look at.
Phnom Penh streets: (They all look the same)
I've met monkeys before, but never in the city. . . . they were all over, like squirrels in Baltimore, and not particularly friendly either.
Notice the monkeys on the roof:
This monkey was a fat ignorant mean bastard! We watched him walk up to a little girl, hiss at her, snatch a pack of cookies right out of her hand and then eat them right in front of her while she stood there crying. . . . I wish I had videotaped it. . . . he only ate one cookie and then threw the rest of the pack on the ground.
stolen cookies: 
The following pictures are from the Toul Seng Genocide Museum which occupies a former high school turned "security prison" by Pol Pot's thugs. Between 1975 and 1978 over 20,000 people were held here, tortured during lengthy periods of interrogation, then taken to a location outside of Phnom Penh and murdered. S-21, as the prison was known, was just one of many "security prisons" in Cambodia. 
This stupa in Phnom Penh marks the spot where victims from S-21 prison were taken and murdered. It contains over 8000 skulls taken from mass graves that were excavated in the early 90s. Many many more remain in the ground. It may seem unnecesarily morbid to some but I think it really serves to make something that may have otherwise been abstract very real. 
