Near the city of Battambang, where I stay, I visit the bat cave and the cave of the dead. The bat cave can only be viewed from the outside as the opening in the rock is high above ground level. This is, together with 2 other caves, the residence of a million (!) bats that leave the caves every evening to catch their own body weight in insects in a circle of 50 km. During the day, however, there is little to see.
However, the cave of death is all the more impressive. This cave was used by the Khmer in the years 76-78 for their genocide of the Cambodian people. Leader Pol Pot and his government forced the population to leave the cities and live in the countryside and tried to erase all Western influences of earlier times. People who looked intellectual just because they wore glasses or spoke multiple languages were tortured and killed. In the end, more than half of the 7.5 million Cambodians died of murder, torture or starvation. These caves, where many remains have been found, are now a memorial to this terrible era.
After visiting this impressive place I calmly drive back to my hotel. It has changed my view of the country and its people. What was terrible here relatively recently.
Hi Ivo,
Great journey you are on I'm pretty jealous 😜
We have also been to Cambodia and Vietnam in 2019 great trip that was
The bath cave is very familiar to us, where we also saw the bats leave then
Not normal how many there are, assuming you also go to angkor wat, it is also worth it
If you want to see more about Cambodia's past under Pol Pot, you should definitely visit the killing fields at Phnom Phen
visiting en tuol sleng prison makes your hair stand on end the things you see there made a big impression on me when
Enjoy your journey and I will keep following you
Gr Ton Seuren,
Hi Ton, Thank you for following me! Indeed, Cambodia is a beautiful country but with a terrible history. Unfortunately I can't visit Vietnam because I can't just cross the border in that country with my own motorcycle. Coincidentally, I will soon be leaving for Phnom Phen, then I will definitely visit the Killing fields. I already have Tuol Sleng on my ToDo list. Those will certainly become recognizable reports for you… Greetings from Battambang!