It had to be the AK-47. It is the weapon of the revolutionary, the tool of liberation, bloodshed, freedom — and all the misery that comes with it. Besides, it only cost Dh100.
I put on the camouflage jacket and followed a guy into a dark, narrow room. A target was stapled about 30 feet away.
An array of arms
The Happy Shooting Range, located outside Phnom Penh, had a range of shot guns, hand grenades and RPGs. About 10 minutes away was the site of one of the worst massacres in history.
Torn between the forces of communist Vietnam and US-backed Thailand, Cambodia's modern history is a minefield.
At the heart of one of the worst genocides in history lay Pol Pot, a ruthless dictator, under whose reign Cambodia came to symbolise everything wrong with humanity — genocide, famine, civil war.
Riding a “moto taxi'', I saw children playing on the dusty streets of Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. The motorbike zipped past shacks located next to stores and street vendors.
There are not many must-do's for the traveller in Phnom Penh. Its main temple, with its Silver Pagoda, is beautiful but seems a lesser, if stunning imitation of Bangkok's Grand Palace.
Guesthouses and tour operators offer many packages. Most include one day with a guide, rides on a tuk-tuk and visits to a shooting range, the Silver Pagoda, the National Museum and two of the most disturbing attractions — the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum at Tuol Sleng.
Tragic history
Ruling for four bloody years, the Khmer Rouge outlawed money and religion, closed schools, destroyed temples, took over all farms and businesses and created a deadly army.
Phnom Penh was forcibly evacuated. Intellectuals, politicians, teachers, students and doctors were butchered.
Staring at rows of skulls — innocent victims who had been bludgeoned to death with bamboo sticks — most of my group were reduced to tears.
The thousands of mugshots of victims are on display at Tuol Sleng, a school that was turned into a nightmare for 20,000 people. Only seven walked out of the place alive.
It is estimated that two million people lost their lives in the four years of Pol Pot's reign. I found myself staring at a cabinet piled with 8,000 bludgeoned skulls.
That it took place just three decades ago meant anyone over 40 in Cambodia today was either a victim or a perpetrator.
However, Cambodians are a friendly lot. Phnom Penh may be considered a poorer version of Bangkok but the legacy of its tragic history, coupled with its beauty, will fascinate many.
— Robin Esrock is the co-host of the Nat Geo Adventure series, Word Travels. See www.wordtravels.tv for details, or visit his website: www.moderngonzo.com
