Today started with a visit to the Royal Palace, filled with color and incredible architecture. This was followed by a visit to the National Museum of Cambodia with beautiful sculptures and artifacts.
In the afternoon we visited the Genocide Museum and then the Killing Fields. I have visited many places with war memorials in my tenure as a staff member for Lindblad Expeditions, and generally they are places filled with stories of heroism and acts of valor; places dedicated to the bravery of gallant men and women on the battlefield. In each conflict there are stories of courage and heroism, but there are two sides of war, the one side of heroes and the other side of victims. In the Killing Fields and at the Genocide Museum we experienced the other side of war. Today we were witness to acts of incredible inhumanity. It was a sobering and somber afternoon, one that no matter how hard it is to see, must be witnessed.
