Continued from my last post, as it was still early for check in to Hotel, we started with our first itinerary to visit War Museum.
Along the journey, I felt like been backward to the past like in 70"s or 80"s where the road was still empty, not much car mostly were motorcycle, bicycle and minivans. The weather was very hot, dry and dusty.
Not much trees planted on the road, the most greeny view I had was from this nursery.
The hot & dry weather of this country made it suitable for charcoal production.
If not because of the filter function, our faces were definitely looked oily and greasy.
ii) War Museum, Siem Reap
The War Museum Cambodia is located at Siem Reap in Cambodia, near National Highway No. 6 between the city of Siem Reap and the International Airport.
In February 2001 the Siem Reap War Museum was built in partnership with the Ministry of National Defense on more than 2 hectares of land. In 2013 the name of the museum changed from Siem Reap War Museum into War Museum Cambodia. The museum covers the last three decades of the 20th century when the Khmer Rouge was active in Cambodia, making use of guides whom are war veterans who fought for the Cambodian army, the Khmer Rouge or the Vietnamese army.
After about 20 mins, we arrived at our first destination.
Arrived and took photo with our driver, Kassim.
Kassim helped us to buy the tickets for entrance at USD 5.
The entrance ticket.
Being creative. Welcome signboard made from empty mortar shell.
Still at the entrance, posing with Cambodian flag. If you notice, the Angkor Wat, the world-famous landmark of Cambodia graces the national flag. Unfortunately the flag didn\"t wave that time.
OK now lets explore!
Lovely environment. You can see they planted lots of mango trees here for the shade. The hot weather and soil are suitable for mango\"s plantation, like in India, Perlis in Malaysia and Philippines.
The museum is a collection of tanks, aircraft, mines and guns primarily from Cambodia’s civil war with the Khmer Rouge and subsequent occupation by Vietnam.
Arrays of ruined tanks on displayed.
There is a vast array of vehicles, artillery, weaponry and equipment on display, such as a Soviet T-54 main battle tank, a Chinese Shenyang F-6 fighter, a Soviet Mil Mi-8 helicopter and the Soviet D-44 85mm field-artillery gun. The collection on display was gathered since 1999 from provinces in which the most savage fighting of the Cambodian Civil War took place (Siem Reap and Odor Meanchey) and is a mix of Chinese, American and Soviet military hardware.
T-54 Tank, Artillery and BM-14 launcher. Wooahh... suddenly I\"m an expert of war machines... Hahahhaha!
Before being used during the various conflicts that raged across Cambodia, some of the war machines have seen action during World War II. Amazing right? Most of these war machines were very heavy and it was difficult to gain access into dense jungle and forest areas to remove the items. Such an effort!
T-54 Tank, Howitzer, Anti-Aircraft Artillery and M46 Artillery.
The ghost of war. Mortar bombs, grenade and land mine.
We could also examine small arms from a M16 or a AK-47 (Kalashnikov) till a machine gun like the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). We were able to hold the weapons, which added to the experience.
Little devil.
Mortar frog.
AK-47 (Kalashnikov) Rifles.
Mortar shells on displayed.
There are guides that give you free tours, they normally expect a small tip at the end. It is really good though as most of the guides there have experienced the war first hand. Really interesting insight at the same town a very real experience.
Having a guide take you through this museum is a must and we were thrilled to have this guide, whose most of his family perished doing the war, take us around and describe the life of the citizens before and after the war as well as how different countries participated in funding and supply the various factions that led up to the tragic events during this time. His knowledge was impressive since the Cambodian school system still doesn"t allow published material about the war into the school curriculum. I can"t recommend this enough whether you"re a history buff or just a tourist looking to understand the past struggles of the place you"re visiting.
The guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable and told us all about the wars.
Photographs of Cambodian army during the war.
More photos of the war collections....
Posing with Anti-Aircraft Artillery. There are boards giving you lots of information that you can read.
A partially-ruined T-54 main battle tank exhibited at the War Museum, Siem Reap.
The description.
One of the star, The Soviet Mil Mi-8 helicopter.
A landmine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Up to date, there are still lots of active landmine all over Cambodia that yet to be found.Landmines were designed to maim, not kill, the rationale being that a wounded soldier is more expensive than a dead one.
Once activated, landmines will stay active and ready to go off forever. The exhibition shows the minesweeping process (The act of detecting mines using mines detector).
Interesting fact : It costs approximately USD 1 to produce one landmine. It costs approximately USD 1,000 to find and defuse it.
Overall the experience here was priceless. it gave me a mix feeling. In Malaysia, even not wealthy, we still can live comfortly compared to people in Cambodia who living in poverty, some losing their sights or parts of their bodies due to landmine. As a children in Malaysia, at least we have freedom to set our future. What we wanted to be, achieved our dream. In Cambodia, children here has been denied their right for education. That's why most of them become beggar. Some experienced war in such a young age.
Thinking back on my carefree childhood, playing with Transformer toys and G.I. Joes, I am reminded of just how lucky I am.
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