Hard to believe I've been in Vietnam for a week already!
There was almost immediate culture shock going from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City...the contrasts in wealth and modernity are stark. Vietnam's southern metropolis is a vibrant, buzzing city with some sleek skypscrapers and a fashionably-dressed younger population.
The French colonial influence is easilly spotted in the city center, where the architecture is extremely European, and Chanel and Dior shops line the immaculate streets.
Scooters are the transit option of choice here in Vietnam, and at all times of day they zip along the streets, weaving wildly...they literally never have a red light. Only cars have to stop at red lights. To cross the street is to take your life in your hands.
I spent 2 nights in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, since I was already all city-ed out after Phnom Penh. My main stops were the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels- both worthwhile! To be honest, I knew next to nothing about the Vietnam War (they call it the American War here) before I arrived, and it was quite eye-opening. I'm told the museum information is quite biased in favor of the Vietnamese, but nevertheless it was an interesting (and disturbing) visit.
After the big city, I spent 3 nights at a beautiful, relaxed hostel in Mui Ne, soaking up the surf, sand, and sun...that is, I got very sunburnt. But it was really nice.
Then I moved on to the cool mountain clime in Dalat. It was a beautiful relief to feel a brisk breeze on my skin, and to actually have the desire to put more clothes on, and curl up under a warm blanket at night!!! While in Dalat, I visited the famous Crazy House, went Canyoning (photos to come), climbed Liang Biang Mountain, and visited a Monastery. The last two events were only made possible by inviting myself to join a group that are motorbiking down Vietnam (I am actually so jealous). I absolutely love riding on the back of the bike through the small village streets- you see SO much more of the country, and you have so much more freedom. The only thing really stopping me from joining their number is the amount of backpackers I've met with motorbike "war wounds". I'll leave the driving to others...for now.
I stayed at a hostel reccommended to me by a friend from Kamloops that visited Vietnam a few years back. Its called The Dalat Family Hostel, and it was SUCH an experience! The vietnamese family that runs the hostel are absolutely nuts- "Mama" sings, claps, hugs, and kisses you when you arrive, you are fed immediately, the "brothers" and "sisters" (are they actually family? I will never know) randomly hug you and pinch your cheek, or throw their arms over your shoulders while you are sitting around...everyone eats a huge dinner around the family table at 5 every night...its the best food...the BEST. I slept in the attic, where there are all different levels, and about 15 mattersses around the floor. It looks like the ultimate slumber party of your dreams! It was so much fun, and also just ridiculous!
Anyway, today I am in transit to the small village of Tuy Hoa, and I've had a couple hours to get some internet time in. This evening I will take a train for the first time- it was an early start this morning, so I'm already tired and can't wait to just arrive and get settled in.
I will get more photos up soon, but until then...instagram. :)
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Museums. Show all posts
Sunday, 22 November 2015
Sunday, 15 November 2015
More Thoughts on Cambodia
As I've been spending a bit of time reflecting on my time in Cambodia, I feel like I only told half the story in my last post. The highlights were many, but Cambodia is a country far from perfection.
The poverty and pain for much of the population is starkly evident immediately upon crossing the border. Only main roads are paved, and even those are rough and pot-holed. The rest is just red dirt and mud, with garbage scattered everywhere, and built up on the sides. The cars are old and run down, passengers riding anywhere they can keep hold. Entire families cluster in the back of pickup trucks, and young men ride atop huge commercial vehicles barrelling down the roads at full speed. Motorbikes and scooters hum and weave through the traffic like a swarm of wasps, honking at everything that might cross its path, or even come close.
Phnom Penh was by far the most shocking of the cities and towns I visited.
The sidewalks are cobbled together with broken tiles, garbage, and mud puddles. Gathered at various corners are worn and weathered moto-taxi drivers, who call out and raise an arm each time you pass by, "hellooo lady! Where you going? Tuk tuk?".
Hammocks are strung up between scraggly trees planted optimistically along the rideside, their residents swinging listlessy throughout the day. Others sprawl out on public benches, halfdressed in rags, an arm over their faces, obviously suffering the after-effects of too much cheap alcohol. Most heart-breaking of all are the mothers squatting on dirty bamboo mats on the side of busy roads, watching over their toddlers and babies sleeping naked beside them.
There are also many Cambodians who are disfigured and disabled due to landmines, torture during the Khmer Rouge, and sometimes the toxic Agent Orange chemical which was used by the USA during the Vietnam War. Many are missing arms and legs, or thier limbs are twisted and virtually useless. Its very hard not to feel like a total POS when they literally crawl up to you, begging for money. Its extremely sad, and there are so many...it feels like there is nothing you can do.
I visited Tuol Sleng Museum, also known as Security Prison 21 (S-21) during the Khmer Rouge regime during the 70's. If you ever wish to be depressed, a visit to this place is a good way to go about it. This brief, yet bloody, period of Cambodian history leaves most of us asking how people can do something so horrific to each other, and most of all- why?
I declined the follow-up visit to the famous Killing Fields, one of the many sites with mass graves. Thousands of bodies have been found there, and the evidence is still visible. To be honest, I couldn't stomach it, and I didn't feel like the point needed to be driven home any further.
The Khmer Rouge killed over 1.7 million Cambodia people (a significant portion of the population) from 1975-1979, systematically murdering the wealthiest, and most educated first, in order to suppress any kind of rebellion that might arise. This has seriously impaired any sort of rebuilding of the culture and country. The younger generation must literally start from scratch, but they have been raised by an entire nation dealing with severe trauma. Its a dismal and desperate situation.
Bearing these difficulties in mind, its not hard to understand why many Cambodians may be unsmiling and come across as unfriendly or even aggressive in their pursuit of your tourist cash, though it doesn't make the experience more pleasant.
However, I have encountered a few individuals who really gave me perspective; one was the teacher I mentioned that I met on the bus to Kampong Cham. He stepped in to help me with a confusing transit situation, and then we chatted about the challenges facing Cambodia, and his optimism and pride for his country was quite inspiring.
My guide during my jungle trek in Sen Monorom was a young man from a local Indigenous village; cheerful, industrious, and ambitious. Only a couple years ago, he lived and worked on his family's farm. When he was given the opportunity to work as a driver for a local guesthouse, he began to pick up both the Cambodian and English languages. Soon he was invited to work at the guesthouse restraurant as a server, where his language skills improved. By the time he was guiding our tour, he had only been speaking English for a year, and guiding for only a month! I was so impressed by how much English he knew, and how he has so quickly begun to start a life for himself. He told me he wants to work for a year to save money and then go to the local English school to learn more, and eventually go to Phnom Penh to see the big city. He has never left the Mondulkiri province in his entire life, and he dreams of seeing Siem Reap and Angkor Wat for himself one day.
Another was a random chat with a girl working in a cafe I stopped in. She seemed anxious to talk, and her story was a sad one. I listened to her summarized life story, and answered her questions about my own life- we are about the same age, but our worlds seem so different. Despite her trials, she is working hard and hopes to improve her life. She told me in her simple English that our conversation made her feel happier and more optimistic...at first I had been a bit cautious, wondering if this was some kind of scam in which I would be asked for money or something, cynic that I am, but when it went no further I felt humbled. Maybe in a country where everyone has huge problems, people just need someone to listen to them.
These conversations with ordinary, everyday Cambodians stand out to me as bright spots in what might otherwise seem like a depressing and discouraging situation.
From what I have heard, Cambodia is a country that is changing fast- I sincerely hope that it goes the direction that these 3 would take it.
The poverty and pain for much of the population is starkly evident immediately upon crossing the border. Only main roads are paved, and even those are rough and pot-holed. The rest is just red dirt and mud, with garbage scattered everywhere, and built up on the sides. The cars are old and run down, passengers riding anywhere they can keep hold. Entire families cluster in the back of pickup trucks, and young men ride atop huge commercial vehicles barrelling down the roads at full speed. Motorbikes and scooters hum and weave through the traffic like a swarm of wasps, honking at everything that might cross its path, or even come close.
Phnom Penh was by far the most shocking of the cities and towns I visited.
The sidewalks are cobbled together with broken tiles, garbage, and mud puddles. Gathered at various corners are worn and weathered moto-taxi drivers, who call out and raise an arm each time you pass by, "hellooo lady! Where you going? Tuk tuk?".
Hammocks are strung up between scraggly trees planted optimistically along the rideside, their residents swinging listlessy throughout the day. Others sprawl out on public benches, halfdressed in rags, an arm over their faces, obviously suffering the after-effects of too much cheap alcohol. Most heart-breaking of all are the mothers squatting on dirty bamboo mats on the side of busy roads, watching over their toddlers and babies sleeping naked beside them.
There are also many Cambodians who are disfigured and disabled due to landmines, torture during the Khmer Rouge, and sometimes the toxic Agent Orange chemical which was used by the USA during the Vietnam War. Many are missing arms and legs, or thier limbs are twisted and virtually useless. Its very hard not to feel like a total POS when they literally crawl up to you, begging for money. Its extremely sad, and there are so many...it feels like there is nothing you can do.
I visited Tuol Sleng Museum, also known as Security Prison 21 (S-21) during the Khmer Rouge regime during the 70's. If you ever wish to be depressed, a visit to this place is a good way to go about it. This brief, yet bloody, period of Cambodian history leaves most of us asking how people can do something so horrific to each other, and most of all- why?
I declined the follow-up visit to the famous Killing Fields, one of the many sites with mass graves. Thousands of bodies have been found there, and the evidence is still visible. To be honest, I couldn't stomach it, and I didn't feel like the point needed to be driven home any further.
The Khmer Rouge killed over 1.7 million Cambodia people (a significant portion of the population) from 1975-1979, systematically murdering the wealthiest, and most educated first, in order to suppress any kind of rebellion that might arise. This has seriously impaired any sort of rebuilding of the culture and country. The younger generation must literally start from scratch, but they have been raised by an entire nation dealing with severe trauma. Its a dismal and desperate situation.
Bearing these difficulties in mind, its not hard to understand why many Cambodians may be unsmiling and come across as unfriendly or even aggressive in their pursuit of your tourist cash, though it doesn't make the experience more pleasant.
However, I have encountered a few individuals who really gave me perspective; one was the teacher I mentioned that I met on the bus to Kampong Cham. He stepped in to help me with a confusing transit situation, and then we chatted about the challenges facing Cambodia, and his optimism and pride for his country was quite inspiring.
My guide during my jungle trek in Sen Monorom was a young man from a local Indigenous village; cheerful, industrious, and ambitious. Only a couple years ago, he lived and worked on his family's farm. When he was given the opportunity to work as a driver for a local guesthouse, he began to pick up both the Cambodian and English languages. Soon he was invited to work at the guesthouse restraurant as a server, where his language skills improved. By the time he was guiding our tour, he had only been speaking English for a year, and guiding for only a month! I was so impressed by how much English he knew, and how he has so quickly begun to start a life for himself. He told me he wants to work for a year to save money and then go to the local English school to learn more, and eventually go to Phnom Penh to see the big city. He has never left the Mondulkiri province in his entire life, and he dreams of seeing Siem Reap and Angkor Wat for himself one day.
Another was a random chat with a girl working in a cafe I stopped in. She seemed anxious to talk, and her story was a sad one. I listened to her summarized life story, and answered her questions about my own life- we are about the same age, but our worlds seem so different. Despite her trials, she is working hard and hopes to improve her life. She told me in her simple English that our conversation made her feel happier and more optimistic...at first I had been a bit cautious, wondering if this was some kind of scam in which I would be asked for money or something, cynic that I am, but when it went no further I felt humbled. Maybe in a country where everyone has huge problems, people just need someone to listen to them.
These conversations with ordinary, everyday Cambodians stand out to me as bright spots in what might otherwise seem like a depressing and discouraging situation.
From what I have heard, Cambodia is a country that is changing fast- I sincerely hope that it goes the direction that these 3 would take it.
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
Weekend Wonders
Where has the time gone??
I'm on my last week of volunteering/staying in Bangkok, and preparing to strike out on my own come Saturday. I can't believe how fast the last 3 weeks have flown by!
I've been much busier since the two other volunteers arrived, which has been nice. We have gone out exploring on a few nights, and spent our long weekend (last Friday was a holiday here...what the occason was is still a mystery) about an hours drive outside Bangkok (read: 2 hours for the whole trip, because it takes an hour to get anywhere in the city) at the historic UNESCO World Heritage sites of Ayutthaya. This was a good warm-up to starting the backpacking portion of my trip :)
I stayed in the cheapest room I could find, which was about 200 Thai Baht ($7.45 CAD). It was a private room, with a shared bathroom. Creaky floorboards, opaque plastic windows, and a small fan sitting on a plastic chair serving as the A/C lent it a rustic charm. The bed was big, fairly comfortable, and clean, so I was satisfied. The bathroom was sketchy as heck, and I spent very limited time there! haha!
I ate the street food served piping hot from the little pushcarts on the corner- delicious! - and drank SO much water, iced drinks, and coke...anything cold. It was ridiculously hot outside. As soon as I took a drink out of the cooler, it began to sweat almost as much as I was, and in a matter of minutes it's lukewarm, and then just plain warm and gross. So I guzzle while its chilly.
And heaven knows I needed hydration. Most people rent bikes or hire tuk tuks to get around Ayutthaya, but one of our party was nervous about riding a bike and tuk tuks get expensive fast, so we decided to walk! And since I was detirmined to get to a certain temple at the far reaches of the town, I continued walking long after the other girls turned back. It was an adventure, as my free tourist map was fairly useless, and I had to stop to ask for directions several times. But it was good. And a nice Thai lady on a motorbike saw me tootling along sweating up a storm, and stopped to offer me a free ride to the temple! I took her up on it, and got my first motorbike ride- what a thrill! I loved it! Once I'm out of Bangkok I think this will become a more regular occurance :)
I visited 3 temples in total, and they were all very beautiful. Wat Phra Mahathat was of special interest to me because it is the location of the intriguing Buddha head that is tangled up in tree roots. Its an image I've seen a few times, and its always appealed to me, so I wanted to see it for myself.
I guess I had never seen a picture with it next to a real person, to get the scale of it. For some reason I imagined it was this massive boulder of a sculture, locked in roots the thickness of a giant's arm. I was slightly taken aback to discover that in fact, the Buddha head is about the same size as mine, if not smaller, and could easily be missed if not for the crowd of tourists snapping selfies with it.
I was a little disappointed, but then realized how ridiculous my expectations were, and snapped my photo. I like it.
Next we visited Wat Pha Si Sanphet, which was cool, but very crowded with tourists, and also caters to the Elephant-riding crowd, which made me sad and a little peeved. I get that its cool and exciting to ride an elephant, but that doesn't make it ok. Especially when you can clearly see that they are being mistreated, ie: scars and marks on their bodies from the hooks the handlers use to control them.
After that point, my friends and I parted ways for the afternoon and I carried on to Wat Chai Wattanaram, which was my favorite! It was a bit further out = less crowded, and very well preserved. While not very large, I spent a fair amount of time wandering and taking photos, cuz that's how I roll. I even took a selfie! Gasp!
I finished the day with a quick trip to the local floating market, which I'm sure lacked authenticity, but was fun nonetheless. Again, not what I expected, but it was interesting to look around.
On Sunday, back in Bangkok, I visited the Jim Thompson House (pretty, if not really as interesting as I'd hoped), and took a Thai cooking class! We learned about some of the key ingredients while shopping at a local market, prepared each dish separately, cooked, and ate! It was fantastic and we had a lovely chef to guide us. I walked out with a small recipe book I am very excited to use!
Now, I am back to work at the Fatima Center for the rest of the week, and then I carry on to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Saturday! Wish me luck at the hectic Poiphet border crossing!
As always, more photos & anecdotes can be found on my instagram, jllkc79, or #jillgoesbackpacking.
I'm on my last week of volunteering/staying in Bangkok, and preparing to strike out on my own come Saturday. I can't believe how fast the last 3 weeks have flown by!
I've been much busier since the two other volunteers arrived, which has been nice. We have gone out exploring on a few nights, and spent our long weekend (last Friday was a holiday here...what the occason was is still a mystery) about an hours drive outside Bangkok (read: 2 hours for the whole trip, because it takes an hour to get anywhere in the city) at the historic UNESCO World Heritage sites of Ayutthaya. This was a good warm-up to starting the backpacking portion of my trip :)
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| Checking out some ruins at sunset on my first night in Ayutthaya |
I stayed in the cheapest room I could find, which was about 200 Thai Baht ($7.45 CAD). It was a private room, with a shared bathroom. Creaky floorboards, opaque plastic windows, and a small fan sitting on a plastic chair serving as the A/C lent it a rustic charm. The bed was big, fairly comfortable, and clean, so I was satisfied. The bathroom was sketchy as heck, and I spent very limited time there! haha!
I ate the street food served piping hot from the little pushcarts on the corner- delicious! - and drank SO much water, iced drinks, and coke...anything cold. It was ridiculously hot outside. As soon as I took a drink out of the cooler, it began to sweat almost as much as I was, and in a matter of minutes it's lukewarm, and then just plain warm and gross. So I guzzle while its chilly.
And heaven knows I needed hydration. Most people rent bikes or hire tuk tuks to get around Ayutthaya, but one of our party was nervous about riding a bike and tuk tuks get expensive fast, so we decided to walk! And since I was detirmined to get to a certain temple at the far reaches of the town, I continued walking long after the other girls turned back. It was an adventure, as my free tourist map was fairly useless, and I had to stop to ask for directions several times. But it was good. And a nice Thai lady on a motorbike saw me tootling along sweating up a storm, and stopped to offer me a free ride to the temple! I took her up on it, and got my first motorbike ride- what a thrill! I loved it! Once I'm out of Bangkok I think this will become a more regular occurance :)
I visited 3 temples in total, and they were all very beautiful. Wat Phra Mahathat was of special interest to me because it is the location of the intriguing Buddha head that is tangled up in tree roots. Its an image I've seen a few times, and its always appealed to me, so I wanted to see it for myself.
I guess I had never seen a picture with it next to a real person, to get the scale of it. For some reason I imagined it was this massive boulder of a sculture, locked in roots the thickness of a giant's arm. I was slightly taken aback to discover that in fact, the Buddha head is about the same size as mine, if not smaller, and could easily be missed if not for the crowd of tourists snapping selfies with it.
I was a little disappointed, but then realized how ridiculous my expectations were, and snapped my photo. I like it.
Next we visited Wat Pha Si Sanphet, which was cool, but very crowded with tourists, and also caters to the Elephant-riding crowd, which made me sad and a little peeved. I get that its cool and exciting to ride an elephant, but that doesn't make it ok. Especially when you can clearly see that they are being mistreated, ie: scars and marks on their bodies from the hooks the handlers use to control them.
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| Despite sunscreen usage, I burnt to a crisp. Thanks to frequent application of Burt's Bees After Sun lotion, it turned to a tan. Hooray! |
I finished the day with a quick trip to the local floating market, which I'm sure lacked authenticity, but was fun nonetheless. Again, not what I expected, but it was interesting to look around.
On Sunday, back in Bangkok, I visited the Jim Thompson House (pretty, if not really as interesting as I'd hoped), and took a Thai cooking class! We learned about some of the key ingredients while shopping at a local market, prepared each dish separately, cooked, and ate! It was fantastic and we had a lovely chef to guide us. I walked out with a small recipe book I am very excited to use!
Now, I am back to work at the Fatima Center for the rest of the week, and then I carry on to Siem Reap, Cambodia on Saturday! Wish me luck at the hectic Poiphet border crossing!
As always, more photos & anecdotes can be found on my instagram, jllkc79, or #jillgoesbackpacking.
Saturday, 1 November 2014
Ontario: Kind of a Big Deal
Good ol' Ontario..."central Canada", home of Canadian Parliament, and unfortunately, the NHL hockey team known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. It thinks its such a frickin big deal.
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| Regis checkin' out Parliament |
Ok, so it is kind of a big deal. I mean, the first ever Tim Hortons was built in Hamilton ON, which is now being renovated into a Tim Hortons Museum. I kid you not.
It also has large models of Canadian currency scattered across the province. Its like they want us to think they're rollin in it or something.
Just outside Toronto is Canada's Wonderland Theme Park...its like Disneyland without anything Disney-related. And its the biggest theme park in Canada. And its in Ontario. Big. Deal.
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| My first rollercoaster ever, the "Leviathan", begins with a 600 foot drop! |
Toronto even has its own mini version of Times Square, with the slightly less catchy title of Yonge-Dundas Square. And the CN Tower is totally like an Empire State Building wannabe. Sort of. Ok, they both are just really touristy and way over-priced if you want to go to the top.
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| If squint and tilt your head you can totally see the CN tower. |
It is 100% as cool as its cracked up to be.
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| Maid in the mist. |
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| Maid of the Mist. |
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| Monkey in the mist. |
The town is like a mini Canadian version of Las Vegas, but the Falls are truly epic. I guess that makes Ontario sort of ok.
Monday, 31 March 2014
Prague Photo Ops
I return for a brief hello to the blogging world...I finished up two major school assignments last week, so I'm allowing myself some blog time as a reprieve from the seemingly endless readings and writings that come with the end of the semester.
After enjoying a wonderful concert in Lucca so much (which I now realize I never wrote about...how did that happen??), we decided to indulge in some more classy times by purchasing tickets to hear the Prague Baroque Consort. It included performances by solo violinist Igor Lecian, and organist Frantisek Stastny...the organ was the REAL DEAL. Amazing.
Prague was a spectacularly scenic city to explore. The architecture is almost a bit of a time warp...you won't find many modern buildings around. For this I am grateful.
The downside was that it was extremely touristy, and I didn't find it an especially friendly place. But these things can be forgiven because you can see the castle from almost anywhere, and it is so beautiful.
There were many interesting pieces of art and culture around the city. This random brick wall and theatre seating in the middle of the street, for instance...
Despite our slightly sketchy hostel, the bad head colds we developed post-Salzburg, and the disappointment of not being able to meet up with my Czech friends, Prague delivered a unique European experience with plenty of memorable photo ops...I miss wandering those streets with you, Brit!
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| Travel buddies with a view of Prague castle from Charles Bridge. |
I love looking back on these photos of Prague from 2011. Brit has since married and moved away, so when I miss her I can look back on these good times and get a mini Brit-fix. I should probably just call her instead. Ha. This is something I will work on.
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| Excited for the classical music we are about to enjoy! |
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| "Concert in Cathedral" |
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| Beautiful Brittany on the bridge. |
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| My hair was so long! Don't cry, Mom. Pixie cuts aren't forever. |
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| Brit contemplates the deeper meanings... |
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| Fear not! Its not a real bug. This was a permanent fixture on one street, in memory of Kafka and his most famous work, The Metamorphosis. (Hello Gregor) |
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| I don't remember who this fellow was, but he was a pleasant person to share a bench with. |
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| Brit makes a friend at the Lego Museum (yes, we went to the Lego Museum. Be jealous.) |
Monday, 2 December 2013
Two BMW's in One Place
A visit to the BMW Museum was a must. Why?
Because it is a cool place, but also because thoseare were Brit's initials. She has since become a BMG (way to ruin the fun, Andrew).
It was a cool building and we looked at lots of neat cars.
Its possible that we didn't appreciate it to the fullest capacity because neither of us are really car people.
But taking photos of it was fun.
Those Germans and their nifty cars and buildings.
I really wish they let us drive some of those cars.
Because it is a cool place, but also because those
It was a cool building and we looked at lots of neat cars.
Its possible that we didn't appreciate it to the fullest capacity because neither of us are really car people.
But taking photos of it was fun.
Those Germans and their nifty cars and buildings.
I really wish they let us drive some of those cars.
Monday, 28 October 2013
The History Lesson
This post is less fun, but I felt it wouldn't be right to leave it out. Travel is about experiences, and this daytrip definitely fell under that category.
Wrought into the front gates are the German words, "Arbeit macht frei", which mean "work will make you free", which was the propaganda for the labour and "re-education" camps. Every prisoner who came into Dachau, entered through these gates.
Their details were recorded, they were made to give up their valuables and to undress completely, their heads were shaved, and then they were disinfected, showered, and given a uniform with a different colored badge being awarded for every different "crime" (ie: being Jewish, a priest, a political prisoner, homosexual, etc).
The courtyard was a prominent feature in the prisoners' life. Roll call was taken every day, and though it took hours, they were forced to stand there in all types of weather. This was also where the public executions took place. The original 34 barracks were destroyed after the war, but a model has been constructed to allow visitors to envision what it would have looked like.
As time went by, the barracks were packed well beyond their original capacity. Needless to say, conditions inside the barracks were atrocious. The camp was designed to hold 6,000 prisoners, but when the Americans liberated Dachau at the end of the war, there were over 30,000 prisoners inside. That doesn't include the many that had been recently executed, or died from starvation, disease, or exposure.
The building that used to have the kitchen, laundry, and showering facilities now serves as a museum. There is a lot of memorabilia and information. There are tour guides that will walk groups through which are great. I eavesdropped for a couple minutes on a group nearby, and then the guide yelled at me. So...no, they are not free :)
It was extremely interesting, but after a couple hours, it really becomes too much to take in...I felt drained afterward. It is very depressing.
Behind the kitchen building, cut off from the rest of the camp, was the "bunker", which for all intents and purposes served as a jail. I was actually shocked that a concentration camp needed a jail, it seemed bad enough already. But worse things happened here. Rebellious and defiant prisoners were sent here, and often did not leave alive. I won't go into a lot of detail, but this is where prisoners were sent for solitary confinement, torture, beatings, and the infamous standing cells.
It is a very unpleasant place, and it gave me the creeps.
At the very end of my visit, I reached the crematorium. I almost didn't go in, because it is a really horrifying place. Ok, so the building is just a building. But terrible things happened there, and I felt sick just thinking about it.
I didn't take any photos once inside, because it felt disrespectful somehow. Walking through and reading the descriptions of what each room was used for, and the process used to execute countless prisoners was extremely emotional. Actually, writing this post and looking up details I had forgotten about the camp has been a bit depressing. It is that much harder when you are actually standing there knowing what happened in that exact spot.
Having said that, I highly recommend visiting the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. It is kept up very well, the museum is full of in-depth information, the staff are wonderful, and the bistro is a nice place to grab a bite to eat when you need some downtime from all the emotional upheaval.
It is a great place for some reflection on the past, and to pay respects to the thousands of innocents that died there, and in places like it. It is terrible to realize what humanity is capable of doing to its own kind. As I study Social Psychology in university this semester, it becomes clear that this is not an isolated phenomenon, but something that could happen anywhere to anyone, if there is enough fear and power at work. Dachau becomes a warning and a lesson against blind obedience to authority and pluralistic ignorance as a society.
I hope it is a lesson that will never have to be relearned.
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| Pre-visit we are in high spirits! |
Because we had only planned a few days in Germany, we had to get down to business right after our arrival in Munich. Our first stop was to visit an important historical site: the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. After we dropped our luggage off at our hostel we caught the metro to the quiet town where the site is located. It took a while for us to find the route to the Memorial from the terminal, but eventually we arrived and got ourselves some electronic audio guides (3.50 EURO).
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| A little ways off from the memorial site you can see these tracks. The trains that ran on them were used to bring prisoners into the concentration camp. |
It was an absolutely stunning day weather-wise, and though the memorial was relatively busy with tourists, it was a very quiet and respectful atmosphere. I had difficulty reconciling my knowledge of its nightmarish past with the bright sunny day, where the birds chirped and a soft breeze rustled the leaves. It was a weird contrast to experience.
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| The officer's houses were not far from the work camp. In fact the entire camp was hardly 10 minutes walk from the town of Dachau. |
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| Walking up to the front gates. |
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| "Arbeit macht frei" |
Their details were recorded, they were made to give up their valuables and to undress completely, their heads were shaved, and then they were disinfected, showered, and given a uniform with a different colored badge being awarded for every different "crime" (ie: being Jewish, a priest, a political prisoner, homosexual, etc).
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| The ditch and electrified barbed wire fence made escape almost impossible, even if it weren't for the armed guards. To the left you can see the outlines of where the barracks used to be. |
Prisoners were registered at the gatehouse. All the perimeters were patrolled by armed guards, and anyone trying to escape was shot on sight. Many prisoners intentionally threw themselves into the ditch or the barbed wire, choosing suicide over continuing to live inside the work camp
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| Prisoners barracks, and the "courtyard" |
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| Bunks inside the barracks. |
The building that used to have the kitchen, laundry, and showering facilities now serves as a museum. There is a lot of memorabilia and information. There are tour guides that will walk groups through which are great. I eavesdropped for a couple minutes on a group nearby, and then the guide yelled at me. So...no, they are not free :)
It was extremely interesting, but after a couple hours, it really becomes too much to take in...I felt drained afterward. It is very depressing.
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| Cells. |
It is a very unpleasant place, and it gave me the creeps.
At the very end of my visit, I reached the crematorium. I almost didn't go in, because it is a really horrifying place. Ok, so the building is just a building. But terrible things happened there, and I felt sick just thinking about it.
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| The crematorium. |
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| "Never Again" The International Memorial |
It is a great place for some reflection on the past, and to pay respects to the thousands of innocents that died there, and in places like it. It is terrible to realize what humanity is capable of doing to its own kind. As I study Social Psychology in university this semester, it becomes clear that this is not an isolated phenomenon, but something that could happen anywhere to anyone, if there is enough fear and power at work. Dachau becomes a warning and a lesson against blind obedience to authority and pluralistic ignorance as a society.
I hope it is a lesson that will never have to be relearned.
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