Kos Kor Island

I’ve grown to really look forward to our group hikes outside the city. It’s always a great opportunity to take a quiet walk while catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. This week we went to Kos Kor Island which is just south of the city and a short boat ride across the river. This island is one of the lesser known killing fields from the Khmer Rouge. A nearby Pagoda has a memorial stupa that holds the bones that are still found in the area.

After the Khmer Rouge, the city sent the homeless to live on the island. However, when they didn’t want to stay people would try to swim across the river back to Phnom Penh and often drown. Now this island is home to a small population of farmers. One of the girls in our group grew up here and explained how it used to be much more populated however many children have grown up and moved to the city. 

Our boat which was essentially two canoes connected by boards with an engine. 

Farmers field filled with something locals call srom. The only information I got about this was "it's used in cooking".

Clay cooking pots. These will be put out into the sun to dry before they can be sold. 

Closest pagoda to the island. 

Memorial stupa.

This adorable little girl grabbed onto my hand part way through the village and didn't let go for 20 minutes. I sang the alphabet song with her until this little boy selling bracelets chased her off. 

Three great girls from the regular "crew".