Phnom Penh

We arrived in Phnom Penh in the pouring rain with the streets flooded but that didn't deter the usual tuk tuk drivers who were waiting to "greet" us off the bus. It had been a long journey but after the bartering commenced we were both wide awake and enjoyed some banter with our new friend the tuk-tuk driver and, after much persistence, we agreed that he could take us to S-21 and the killing fields a few days later.

We had a day to ourselves and wandered around the city, not only did we notice the expense, but also how the bright lights the night before had blinded us to the real Phnom Penh, children begging for food, monkeys running along electrical wires, the poverty was in your face and there was no hiding from it in the day light.

The next day we woke up knowing the day would be quite difficult as we prepared to go to visit S-21 and the killing fields. We were first taken to the killing fields just outside Phnom Penh. We paid the $2 admission fee and walked towards the tower made up of the thousands of skulls of the men, women and children executed during the Khmer Rouge. The tower stands tall in the centre of the fields almost looking over the mass graves that we were yet to see, an overwhelming and harrowing vision, 7 tiers of skulls and bones. We bought some incense and flowers, removed our shoes and walked around the tower.

Many tourists were visiting but silence filled the air, even in the museum area nobody spoke and if they did it was barely a whisper.

After we were dropped off at S-21, the former "security facility" was housed in a school which seems to make things a little worse knowing that it was once a place of learning and laughter. As we made our way towards the first area, we walked passed the 14 graves of the people found when S-21 was finally uncovered. You are able to enter each interrogation room each displaying a photograph of the person they found inside.

The Khmer Rouge kept detailed records of each person to pass through the gates. Every person was photographed and had a number pinned either to their shirt or in some cases to their skin. This is visible on the hundreds of photographs that are now on display and stare hopelessly back at you as you walk around the museum.

Only 7 people made it out of S-21 alive. The rest were sent to the killing fields.

We ended the day by watching the film "The Killing Fields" which was shown every evening at our hostel. Based on an individual story set during the Khmer Rouge's reign, the film showed us how those that weren't sent to S-21 were treated just as cruelly as those that were. Sent to the countryside, they were starved, beaten and over worked whilst people, even children they once knew, were indoctrinated and turned against them.