Bloody wifi! We had this blog all written out last night but couldn't upload it as our wifi in the hotel stopped working. So now we're sitting in a bar that has wifi... Oh no we have to drink more beer. So, yesterday's blog...

Today was a very sombre experience. We visited the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, in other words, the 'Killing Fields'. We also visited the S-21 Museum.

After a long journey down a dusty, bumpy path, we arrived at Choeung Ek, the largest killing field known of. It is only one killing field of over three hundred.

We had an audio tour of the Killing Fields, which furthered our knowledge of what happened from 1975 to 1979 in Cambodia. We can't believe that we don't learn about this at school - it is as shocking and sad as the holocaust and more recent. It's incredible to think that our parents were alive throughout the 3 years, 8 months and 20 days that the Khmer Rouge regime lasted.

So in 1975, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, took over Cambodia. They believed in taking the country back to 'Year Zero' and forced everyone out of the cities and towns. People were made to go and work in the countryside with no food and no experience. Religions and beliefs were abolished. Families were torn apart and sent in separate directions.

If you appeared to be educated, for example were a teacher, wore glasses or could speak another language, from Phnom Penh you were sent to the S-21

Prison (which was formerly a school). Any foreigners caught were also sent there. Of those known about, this includes an Australian man and an English man.

At the S-21 prison, you would be brutally tortured, forced to sign a made up confession that you were a spy of some sort, and then upon signing the confession were moved. The number and size of the cells at the prison shocked us. If you looked up, you could see blood stains splattered across the ceiling. It was very surreal on such a lovely hot day with birds singing in the air. In the centre of the grounds of the prison, next to the Gallows, there are children's monkey bars. Remnants from the days it was merely a school - innocence in the middle of brutality.

When moved from the S-21 prison, the people were lied to and told that they were going to another place. In fact, they were taken in lorries, blindfolded and hand-cuffed, to Choeung Ek. Here, huge graves were ready and the prisoners were checked off of a list. They were taken to the edge of the grave and then bludgeoned to death with whatever tools were available in order to save bullets. To stifle the noise, the Khmer Rouge soldiers played Asian music inside the 'Magic Tree' which echoed throughout the land. Once in the pits, some people may not have been fully dead, so a chemical substance was sprayed over the bodies to finish the job and disguise the stench. These were innocent people. Over 3 million died during the Khmer Rouge regime.

When the Khmer Rouge arrested someone, they also arrested their family. They didn't want to leave anyone who may seek revenge in the future, which included babies. They said that 'to keep them is no benefit, to lose them is no loss'.

Choeung Ek has been used as a memorial to what happened. An excavation in 1980 led to thousands of skeletons being uncovered, the bones examined to determine the cause of death and they are now displayed in the stupa which signifies peace. Each skull is labelled with a sticker to say how they were killed. We bought two flowers to leave in respect.

The largest mass grave uncovered contained over 450 bodies.

Over half of the mass graves have been left untouched, so that the people who lay there may rest in peace. Yet when it rains, teeth, bones and bits of clothing work their way to the surface. They are collected every month and displayed in remembrance. As we walked around the Killing Fields, you can see rags and bits of bone in the soil. There are signs asking you 'do not step on bone'. Some say that the bones keep coming up as the people buried there cannot rest peacefully.

There is a mass grave where 166 bodies were found buried, headless. They are believed to be Khmer Rouge soldiers who committed treason.

Walking past one mass grave that contained over 100 women and babies, a large tree was covered from top to bottom in bracelets. There was a sign labelling this the 'Killing Tree'. Here, Khmer Rouge soldiers picked up babies from their feet and swung them at the tree, hitting their heads and then flinging them into the pit. A witness on the audio tape stated that when discovered, the tree was covered with bits of bone, teeth, brains and hair.

There are still undiscovered killing fields located around Cambodia today. They can't be reached due to unexploded land mines and the like, and it has been decided to let the people rest in peace.

This genocide was bought to an end in 1979 when Vietnam invaded to aid bringing the Khmer Rouge down. The Khmer Rouge regime only ended 35 years ago. Some of the leaders are still alive today, mostly sentenced to life in prison. Some trials are still ongoing.

Cambodian killed Cambodian. Khmer killed Khmer. How could this genocide have occurred only 35 years ago with bones still washing up today?

This blog could never capture the atrocities that happened and is merely a snippet in to what we have learnt today, but we will never forget.

Steph and Max x