By the time we got to Phnom Penh I was feeling very rough. We got a tuktuk to our hostel and tried to check in. It was 12pm and they told us we had to wait an hour. An hour later they said wait another hour till 2pm. I knew full well there were beds ready. I decided their table looked like a great place to sleep so they then checked us in.

Joey picked up tablets and water for me and I fell straight asleep. I slept till around 7pm and then went out for dinner but only had plain boiled rice (so boring) as I didn't want to upset my tummy even more. I then went back to sleep and slept right through till the next morning.

The next day I still wasn't feeling great but I was determined to do the killing fields and S-21 prison. We hired a moped and went to the killing fields first. Just a quick note that apparently a common scam in Cambodia is to rent you a moped, follow you, steal the moped back and then charge you for it so you have to be careful and make sure its locked up as secure as you can get it.

The killing fields was six dollars to enter and you got an audio guide too for that. It was honestly heartbreaking walking around, listening to your guide and seeing the spots where horror unfolded years ago.

Optional parts of the audio was to listen to survivors stories. I listened to these and I just could not comprehend the agony people must have felt. One mother told her story about being forced to work long hours, minimal food, to the point where she did not have enough breast milk to feed her baby. Her baby ended up dying due to this.

Another survivor told the story of a woman at the killing fields who got caught with food on her. Another guard had given it to her but she was accused of stealing and they kept hitting her in the neck until she fell down and died.

The killing fields showed mass graves of people, old and young. One tree in particular was where the babies and children were killed. Their heads were smashed against this tree until they died. The guards didn't tend to use bullets on anyone as bullets were expensive. The vast majority were beaten to death or near death and put in a grave where they would then die.

One tree was used to hang speakers from it so when people were being murdered they played the music to drown out their cries and so others would not realise.

Walking around the killing fields it was silent. It was almost peaceful and it was hard to believe what went on for so many years in Cambodia unnoticed by other countries. It only came to light when Vietnam invaded Cambodia in 1979.

We then moved onto S-21 prison. This was 5 dollars to get in without an audio and 8 dollars including the audio. We opted for the audio.

S-21 prison was equally as awful. This is where they sent people who were accused of being spies, working for the CIA, MI5 etc. It used to be a school but turned into a prison filled with torture. The prisoners were tortured into confessing crimes they hadn't committed, forced into signing false confessions and eventually executed or sent to the killing fields. Along with the Cambodians there were at least ten foreigners who got killed here.

One in particular stuck in my mind - Kerry Hamill from New Zealand. He was sailing his yacht Foxy Lady with fellow sailors Canadian Stuart Glass and Engishman John Dewhirst. They somehow ended up in Cambodian waters. Their boat was shot at and Stuart was killed. Jerry and John were taken to S-21. They were repeatedly tortured and forced into confessions. Jerry tactfully in his confessions used western names and family members that the Cambodians would not know. His brother described this as in keeping with his humour and a way of him sending messages back home to his family. He sent a message to his mum by using her name in his confessions. Listening to his brother speak in Court made me cry.

Another story was a man who was with his wife and child. They tried to escape and the wife was shot at. She screamed to her husband to run, which he did, leaving his child behind. He still to this day does not know what happened to his child. Given how cruel the Cambodians were to their own I suspect his child was also killed.

One guard at the prison thought a prisoner girl was very pretty. He wanted to sleep with her but this was against the rules. He took his frustrations out on her by beating her.

When the vietnamese invaded the prison the guards fled but before doing so killed 14 remaining prisoners. These victims have been buried at S-21. The prison guards left thousands of written and photographic records. Although more than 6,000 photographs were left, most were lost or destroyed.

Even though I was ill in Phnom Penh I found the history surrounding it fascinating and so interesting. It is worth a visit for sure.