Cambodia; The Killing Fields of Phnom Penh

Dave and I left Siem Reap after seeing more of the amazing temples and headed by bus to the capitol city of Phnom Penh.It was here that we visited the infamous, and tragic Killing Fields and the interrogation centre known as S-21.

In 1976 during the reign of the cruel dictator Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army; mainly made up of hard line followers, enlisted peasant workers and the under-privileged, Svay Pray High School in Phnom Penh was renamed Security Prison 21 (S-21) and turned in to an interrogation, torture and execution centre where the privileged and the educated suffered unimaginable treatment. Entire families were incarcerated here and those that survived S-21 were taken in trucks to Choeung Ek, now known as The Killing Fields. It was here that thousands of men, women and children were executed. Walking around the Killing Fields is heart rending; you are literally walking over bones, teeth and the crumpled mud embedded clothes of the executed. You are encouraged to pick up the teeth and bones and post them in to glass box. I didn’t feel right doing it so we left them alone.

What I first thought was firewood was a small stack of human bones at the foot of this tree.

A monument built to hold the skulls of over 8,000 of the executed men, women and children. The skulls are held inside glass shelves which go all the way up to the top of the monument. The cases are open at the front and local guides pick the skulls up to try and encourage tourists to hire them for a tour of the grounds; something we would have been interested in doing but once Dave saw the guide handling the skulls we vetoed the personal guided tour out of respect for the people executed here.

S-21 Security prison enclosed with barbed wire which at the time of use was also electrocuted to prevent attempts of escape.

Tiny brick built cells in former classrooms.

The small one person wooden cells.

The National museum in Phnom Penh houses hundreds of artifacts some illegally removed from the Angkor Wat temple complex.

The Royal Palace.

Dave gets weighed by a severely disabled man who has found a unique way to make a living.

Sleeping motorcycle taxis and tuk tuk drivers.

Local streets in Phnom Penh.