Cambodia: Phnom Penh, Wednesday

On our only full day in Phnom Penh, we focused on taking in the sites that defined the “black history” of Cambodia between 1975 and 1979 when Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge’s brutal genocide of a third of the Cambodian population. Our first stop was the Killing Fields of Cheung Ek about 15km outside of the city. This site was one of several hundred located outside the cities and towns of Cambodia. This particular “Killing Field” was the location where prisoners from the notorious S-21 prison where taken and summarily executed after they were interrogated and tortured at the prison. Here over one hundred mass graves were uncovered and the remains of over 20,000 people are believed to be buried here. Similar to the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge was painstakingly and disturbingly systematic in the way they documented their victims.

At Cheung Ek, prisoners were rarely shot and most faced death by bludgeoning to save the cost of bullets. In the dark of night prisoners were transported from the S-21 prison, killed and buried in shallow graves. The secrecy surrounding the killings often meant that people working in the surrounding rice fields had no idea what was going on at the Killing Field. The walk around the site was somber and the atrocities committed there are almost incomprehensible. The main shrine was erected in the 1990s and is meant to serve as a memorial to the victims.

From the Killing Fields, we moved on to visit the S-21 prison. It was a stunningly stark exhibit with gruesome photos of the genocide that was perpetrated behind its walls. The simplicity of the exhibition seemed appropriate for the setting. It was a really sad place and our guide still seemed disturbed by her memories of that era which she lived through. The prison was established in a schoolyard in an urban neighborhood. However, forced evacuations of the city of Phnom Penh meant that in the late 70s this prison would have been in the heart of an abandoned neighborhood. Now, surrounding the prison, there are bustling city blocks which makes for an interesting setting. It was something that needed to be seen and certainly highlights an atrocious time in not only the history of Cambodia, but also the history of the world.

After our tours of the sites of the Khmer Rouge regime, we ate lunch and went to the Russian Market which is a large market filled with stalls of souvenirs and trinkets. Then it was back to the hotel. For dinner we went to a restaurant that teaches street children about the restaurant industry and offers them an opportunity to wait tables. Many go on to work at the finest restaurants in town. It is a great cause and the food and drinks are fabulous. Passion fruit, strawberry and booze – yes please. It was fun watching the students learn on the job and to see the respect they showed for their teachers who were alumni of the program.

From dinner, it was on to the Foreign Correspondents Club for drinks. But wait - a shoe store! Marta makes an impulsive purchase of some really beautiful silk shoes. Okay…now on to the lounge. A full moon lit the Mekong River and inspired thoughts of a time gone by. What must it have been like to be a Vietnam War correspondent reporting from the Cambodian capital as bombs rained down on the Ho Chi Minh Trail? The FCC was a popular hangout for journalists back in the day until things turned for the worse in the mid-70s and reporters fled the city as the Khmer Rouge approached.

What appeared to be a quiet evening of dinner and drinks turned a little more exciting when our next stop along the riverfront was offering buy 2, get 1 free pitchers of beer. It turned into a later night than expected, but was a great way to spend our last night in Cambodia. For the next day we would bid farewell to the fantastic sights, sounds and people of the country so rich in history and yet still humbled by its recent past.

 

Mass graves with the pagoda constructed in their honor in the background.

 

The many skulls that remain from the some 20,000 victims of the Killing Field who were summarily killed between 1975 and 1978.

Pagoda constructed to house the remains of the Killing Fields victims and to honor their memory.

Outside of the schoolhouses (or cellblocks) were covered in barbed wire so that prisoners could not jump to commit suicide.

Second floor of the school house where 17 prisoners where held per room

Photos of all the victims that were taken on their intake. Much like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge were eerily good at documenting their victims.

Foreign Correspondents Club

Moon rises over the Mekong River

Riverside Phnom Penh