Cambodias' sordid history

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So for my last 24 hours in Cambodia has been spent catching up with the blog broken up with time seeing a bit more of the city. It wasn't until I came to this country that I realized what an awful time they have had of it and in relatively recent times and considering what attrocities happened here, the city of Phnom Phen has bounced back to become a thriving metropolis.

Unfotunately for my last blog from Cambodia is a more sombre one which is the total opposite of the experience I have had here, so I will keep this brief. My first of two stops were the Killing Fields of Choeung EK 15kms south-west of the city where most of the detainees of S-21 prison (I will come to that next) were excuted by the Khmer Rouge. The grounds are extremely peaceful and is hard to believe the horrendous history it holds but there is a constant stark reminder of what happened here as you wander around this former orchard with the fenced off sections marked mass graves and the number of skeletons found in each one. It is also home to a small museum and a pagoda holding more than 8000 skulls of victims and their ragged clothes.

The next stop was S-21, Tuol Sleng Museum, which was once a school until Pol Pots' security forces took it over and turned the classrooms into torture chambers, it's all a bit chilling as they still have the beds and shackles in the actual rooms and to really bring it alive they accompian it with a photograph with the poor victim still chained to it. Also on display the impliments used for torture, the gallows as well and throughout the hauntingly gaunt photographs of every detainee, that passed through as they were very good at keeping records and the absolute nail in the coffin is they have one of the survivors there, selling books. Gosh, this place left nothing to the imagination.

I don't believe it! I think they have just put on the Killing Fields here in the hostel, blimey it's like watching Schindlers List in Auschwitz.

Enough of genocide for one blog, so now I am waiting for the overnight bus to Bangkok, where I hope to meet up with a friend who lives there, so next time will be blogging from another country. Thanks for reading and take care all

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