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Published: January 21st 2010
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Having arranged our tuk tuk driver to pick us up at 11am, it gave us time in the morning to walk literally across the street from our guesthouse to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, an incredibly sad, but definitely a must see place in Cambodia.
Formally a high school for young minds to learn and grow, it was turned into a prison/torture camp during the mid 1970's of the Khmer Rouge regime. An estimated 17,000 people were imprisoned here, and it is thought that only 12 survived.
Immediately we were impacted by the tragic displays of torture. Each imprisoned person there was photographed, and many of them are on display, along with images of their dying or already dead bodies. Walking past all the devices of torture, it's inconceivable that one of the rules for the imprisoned people stated, "While getting lashes or electrification you must not cry at all".
There was a documentary as well that we started to watch, but it was kind of hard to follow, and we needed to get ready for our tuk tuk driver to pick us up, so we made our way out of the museum. Forever changed.
Our
Graves
When the Khmer Rouge fell, some bodies where still left here. They were given proper burials. driver was ready for us as soon as we got out, so we quickly changed for the day as it was hot and muggy. Our first stop was the killing fields. Another sad, but important visit.
Most of the imprisoned Cambodians where blindfolded, thrown in trucks, and taken a few miles away to a field where they were beaten, killed, and thrown in ditches. Some of them were buried alive, while others were bludgeoned to death with blunt objects since shooting them would cost too much money in the amount of bullets used. There were even trees specifically for killing babies and the young by swinging their bodies against the trunks. Now, there is a reliquary of remembrance that is filled from the bottom to top with many of the skulls found in the ditches.
It was a sad way to start our day, but these atrocities need to be known, they need to be remembered, so that they will NEVER happen again.
On a much lighter note, it was getting about time for lunch, so our driver took us to a place on the river, where we enjoyed some feta cheese and spinach egg rolls, lemon
Torture Room
People were strapped to beds and tortured. chicken (for me), and a veggie curry (for Staci).
Right after lunch, we got dropped off at the Royal Palace, which was very beautiful, but not really our type of thing to spend hours at. We were in and out within 45 min.
Our last stop for the day was the Russian Market, the place to go for cheap shopping of clothes and souvenirs. We ended up buying several items. We also sat down in the middle of the market to enjoy wonderful iced coffees. The place is like a maze, and it would be incredibly easy to get lost there. Fortunately, we found our way back out to where our driver was waiting for us.
Our driver took as back to our guesthouse, and was so happy we hired him for the day. It's a rough job being a tuk tuk driver here, as there are so many of them competing to take people places. He had a gentle smile, and was incredibly friendly. His name is Mr. Pheach, and if you're ever in the area, we'll be happy to give you his contact information.
The rest of the evening, we were fairly drained, and
Rules
There were 10 rules for the imprisoned. This is rule 6 wanted to relax, so we tried to see a movie, The Lovely Bones (showing a few blocks from our guesthouse), but it was sold out. Bummer!
So instead, we went back, showered, and had a slow finish to the day eating more delicious food at our guesthouse.
A few side notes from today...
-We got our Visas for Vietnam!
-We bought bus tickets for tomorrow to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam!
-We leave early as it's a 6 hour trip.
-We have booked our hotel relatively close to the airport and close by to things we want to do.
-Some of our friends from the teaching English program we are in will also be in the same city at the same time, so hopefully we can meet up and share stories over assumingly great food.
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Grandma Betty
non-member comment
Sadness
What a gut-wrenching experience to view the torture chambers, killing fields, and the place where skulls were deposited. I look at the pictures of the Cambodians and wonder just why they were tortured and killed. They look so young. What could they have done to deserve such treatment? Grandma