Cambodia Part 1 - Phnom Penh: Kiling Fields - S-21 - english version

From Indonesia we went by plane, with a stopover in Singapore, to Cambodia, our next country on the list! :)

Arrived at the airport, we took a taxi to the hotel. We already knew what was gonna happen, of course the taxi driver had "no change", so we had to pay 14 instead of 13 USD! Yes, you read that right, we paid with U.S. dollars. Around Cambodia everything is paid in Dollars. Everything less than one dollar is paid in Riel – confusing enough? But it is 4000 Riel to the Dollar, which means 10 cents is 400 Riel, so you really had to watch your change.

Two things why you should come to Phnom Penh are the S-21 Museum and the Killing Fields. They are both about the mass murder in the 70's in Cambodia. Pol Pot had killed three million people within four years. All academics, educated people, even someone who wore glasses - just everybody who was in Pol Pot´s way.

S-21

rules in the prion

First we went to the S-21 museum. There we took a guide. She told us about how the Khmer Rouge had made a prison out of the former high school. There they brought all the victims and tortured them until they told names of their family or other educated people, who might have been a threat to the new system. When the time of the victim was over and they survived it, they were afterwards brought to one of the over 300 Killing Fields. Our guide even has lost a great part of her family. She was 13 years old and can still remember everything exactly.

the prison

Killing Fields
With a tuk tuk we went the next day to one of the largest killing fields. We had already heard from many travellers that it will get under your skin, so we were excited to see what we could expect there. We got a German-language audio guide and everything was explained very well. It also comprised stories of some survivors. When we were there we had the feeling of seeing a beautiful green lawn. All around were wooden huts surrounded by fence. It all looked very peaceful, but that was different in the 70's. On the largest green field, a mass grave was found where about 450 people were killed. Or the baby tree, which is named so because the babies were beaten against that tree and afterwards thrown on the top of the other dead bodies. If you looked closely, where you walked, you could see bones and clothes - terrible! You can still find bones, skulls, teeth, and clothing emerging from the ground after heavy rain falls. This day was very depressing for us, but we are glad to have done this tour. The terrifying end of the tour was that our audio guide said that something like that could happen again, we hope it doesn´t!

The Killing Fields

Monument

bone on the pathway

In the evening we went to the cinema and watched the movie “The Killing Fields”. The film is based on a true story and shows well what happened during this time. The cinema was actually very comfortable. There were large pillows on the floor and you could order food and eat it in front of the screen! :)

More attractions in Phnom Penh:

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom

Wat Phnom

The Independence Monument.

The Indepence Monument

Actually, the wet season should already have started. But, fortunately there was no rain yet. The only thing that gives an idea of ​​it, was the heat (felt about 40 degrees) and the high humidity!