The Killing Fields and Final Thoughts on Cambodia

I have already typed this once but the computer I was on crashed. So this version might be a bit truncated.

I caught an early bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (Cambodia's capital). Until a few years ago this trip could take 10-12 hours because of the road conditions, but now the road has been improved and the time cut to 6 hours. I yet again met some fellow independent travelers from Spain, Germany, Canada, and Costa Rica on the bus. We easily passed the time by swapping travel stories and reminiscing about great trips planning for future trips. There seems to be an easy bond that is made with other backpackers from around the world because of similar desires to see the world and have many unique experiences. Since we all had similar schedules, we decided to travel together to see the sights of Phnom Penh - the palace and silver pagoda, S-21 (one of the main detention and interrogation centers for the Khmer Rouge) and the killing fields (a place just outside of town where over 30,000 remains have been found in 86/127 mass graves unearthed. It seems like alot of my travels for this trip have been to sights that illustrate the ravages and atrocities of war. Not exactly like you relaxing forget everything for a while trip, but really one that makes you think and taught me a lot about recent history and international policies.

We arrived in the early afternoon and after settling down at a guesthouse on a lake near the center of the city, I spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in a hammock. It was a nice change of pace from the rapid traveling that I had been doing.

As a primer to S-21 and the killing fields I bought First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung ($2 from a vendor on the street for a photocopied book). This book tells of a 5 yo girls experience of the terrors of the Pol Pot regime and the Khmer Rouge and the struggles her family made for survival. Over 2.5 million Cambodians were killed during the 4 years the Khmer Rouge was in power (1/4 of the Cambodian population). This in one of the biggest genocides the world has ever seen - all committed by other Cambodians. It was strange to imagine that just as I was born there were millions of Cambodians starving and living in fear for their lives. The book does a great job giving background information about the events that lead to the civil war and then the fall of the Khmer Rouge. It is a definite must read before visiting these sights, but not exactly your lighthearted vacation book.

After waking up early and renting a tuk tuk (a cross between a motorcycle and a truck - google pics online) for the day our first stop was the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. The royal palace is the current residence of King Sihamoni and contains many temples and pagodas. The most famous of which is the Silver Pagoda -the floor is lain with over 5 tons of silver in over 5000 tiles. Additionally, this pagoda contains a baccarat crystal Buddha, a large emerald Buddha, and a 90 kg solid gold Buddha that is adorned with over 2086 diamonds the largest of which is 25 carats. This was quite amazing and some of the most beautiful buddhas I have ever seen.

Next we headed for the National Museum, which contains many of the salvaged remnants of statues in the Angkor Wat area. Many of the intricate sculptures of the Angkor temples were sent here for safekeeping and preservation. Many people break heads off of the statues in remote temples so they might sell them, this still happens today but has been curtailed by greater tourist presence and better staffing of the temples. Also during various periods in Cambodian history religious philosophies have changed and people would destroy conflicting reliefs and sculptures in the temples. It was great to see many of the sculptures up close and with so much detail. I think this museum meant a lot more to me after visiting Angkor since I had visited the temples they were from.

After a short lunch it was time for the depressing part of they day. We first headed to S-21 or Tuol Sieng Museum.

Our tuk tuk driver and other Cambodians working at S-21 and the killing fields were very matter of fact about what happened and very open about their dark history, even though almost everyone lost someone during the Khmer conflict. They are very interested in sharing the history of what happened here to ensure that it would not be repeated (or at least will be noticed) in other countries around the world.

The Khmer Rouge took photos and biographical confessions from everyone who entered S-21, with many of the people being tortured into giving false confessions and naming others. S-21 was opened in 1980 for visitors - just one year after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. It is said that the stench of death for the first few years made it difficult to stay long at the museum. The museum consists of photographs and biographies of many of the people inprisioned for the 4 year stint of the Khmer Rouge. Yet again the atrocities of war are horrific. Cambodia is still recovering from the aftermath of the genocide.

Cambodia is the most heavily mined countries in the world - a combination of the Vietnam War and then the Khmer Rouge. It is estimated that if international organizations continue at their current rate of demining, the project will take over 100 years. Wandering off the beaten path in not recommended. There are still daily landmine victims and many many individuals with missing limbs or burn scars.

Next we went to the killing fields where many of the prisioners held in S-21 were sent to be killed. The central part of this area is a tall pagoda like structure that is filled with the various skulls that have been found during excavation. They are catgorized by age with the youngest be about 5 yo. It was a strange place to vist. The fields were very lush and green and spotted with holes of the mass graves that have been excavated. Only about 83 of the 126 mass graves have been examined.

After such a difficult day it helped to relax with my new friends from across the world. I think the gravity of what happened in Cambodia has yet to hit me.

The next day I caught a bus back to Siem Reap and made an uneventful trip to join with the public health students in Bangkok.