I was expecting to wake up to the sound of my alarm but instead i had the privilege of waking up to the sound of karaoke duet from a nearby marriage ceremony. I just lied there listening for the next ten minutes until it was my turn to wash up. I then briefly packed my bags as we would be rushing to catch the bus for Siem Reap once we are back from the Killing Fields.

We then went to the girl’s lair just to find out they haven’t got ready. Wasn’t a big surprise though, lolololol.

We all then rushed down to catch the van to the Toul Sleng museum but stumbled upon the wedding that i mentioned earlier. We came down in time for the bridegroom and his ‘rombongan’ to bring gifts for the bride. I think the folks were suprised to see so many photographers as they walked to the bride’s place. LOL.

We all then jumped into the van and off we went.

Today was all about history which made Cambodia what it is today. Many have asked why Phnom Penh first ? Visiting the Toul Sleng museum and the Killing Fields at the end of your trip wouldn’t be ideal. I rather be enjoying myself towards the end and not being disturbed by how one million plus Cambodian were brutally murdered during the Pol Pot regime. I was glad to have known my mum’s friend’s brother who has been residing in Cambodia for the past 15 years and he told me which places are a must go and we managed to cover those places in a short span of time

Besides that, feedbacks from a few more friends who traveled a few weeks before me, also mentioned which places aren’t worth the time.

Toul Sleng museum which was about 10-15mins from the place we stayed was a former school before being turned into one of the worst torture/detention/interrogation centre that i have heard of. We had an english speaking guide who explained every single detail of this place. Though it was hard to capture with her heavy Cambodian slang but after a while, i could roughly understand.

This place was actually used to get information from anyone who was against the ruling of Pol Pot. Previous politicians too were all detained in this centre, together with their family.

These were the few detention rooms which had the higher ranking officers of the previous government detained. In each room there was a bed, mattress and iron bucket for the detainees waste.

The first room had a picture of a tortured detainee on the bed and the guide explained how they were tortured until the information was retrieved. The cold breeze blowing from the nearby windows did sent chills down my spine. When she asked us to look up at the ceiling, there were still traces of blood. which splattered from one end to the other.

Others were tortured in other manners like hanging them upside down from the wooden pole with their hands tied to the back. These wooden poles were used by students to exercise when it was still a school back then. If the detainee doesn’t cooperate their heads are then dipped into the huge jar which is filled with human excrement.

In the next block, smaller holding places were built out of bricks. Family members are kept in these cells shackled to the floor. They aren’t allowed to speak unless they were allowed to and seeing how dark the place can be even in the noon, one could wonder how dark it gets when night falls. And all of them just waiting for their turn to be executed.

Some of the detainees who couldn’t stand being tortured did jump off from higher floors to end their miseries and this made the people of Pol Pot placing barbed wires all around the building to prevent anyone from jumping off. They even hooked it to an electric cable which would electrocute anyone who touches it.

In the last section of the museum, mugshots of all detainees were displayed. At one point it became disturbing because it was a sea of people staring at you. The way the photo was taken for some of the detainees were really inhuman. Instead of having their identification card pinned to their shirt, it was pinned to their neck.

We were then asked if we would like to go to the first floor of the building but had to politely decline as we had a super tight schedule to follow.

At this point i was already rubbing my arms for heat cause it was considerably cold in Phnom Penh. So i asked the guide if this was normal and she said yes it was. Since we will be in Siem Reap later that night which is way up north, i asked her what about Siem Reap, is it this cold ?

She replied, “Oh it’s like Paris …”

Great and i don’t have any long pants …

Next was the Killing Fields. This was where thousands were brought to be executed. This particular building was built in the remembrance of those who perished in the Killing Fields. In the middle of the building lies see through shelves which contained the skulls and bones of the victims.

We followed the path on ourselves around the Killing fields. Along the way there were explanation on what happened at that particular place when it was still the Killing Fields.

The huge holes you see all over the place are actually where the people were gathered into before being shot. And there were so many of this bunkers.

Babies and small children were brought to this particular tree. They were then swung or slammed on to the tree.

… to be continued