wide-eyed wanderer: The Killing Fields

I really didn't have a clue about the Civil War and Pol Pot's regime before I came to Cambodia. We've visited a few places to learn about what happened here. Our tour guide at The War Museum near Siem Reap had been in the army that liberated Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge, and he shared his story with us, which wasn't easy listening. Whilst in Phnom Penh, we visited Choeng Ek, one of the former Killing Fields of the Pol Pot regime. This was a place where people were brought on mass to be killed.

The Killing Fields, Phnom Penh

2 million people were killed by Pol Pot's regime, and another million died from starvation. It was very hard hitting walking around a place where thousands of people had been murdered less than 30 years ago. When it rains, teeth and bones come to the surface, which the staff there collect each month.

Perhaps the most chilling scene at the Killing Fields

Travelling around Cambodia, you can't help but notice how young the general population is. Around 70% of the population is under 30, because of the genocide. The manager at our last hotel looked like a school child on work experience, trying to look grown up in his suit. It seems younger people here are having to step up and take responsibility far beyond their years.

Faces of prisoners at S-21

We visited Tuol Sleng S-21 prison in Phnom Penh, which I found very harrowing. There were rooms full of photos of people who had been tortured and killed here. Some of the rooms were left untouched, so you really got a sense for what it was like.