Day 684 - A depressing lesson

Today the 5-strong team headed off to the Tuol Sleng Museum - also known as the S-21 Prison, where thousands of people were detained, tortured, interrogated, and killed during the genocidal Pol Pot regime of 1975-1979. It was made even more due to the fact that the prison is a converted primary and high school, nestled within a community. While the 2 hours we spent here was extremely depressing, it was an eye-opener and something all visitors should see as it explains a lot about Cambodia's recent history.The museum is divided into several parts: the interrogation/torture rooms; the cells (barely big enough for one person; and the mass holding cells. Throughout the torture rooms were graphic black and white reminders of the atrocities committed in the rooms. These reminders were photographs taken of the last 14 prisoners here who were killed on the spot when Phenom Pehn was taken by the Vietnamese Army in 1979 (which ended the Pol Pot era). Throughout the museum were photos of all the prisoners (including kids, and mothers with babies), taken when they arrived at the prison - giving us the unique opportunity to look into the eyes of people who are lost but not forgotten.We learned a lot about the terrors of the Pol Pot years, but it was so incredibly evil that it's difficult to comprehend the reality that the Cambodian people suffered during his reign.

We had planned to go from the prison to the Killing Fields, but the dark clouds threatened in the distance, so instead we spent the afternoon eating delicious Chinese noodles, going grocery shopping, and chilling out on the balcony at our guesthouse.

Adlibing a Prison.