One day in Phnom Penh: the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and the S-21 Prison

What to see in Phnom Penh is just one day? If you are traveling on short notice and can only stay one day in Phnom Penh, there are two places you can’t miss: the Choeung Ek Killing Fields and the S-21 Prison.

Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia and the most populous city in the country, with a metropolitan area of 2.2 million inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of 3 rivers: Mekong, Sap and Bassac and is characterized by a still very recent history full of barbarities and horrors committed by the Khmer Rouge.

After our scare in Indonesia due to the Lombok Earthquake, we decided to travel to Cambodia to take advantage of the days we still had left of our vacation. As a good Asian capital, there are plenty of street markets, beautiful temples, and a bit of chaos, but all of that is overshadowed by these two historical sites.

Moreover, if you have already been traveling around Asia, you will quickly realize that this is one of the less attractive capitals to visit. That is why it is advisable to take advantage of this trip to immerse yourself in the culture and review the history of this country. Below, I recount my experience visiting the chilling Killing Fields and the horrific S-21 Prison.

The Killing Fields and the S-21 Prison, two historic sites that will leave you frozen.

1. The Khmer Rouge Killing Fields (Killing Fields)

The Killing Fields, or Extermination Fields, were used by the Khmer Rouge to murder and bury thousands of people during their regime (1975 to 1979). Throughout Cambodia, around 300 Killing Fields have been discovered, within which, to date, approximately 20,000 mass graves have been found, housing about 1.5 million victims.

The Khmer Rouge prioritized the executions of doctors, teachers, engineers, athletes, bilingual individuals, and anyone who seemed to belong to the bourgeoisie, such as, for example, those who wore glasses.

During the 4 years of the regime, amid executions, disease, and famine, estimates account for between 1.7 and 2.5 million deaths. Considering the Cambodian population at that time, they murdered 1 in every 4 people.

The Killing Field of Choeung Ek: The Impressive Commemorative Buddhist Stupa

The most well-known and largest Killing Field in Cambodia is located in the village of Choeung Ek, just 17 km from Phnom Penh. Today, the entire site of the Killing Field of Choeung Ek has been transformed into a memorial monument to honor all the victims of the Khmer genocide.

The entrance fee is 6 euros and includes an audio guide. The audio guide is essential for immersing yourself in this silent hell, attentively listening to the explanations of each place and the accounts of survivors.

In the audio guide, among many other details, we learn that, to conserve ammunition, poisons, swords, and sharpened bamboo sticks were used during executions. It is also reported that up to 300 people were killed in a single day, and to drown out the screams from outside, loudspeakers were turned up to full volume playing revolutionary music.

Upon entering the site, there is a massive concrete Buddhist stupa with large glass windows. As you approach it, it is inevitable to be left petrified. Inside, there are no less than 5,000 skulls that can be seen from outside, classified by age and sex, reaching up to the top of the stupa

The Chilling Graves of the Killing Field

Further ahead, there are already excavated graves that have been classified by the remains found inside. To date, 8,895 victims have been found in this Killing Field alone. During the tour, you come across graves that have already been excavated, cleaned, and classified, as well as many others that are still pending.

There are three specific graves that particularly impressed me (and surely anyone who has visited this field): one mass grave where 450 victims were found, another grave where there were headless bodies, and the worst one, where more than 100 bodies of mostly naked women and children were discovered.

Right next to this grave is the most terrifying part of this Killing Field, the Tree of Death, a large tree that the executioners used to smash babies against before throwing them into the graves. Both on the trunk of the tree and on the posts marking the graves, you can see hundreds of bracelets that have been left there in memory of the deceased

2. S-21 Prison (Tuol Sleng)

One day in Phnom Penh: A Brief History of S-21 Prison

What was once an old school in the capital of Cambodia became, during the regime, more than a high-security prison; it turned into a torture camp. It was called S-21 Prison, although it was also known as Tuol Sleng (Hill of the Poisonous Trees).

Today, it is a museum that bears witness to the horrors committed by the Pol Pot regime and remembers the terror experienced in the country. The museum preserves many of the spaces as they were found when the Vietnamese army overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime.

Thanks to the files left behind when they abandoned the prison, it is known that at least 14,000 people passed through it. The prison was discovered due to the smell of death that permeated the area, and apart from hundreds of victims, the Vietnamese army found only 12 survivors, including 5 children.

The Rules of S-21 Prison

The complex consists of two main buildings on either side and a large courtyard in the center. In that central courtyard, 14 tombstones have been erected in honor of the last 14 victims found murdered, apparently in a hurry, before the fall of the regime and the immediate flight.

In front of one of the buildings, there is a sign displaying the rules that the prisoners were required to follow. These were

1. You must answer my questions. Do not twist them.
2. Do not try to hide the facts with excuses. You are strictly prohibited from contradicting me.
3. Do not act foolishly; you are the one who has opposed the revolution.
4. You must immediately answer my questions without wasting my time.
5. Do not speak to me about your immoralities or the essence of the revolution.
6. During the beatings or electrocution, crying is forbidden.
7. Do not do anything; sit still and wait for my orders. If there are no orders, remain silent. If I tell you to do something, you must do it immediately and without protest.
8. Do not make excuses about Kampuchea Krom to hide your secret or your betrayal.
9. If you do not follow all the above rules, you will receive many, many lashes with an electric cable.
10. If you disobey any point of my regulations, you will receive either 10 lashes or 5 electric shocks.

The Horrifying Tour of S-21 Prison

Once you’ve seen the courtyard, you enter the buildings. You quickly realize that all the spaces where children once played have been transformed into places of suffering and torture. The tour is chilling. Everything, every detail, seems to be straight out of a horror movie.

Some classrooms are completely empty, except for an electric chair placed in the center used for torture. On the walls of each classroom, photographs of the last victims who lay on those same beds are displayed.

Other classrooms, instead of being open spaces, have been converted into areas filled with small brick or wooden cubicles. There, prisoners were locked up in solitary confinement, chained and with hardly any space to move.

In the hallways, you can still see the barbed wire that was installed to prevent prisoners from committing suicide by jumping from the upper floors. To end the terrible visit, in some classrooms, dozens of photographs of the victims (of all ages and genders) taken from the prison’s archives are displayed. Lastly, there are also photographs of Khmer Rouge members, instruments used for torture, and even a partially destroyed bust of Pol Pot, the Khmer leader.

And the worst part is that 190 prisons similar to S-21 have been discovered throughout Cambodia. Therefore, although the visit is hard and sad, it is almost mandatory to spend a day in Phnom Penh to visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and S-21 Prison as part of any worthwhile itinerary for a trip to Cambodia.

Next Destination: Journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

I regret to say that if you decide to visit these two sites, you will undoubtedly not have a pleasant day. However, you will learn a lot about a very important part of this country’s history, which will help you understand it a little better, respect it, and not just scratch the surface, as many tourists often do.

In our case, we left the Cambodian capital with a sense of sorrow but satisfied with what we learned in just one day in Phnom Penh. Our bodies were filled with excitement and curiosity to discover more about this country, its history, and its people.

Thus, we boarded a 6-hour night bus to cover the 320 km that separated us from our next destination: Siem Reap, where the famous Angkor Ruins are located. We had just soaked up the most recent history of this country; now it was time to discover the origins of Cambodian civilization.

“The world is not in danger by bad people but by those who allow evil.”.

Albert Einstein