We decided to cross the boarder from Laos to Cambodia by bus which means you essentially cross on foot. Since we were starting from the 4000 Islands in Laos, we took a boat to the mainland which, with its 10 passengers and 10 backpacks/bags, felt like we would most likely sink before we got there. When we reached the mainland a bus was waiting for us and we got seats right in the front with extra leg room. We knew it was an 11 hour bus trip and I somehow imagined that we were taking this bus straight across the boarder into cambodia for the whole 11 hours. That was a mistake. After my horrible bus rides in Laos I decided to take a sleeping pill. That was also a mistake. We reached the boarder much sooner than I had expected and before I could fall asleep but just as the pill was making me feel loopy. We had to then get off the bus and carry our heavy backpacks to multiple checkpoints where we had to get our passports checked, stamped, purchase our visas and had our temperatures checked. THe way they check your temperature is by putting what looks like a vibrator with a light on it against your forehead. It took us all by surprise. We had read that sometimes boarder patrol will try to get a dollar or so out of you but that it is illegal and that techinically you dont have to pay. At each station they would ask for a 1 dollar fee for passport stamps, etc. Some people protested and those people were told that they could sit down and wait but unless they paid they probably would not be allowed to cross the boarder, so we decided that the extra 4 dollars was worth it for our trip to progress. We were some of the first people to cross and then had to wait in the sun for about an hour for everyone to get across and then board a different bus. Cambodia uses US dollars and we quickly realized that everything you can buy in cambodia is at least 1 USD. Once we were back on the bus the ride was fairly simple and we arrived in Phnom Pehn around 10 pm. Katie and Laura were already there and had booked us rooms at their hotel so we settled in for an early night and went to bed.
The next day we went to the Killing Fields and S 21. And we were told to visit them in that order. When we arrived at the killing fields we got a guide who knew absolutely nothing about why they were there, or any information about the Khmer Rouge, only that his father and mother were killed there. He took us around and pointed out signs we should read and told us to take pictures of it all. With or without a guide, each point of focus was labled with a number and a path led you around. The experience in itself was sobering and at times horrifying, taking us back to the reactions we had when going to the Vietnam War Museum. Some of the "main attractions" at the killing fields were the Tower of Skulls, which held almost all of the skulls found in the graves (mostly from graves that were comprised only of human heads), The Killing Tree, on which babies were flung against until they were dead, the Loud Speaker, which played music to drown out the sound of the screams so passers by wouldn't know what was going on, The Graves, which at this point were just semi-large holes in the ground with a plaque next to it explainign how many people had been buried there. Next to these graves were the occassional bone that our guide would pick up and show us and say "arm bone" or "leg bone". There was also a museum room, which gave brief over views of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, as well as some of the weapons that were used. Because they didn't have access to guns, or other military weapons, they used every day items to kill people as well as found items, i.e. a palm tree leaf to saw a man's head off (which happens to be very sharp) hence the necessity of the killing tree. There was also a 15 minute movie clip, which really explained nothing and, like our guide, went over the different areas of the killing field. We left depressed, but confused as none of us really understood the reason for the overtake of the Khmer Rouge and the necessity of killing all of these people.
Some of our questions were answered at S-21. S-21 was a school taken over by the Khmer Rouge and used as an interrogation prison for Cambodian people before they were shipped off to the killing fields. It was broken down into 4 buildings, which had each served different purposes. Some of the rooms were large, with a very small bed in the center with shackles hanging off of it. In each room there was a picture of a decaying man that had once laid on that bed to be tortured. Other buildings were broken up into many many small cells with barely any light and a small box to go to the bathroom in. Other horrifying items were the places where children used to play which were turned into torture devices where they would hang people and whip them in order to obtain information. Some floors of buildings were laid out with information about the Khmer Rouge which was very helpful in understanding why everything was going on. It was true that every one of the people who was being killed was innocent and it turns out there was no real concrete reason for killing any of them aside from the will to overturn an empire. It was purely the powerful against the weak and helpless, so it made a little more sense that our guide did not comprehend the ordeal. Again, just as seeing the kids who are still suffering from effects of agent orange, or hearing people's stories who had been through the Holocaust, most of the people who had grown up in Phnom Penh were just children who escaped the Khmer Rouge.
The next day we went to the Killing Fields and S 21. And we were told to visit them in that order. When we arrived at the killing fields we got a guide who knew absolutely nothing about why they were there, or any information about the Khmer Rouge, only that his father and mother were killed there. He took us around and pointed out signs we should read and told us to take pictures of it all. With or without a guide, each point of focus was labled with a number and a path led you around. The experience in itself was sobering and at times horrifying, taking us back to the reactions we had when going to the Vietnam War Museum. Some of the "main attractions" at the killing fields were the Tower of Skulls, which held almost all of the skulls found in the graves (mostly from graves that were comprised only of human heads), The Killing Tree, on which babies were flung against until they were dead, the Loud Speaker, which played music to drown out the sound of the screams so passers by wouldn't know what was going on, The Graves, which at this point were just semi-large holes in the ground with a plaque next to it explainign how many people had been buried there. Next to these graves were the occassional bone that our guide would pick up and show us and say "arm bone" or "leg bone". There was also a museum room, which gave brief over views of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, as well as some of the weapons that were used. Because they didn't have access to guns, or other military weapons, they used every day items to kill people as well as found items, i.e. a palm tree leaf to saw a man's head off (which happens to be very sharp) hence the necessity of the killing tree. There was also a 15 minute movie clip, which really explained nothing and, like our guide, went over the different areas of the killing field. We left depressed, but confused as none of us really understood the reason for the overtake of the Khmer Rouge and the necessity of killing all of these people.
Some of our questions were answered at S-21. S-21 was a school taken over by the Khmer Rouge and used as an interrogation prison for Cambodian people before they were shipped off to the killing fields. It was broken down into 4 buildings, which had each served different purposes. Some of the rooms were large, with a very small bed in the center with shackles hanging off of it. In each room there was a picture of a decaying man that had once laid on that bed to be tortured. Other buildings were broken up into many many small cells with barely any light and a small box to go to the bathroom in. Other horrifying items were the places where children used to play which were turned into torture devices where they would hang people and whip them in order to obtain information. Some floors of buildings were laid out with information about the Khmer Rouge which was very helpful in understanding why everything was going on. It was true that every one of the people who was being killed was innocent and it turns out there was no real concrete reason for killing any of them aside from the will to overturn an empire. It was purely the powerful against the weak and helpless, so it made a little more sense that our guide did not comprehend the ordeal. Again, just as seeing the kids who are still suffering from effects of agent orange, or hearing people's stories who had been through the Holocaust, most of the people who had grown up in Phnom Penh were just children who escaped the Khmer Rouge.
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