Cambodia - Phnom Penh and the Dark Side
It is in Phnom Penh that, as a tourist, you will see evidence of the tragedies of the Pol Pot era. Hence the skulls.
As a city, it is less pleasant than Siem Reap, which has a nice feel to it. Phnom Penh's traffic is probably amongst the most chaotic in Asia - crossing a busy street is a harrowing experience, because traffic comes at you from all directions. And there are few traffic lights to help - even where they exist, a red light is no guarantee that nothing will come for you.
However, it is in Phnom Penh that you get to see the museums, and the remnants of the Pol Pot era that have been preserved. You will need a strong psyche - even so, some part of you will be changed by the experience.
Click on the images.
 Skulls on display of Pol Pot's victims that were exhumed from the mass graves at the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields, about 15 km from Phnom Penh, is one location where Pol Pot had people executed. |
 A peaceful scene. Except when you are told that those depressions were mass graves. There are still pieces of clothing in the earth. |
 That tree may change your perception forever. Executioners held children by their legs, and swung their heads against the tree, to kill them. More than 100 bodies (women and children) were found in the grave next to it. |
 Tuol Sleng, also known as the ominous S-21, a former school where prisoners were tortured. More than 17000 passed through here, to the Killing Fields. |
 The Khmer Rouge kept records of the people they killed. These are some of them, on display at the museum. |
 One of the cell blocks. |
 One of the cells. |
 A visitor surveys one of the cells - everyone has a sombre look at Tuol Sleng. |
 A vat in which prisoners were shackled and drowned as a means of torture. |
 A crop field on the way to Tuol Sleng. |
 A section of the National Museum and some Khmer statues viewed from the inner courtyard. |
 The Mekong River, flowing through Phnom Penh. |