Unbelievable Tragedy
On my second day in Phnom Penh, the same tuktuk driver came to fetch me for our morning's destination which was the Killing Fields. I had no idea of what to expect there and I was so affected by what I saw. They had this memorial where thousands of skulls were on display. Until now, if I think about it, I get depressed. It was so eerie ... No one would ever understand why this tragedy happened. Millions of Cambodians were killed by the evil regime of Pol Pot. As I went through the complex, there were various areas where different forms of torture occured.
I kept looking at the skulls - there were thousands of them. I felt numbed in disbelief of the horror that those poor victims went through when they were tortured until death.
I silently left the place and asked the tuktuk driver (and also guide) to bring me to other tourist places. He volunteered that I should go to a "museum" - Tuol Sleng Museum. I thought it was any other museum ... To my horror, it was the prison and torture complex during the Pol Pot regime. A high school building complex turned into a prison area. You will see in the place the pictures of people who were mercilessly murdered and tortured. Among all the pictures that I have seen, one picture stood out - the picture of a mother with a child. You can see a blank expression of her .
After seeing the tragic picture, I wanted to leave but then I decided that I should check all the area. So, I went up the various floors and I suddenly noticed that I was alone. No other tourists were in the area. This made me scared and felt cold air passing by me! I ran back downstairs!
I was exhausted, sad, depressed by what I witnessed. I did not proceed to the market as I originally planned, instead, I immediately collected my things and headed to the bus station and rode a bus to Battambang. I did not notice the long bus ride that afternoon as I kept on thinking of the tragedy that befallen this lovely and friendly country of Cambodia.
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