the tuol sleng genocide museum

It was the morning of Christmas Eve. The air was warm but still pleasant. At the back of a speeding tuk-tuk, the gust of cool breeze was more refreshing. Our driver was quiet most of the time and only broke his silence when he shared about his fascination with Filipino actors and the soap operas they are in. He is a fan of Marian Rivera and Ding Dong Dantes. And even Coco Martin. The entertaining conversation was a distraction to what we were about to experience.

The tuk-tuk came to a halt. We stepped down and walked towards a small building where we bought our tickets. Welcome to Tuol Sleng, more commonly known as S21. Once a public high school, the place was turned into a security prison during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Today, S21 has been transformed into a museum letting everyone know about the horrific past of Cambodia.

From 1975 to 1979, Cambodia was ruled by the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist movement. They wanted to transform Cambodia into a rural, classless society. They abolished money, free markets, normal schooling, private property, foreign clothing styles, religious practices and traditional Khmer culture. They arrested and killed soldiers, officers and civil servants of the previous Khmer Republic. Educated people and those accused of being a traitor were imprisoned and executed. By the end of their rule, more than a million people has died under the regime.

Displayed near the entrance of the museum was the list of rules imposed upon every prisoner. It seemed like the 10 Commandments, only it wasn't bestowed by a loving god but inflicted by ruthless god-playing fiends. Basically, it says that the prisoner must follow everything he is told to do without hesitation. Going against the rules warrants punishment of either lashing with electric wires or electrocution. And while being punished, a prisoner is not allowed to cry. Prisoners were denied of being human.

We were brought into a room. With all the stains, it was difficult to make out the color the walls were originally painted with. There was nothing in the room except for a rusty metal bed frame with a sign saying “Do not touch!” A shackle lies on the bed. On the left wall hangs a black-and-white picture of that same room. But at that time when the photograph was taken, the bed wasn't empty. A dead body was lying on the bed, the shackle binding her arm, and a large pool of blood was flooding beneath. She was one of the 14 corpses discovered in S21 by the Liberation Army.

Our guide led us to the next three-storey building, whose corridors are fenced with barbed wires. Desperate prisoners who would rather die than prolong their suffering jumped from the building. But the Khmer Rouge didn’t like it. The lives of their prisoners must lie on their hands. They must have complete control over the prisoners. So the wires were put in place. Even the prisoners’ right to death were denied from them.

Inside, the rooms are filled with photographs. There are rooms dedicated to the powers behind the genocide. Hundreds of photos of soldiers were also on display. Same goes with the prisoners. Our guide’s English was heavily accented so I had to ask him to make it clear if the photos of the young boys and girls were prisoners or soldiers. It was hard to believe when he said they were soldiers. Some of them looked like they were just half my age. It was more difficult to imagine how they have felt when they had to inflict pain to or kill their fellows. Did they ever feel remorse? Or had they stopped feeling? But soldier or prisoner they may be, all of them seemed to have this chilling look in their eyes.

The next hall where we were led contained more photos. There were also crude paintings of how prisoners were tortured, and the actual instruments used to perform the act were displayed. Hearing the stories of what happened to all those people could stir a lot of emotions. But seeing the photos of the people who perished in that prison gave a heavier, darker feeling. The woman beside me couldn't help her tears from falling. Because there could be no denying that it happened. They were real people. And with each photo, they seemed to be asking why they had to go through that misery.

I wandered on my own around the upper floors of the buildings. At the second floor were rooms with wooden cells for each prisoner while the third floor rooms were used for mass detention.. I imagine looking at the small opening of a cell door and seeing a prisoner lying on the cold bare floor, his body curled to a fetal position, his clothes in tatters, terrified, in pain and wishing for death to come fast.

The rooms were particularly dim, with only a limited amount of light entering the openings which were left uncovered. It seemed like the dimness was trying to obscure the traces of what happened in the past. But it only brought out the darkness the once perpetuated in these rooms. The silence echoed the reverberating sound of agony and the stillness belied the cruelty that reigned the place.

Out of the thousands of people who were detained in S21, only a handful survived. They escaped execution because of their skills which Khmer Rouge soldiers thought were useful to them. Two of the survivors were there during our visit. If it's difficult to imagine the sufferings people endured, I think it is harder to fathom where they got the strength to continue living despite losing every person who were important to them.

the secrets of angkor

Nope. It's not about any anthropological or historical secret that still baffles Angkor scholars. It isn't about nooks unknown to most tourists. It's not even a secret. These are just simple stuff that are good-to-know before and good-to-share after visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park.

Dress code There isn't a strict dress code. It's not as if one would not be allowed to enter the park if he or she is not wearing the proper clothes. But almost everyone we saw were wearing pants and sleeved shirts.

What are prohibited? Self-explanatory.

There were only a few parts of the temples where one must be properly dressed. That is, at least the shoulders and knees must be covered. Of all the temples we visited, only Baphoun and Angkor Wat requires some modesty. Good thing we decided to wear pants before leaving the hostel because I swear I would have really hated my self if I were not able to climb the stepped pyramid of Baphuon Temple. (I saw one girl wearing a skirt who was not allowed to go up.) Even though the climb to the top was exhausting due to the very steep steps, the view was one of the best that I've seen in the park.

The thing about wearing the right clothing isn't exactly about being obedient. It's about respect. After all, the Khmer dress modestly. I didn't see anyone wearing revealing clothing while we were in Cambodia. And besides, the temples are sacred sites of the Hindu. You wouldn't want to offend their gods, would you?

One of my favorite views.

Mode of transportation The tuktuk rules. It's like there were a thousand of these staple vehicles in a single day going around the park. You're lucky if you get a good driver. If not, well, you're in the Angkor Wat. It's a good day.

We visited the park twice. The first time, we got a really good jolly driver who acted as some sort of guide. He spoke good English and gave us some background about the temples. He even included free drinks in his service. The tuktuk rent for 8 hours was 15 dollars. We wanted to be there from sunrise to sunset. It was for more than 13 hours and he charged us 23 dollars. I think we got the better end of the deal.

At the back of the tuktuk

The next day, our driver didn't talk to us. He only asked if we had already paid the rent. (Which we did beforehand at the hostel.)

When to visit the park I was really thankful that we decided to do our Vietnam-Cambodia trip in December. When I was still planning, I realized that it was the only time when my friends would be free for several days as it was the holidays. And so when we got there, we were surprised that the weather wasn't what we expect from a tropical country. Early mornings and evenings were cool. During the day, it was always pleasantly warm. With all the temples that we climbed (six to be exact), we would have been really exhausted if it was the high summer then.

We were glad that we had our jackets and pants on when we left for the park (See dress code) as it was really cold at 5am riding a speedy tuktuk.

Itinerary What itinerary? Leave it to the tuktuk driver.

Well, we were really lucky with our driver as he was the one who decided where to take us. I didn't plan ahead because that's how I am I think if I am traveling with friends. We watched the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We covered the whole of Angkor Thom. We then proceeded to Preah Khan and Pre Roup before having our really late lunch. We then visited Ta Prohm, the 'Tomb Raider Temple' but it was under reconstruction and we weren't able to see the most famous tree. We were supposed to see the sunset at Phnom Bakheng but we ran out of time because we haven't gone inside Angkor Wat yet. We were busy munching breakfast when our driver thought we were going around the temple.

We were really satisfied.

Eating Food inside the park was relatively expensive. But at the kiosks near the temples, the price isn't fixed. We didn't want to pay 1.5 dollars for a can of coke so the vendor said she would give it to us for a dollar. We didn't ask. During breakfast, the lady didn't want to let go of us and sold us the breakfast set for 2.5 dollars each instead of 3.5. Again, we didn't ask.

Chasing the sun We were up really early that day. We left our hostel at around 5am and when we got to the park, there were already hundreds of visitors waiting to see the sun slowly rising behind Angkor Wat. The best place to take photos were already occupied so we had to make do with the space left. But a few shots later, I realized that I would never be able to capture that magical moment even if I was at the perfect spot or I had the most expensive lens. So I hid my camera and just watched nature.

Worth the wait.

We also wanted to witness sunset at Phnom Bakheng since it is where guidebooks tell you to go. But since we haven't explored Angkor Wat yet, we chose the latter.

So we went for another visit to the park. This time, we were there early. We didn't go up the moment we got there since there was a rule that only 300 persons are allowed at the temple at a time. A lot of guards were regulating the entrance so we assumed that one can only be at the top for a limited amount of time to allow other people to visit. We were wrong. When the line grew to a couple of hundreds of visitors, they allowed everyone to enter. There were surely more than 300! Rules are meant to be broken then.

I didn't mind paying another 20usd for this. Priceless experience.

Bonus: Filipino-speaking Khmer There were a lot of them. Really. And the thing is, they knew we were Filipino the moment they laid their eyes upon us. One said that it was because of the way we talk. I'm not sure though. Some already knew even before we opened our mouths to speak.

We had a chance to chat with one of the ticket inspectors at the park. He said that they knew Filipino words because their English teachers are Filipinos. We're everywhere!