A Visit to Tuol Sleng

I started my Saturday run around 6am. At that hour, I had to dodge some cars, tuk-tuks, and motos to get across a major city street over to the riverside trail, but it was do-able. I passed people sweeping sidewalks and streets, vendors setting up for the day, outdoor exercise classes, and others running, walking, and biking. 

Closer to 7am, I had a much tougher time crossing the street on my way back to the hotel. I waited until I saw a guy on a bike (how do people bike here?!) crossing from the other side, and then I went, too. I still got honked at.

I joined Tim and Wyatt at breakfast. I know you're wondering...yes, the coffee is amazing here! We let Taylor sleep; she still wasn't feeling well, unfortunately. 

At 8am, my good friend Liz's former housekeeper, Saven, met us at our hotel. Saven lives in Phnom Penh and Liz had connected us. We sat and chatted with Saven for a while, learned a bit about her life, took some photos together, and said our goodbyes. 

At 9am, Kasol, the tuk-tuk driver Tim and Wyatt had met the day before, arrived to take us to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. But because Taylor wasn't feeling well and moving slowly, Tim and Wyatt jumped in the tuk-tuk for a ride around Phnom Penh. I stayed with Taylor while she (kind of, not really) ate breakfast and got ready. 

Taylor felt she could handle a visit to the museum, and so Kasol, Tim, and Wyatt returned around 10am to pick us up. We arrived at the museum a short time later, paid the entrance fee, grabbed headsets for the audio tour, and entered Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21.

Entering the museum.

Words cannot describe this school turned torture and execution center turned museum. I knew it would be a heavy visit, but I didn't realize just how heavy. At the site, there are four buildings, called A, B, C, and D. The kids and I walked through A-C. Tim was the only one who walked through D. We saw the rooms where prisoners were tortured and killed; the cells where prisoners were kept; photos and clothing of prisoners; and barbed wire all over. We heard awful, gutting stories through our headsets. It was hard and sad to listen to the audio tour while inside the buildings, so we found benches outside in the courtyard to listen instead.

A memorial just inside the entrance to the museum. Those white boxes behind it are graves.

Out front of Building A.

Listening to the audio tour on a bench.

A torture and execution cell inside Building A.

Another building at S-21. See all the barbed wire that was put up?

The rules of S-21.

A cell where prisoners were held.

Walking past prisoner cells.

I almost made it to the end of the audio tour but didn't quite finish. The horror was overwhelming.

The kids and I caught up with Tim at the far side of the courtyard, and we came upon a pop-up tent under which was a table covered in books. The book turned out to be "Survivor: The Triumph of an Ordinary Man in the Khmer Rouge Genocide," by Chum Mey. We bought a copy in English...and then we realized that Chum Mey was there, sitting under the tent. At that point, I lost it and just cried.

Out of an estimated 20,000 people imprisoned at Tuol Sleng, there were only 12 survivors -- and Chum Mey was one of them. He was kept alive because he was a mechanic; prison staff needed him to repair typewriters, which they used to write prisoners' confessions (the Khmer Rouge regime at S-21 documented everything). 

Chum Mey is seated behind the table. He signed the book we bought.

A poster of Chum Mey.

We quietly walked to the museum's exit, returned our headsets, and found Kasol. Taylor was feeling poorly again, so we came back to the hotel. It was sobering to know that S-21 was just several minutes and a lifetime -- a very recent lifetime -- away.

Sculpture of a victim.