Along The Mekong day 4

Phnom Penh second visit (link, lien, enlace)

Back to Phnom Penh…
We enjoyed again the Royal Palace and its elegant pagodas and the National Museum. 

In the afternoon we visited one of the most poignant testimonies of the brutality of The

Khmer Rouges regime ( 1975-1979) led by Pol Pot, the dreadful S21 prison where over 17 000 people were tortured and killed. It has become the Genocide Museum.

Some historians estimate that they killed up to two million people, dying from executions, starvation, disease and overwork, the educated middle-classes were particularly decimated. Today, only two S21 prison survivors remains, they sell books narrating the horrendous conditions of their captivity. Very few Khmer Rouge leaders were brought into trial, however, former S21 prison chief, “Duch”, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2012.

We ended the afternoon with the Wat Phonm pagoda, on the hill that gave its name to the Cambodian capital. Walking back to the boat we saw the imposing French Colonial Post office (La Poste), and several beautiful colonial buildings that would require urgent renovation.

Phnom Penh second visit (link, lien, enlace)