An idea of going to Choeung Ek suddenly emerged again when I received a msg from my swimming partner on that morning that she could not go swimming with me. I used to think of biking to Choeung Ek several weeks ago, but there was a reason for not being able to realize it. Finally, I did it, and on my own.
I kicked off from my house at 6am and headed to the Northwest. Thinking of taking a detour, I rode into blocks of unfamiliar roads in Boeung Tumpun. Consequently, I got lost! I could not find the road to Tumnup Thmey road. How poor I am in geographical location! Instead of taking a detour, I spent longer time to find the way out and got onto the intended road. Along Tumnup Thmey road, the traffic was worse than ever esp when the road was badly destroyed by recent bad weather. It was actually raining slightly on the way too until I was halfway on the Chamkar Dong Road. This road was in better condition, though traffic was also quite heavy.
To note whether I almost got to the destination, I looked on my right hand side for the school named ‘Tuol Ampil’. I turned left to a small road soon after I saw the school. Unfortunately, soon after that, I realized that I was wrong again because the road led me to a pagoda in a quiet area. Asking for directions from the locals should be the best solution. I got it! In the end, I found myself riding on a plastered road which was told to head to the Center. The road was newly built and so was very convenient to ride on. I thought, possibly, that there had been increasing number of visitors going there, so the road was built up.
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| The main gate of Choeung Ek Genocidal Center |
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| Tower where skulls of victims are being kept. |
I arrived there at around 7am. The Center is scheduled to open at 7:30am. Luckily, the main gate was open earlier than usual and only that the museum inside was still closed. I parked my bike. Without ticket, I could go into the site and toured around every corner from the main gate to the rear site. The environment was very inviting and comfortable. I could smell the fresh air in the early morning. Without a guide, I got to know the place by myself by reading the notices on various boards.
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| Schedule for movie clips |
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| One of the boards giving info about the description of location. |
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| Descriptions about Choeung Ek Genocidal Center |
It was quite frightening to walk alone at the rear site where victims were executed and buried. There were many ditches covered will hollow water and green grass. Yet, it’s still not as frightening as the heavy traffic on the way here.
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| It is where we can relax. |
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| The rear site...make sure you don't step into the ditches. Scaring. |
I felt sorry that I was not there at the right time when the movie clips and museum were to be open. Movies are to be broadcast at 9am. When I was about to leave, I talked to an officer in charge there. Accordingly, there are around 300 to 400 visitors a day, more than 80% of which are foreigners, and around 20% are locals who do researches about Pol Pot Regime or who have indirectly or directly dealt with cases at ECCC.
It’s great to have visited the place and to know about our history, as a Cambodian. I have never visited Tuol Sleng either, so I guess I will visit it very soon. ^^
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