The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
- Amy
- 6 hours ago
- 7 min read
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The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
We were ready in the hotel lobby by 12:45 pm, waiting for our driver to take us to our first planned visit of the day, the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The tour was scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm and last roughly four hours. We booked it through GetYourGuide, simply because it made the process seamless and came highly recommended. Knowing this would be a deeply sombre experience, we spoke to the kids beforehand, preparing them for what they would see and hear.
Choeung Ek Genocidal Center
I had read Loung Ung's 'First They Killed My Father' and I thought I understood what had transpired. But nothing truly prepares you for standing in the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek or walking through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S21). Before deciding to visit places like these, it helps to understand their history.
On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot, entered Phnom Penh and immediately began evacuating the city. In a matter of days, nearly two million people were forced out of their homes and made to walk to rural labour camps. Hospitals were emptied, families were separated, and the city was left eerily silent. Anyone perceived as a threat to the regime, intellectuals, teachers, journalists, professionals, religious figures, former government officials, and even people who wore glasses, was accused of being an enemy of the state. Many were arrested under false pretences, often told they were being relocated or re-educated, only to be imprisoned, tortured, and later executed. |
Across Cambodia, there are hundreds of documented killing sites, commonly referred to as the Killing Fields. Among them, Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, just outside Phnom Penh, is the most well-known and was one of the largest execution sites linked to the infamous S-21 prison (now Tuol Sleng). Walking through Choeung Ek is unsettling in a quiet, haunting way. After the Khmer Rouge regime collapsed in 1979, Choeung Ek was discovered by a local resident. What stood out immediately was how carefully the place had been hidden. The entire area was surrounded by three layers of barbed-wire fencing, held up by steel and concrete posts almost two metres high, and further concealed by dense forest.
There was a single iron gate on the western side, used as both the entrance and exit. Inside the fenced area stood four simple wooden huts. One was clearly used to detain prisoners, another for staff, a third to store chemicals, DDT powder and anthracite, which were scattered over the bodies, and the fourth held other equipment. Scattered across the site were objects that told their own story: handcuffs, ropes, bamboo sticks, iron rods, cart wheels, hoes, knives, and axes. Ordinary tools, used for extraordinary cruelty.
Standing there, it becomes clear how organised and intentional everything was and how much effort went into keeping it hidden from the world. The grounds hold mass graves, where men, women, and children were killed, many without bullets, as ammunition was considered too costly. One of the most distressing sites is the “killing tree,” where infants and children were brutally murdered. Even today, fragments of clothing and human remains can still surface, especially after heavy rains. The visit isn’t graphic in presentation, but the weight of what happened there is overwhelming. It forces you to confront Cambodia’s past and serves as a reminder of why history must never be forgotten or repeated.
The guided portion of the visit lasts about 1.5 hours, after which there’s time to walk through the memorial independently, collect your thoughts, or take a break before continuing.
Soon after, we boarded the bus again, weaving through Phnom Penh’s traffic toward our next stop, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
We reached the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in about 20 minutes. The museum is located in a busy part of Phnom Penh, in the Boeung Keng Kang III neighborhood, surrounded by streets lined with shops, cafes, and local traffic. Unfortunately, I was wearing shorts that day, and I was given a sarong to cover up before entering. I knew that temples required modest clothing, but I hadn’t realized that museums and memorial sites like the Killing Fields also require visitors to cover shoulders and knees. Dressing modestly here is a way to show respect for the lives lost and the tragedies that occurred.
The entry fee was $6 per adult, while children below 12 years could enter for free, so my kids walked in without paying. The museum also offers audio guides for $10 each, which are useful for people who don’t understand English or who visit without a guide. Since we had a guide, we didn’t need them.
The museum consists of four buildings, formerly a school with a playground before the Khmer Rouge took it over. The buildings are labeled Block A, B, C, and D:
Block A was mainly used as administration offices and interrogation rooms.
Block B contained prisoner cells and some of the first rooms used for detention.
Block C was the main torture area, with walls lined with photographs of prisoners.
Block D held cells for women and children, as well as rooms for medical experiments.
The gardens and playgrounds that once rang with children’s laughter were repurposed by the Khmer Rouge for executions and outdoor punishment.
While walking through the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, I was struck by how openly Cambodia remembers its darkest past. Every room, photo, and name makes you stop and face the truth. Nothing is softened, everything is meant to be seen, understood, and remembered. That’s why it feels wrong that sites like this were ever placed on a tentative UNESCO list. Places like Tuol Sleng should be recognised without debate, because the world needs to remember.
It made me think of India’s own suffering under colonial rule, years of exploitation, famines, and the deaths of millions. Yet it’s sad how little of this history is properly remembered or shown. Very few museums truly confront it, and most of it is barely captured in our history books. Being in Tuol Sleng, the difference felt deeply unsettling.
What’s often forgotten is the bigger picture. Cambodia was heavily bombed by the United States during the Vietnam War, long before the Khmer Rouge took over, which left the country unstable. Justice also came too late. The tribunal was set up decades after the genocide, and Pol Pot was never fully held accountable. The Khmer Rouge regime collapsed in January 1979 after the Vietnamese invasion. Pol Pot fled to the northwestern regions of Cambodia near the Thai border, where he continued to exert influence for years. He was eventually placed under house arrest by rival factions and died in 1998, reportedly of heart failure. Tuol Sleng reminds us not just of the horrors that happened, but also of how delayed justice and global politics let Cambodia down. |
Inside the museum, there are testimonials of survivors, and biographies of those who lost their lives. We were incredibly fortunate to meet Chum Mey, a 95 year old Khmer Rouge survivor and one of the very few known survivors of the notorious S-21 prison camp in Phnom Penh. To meet him, to hear his voice, and to witness his quiet strength was a profound honour. Despite surviving unimaginable cruelty, he lives with dignity, courage, and an unwavering belief in hope.
Visiting with Children? Many have asked how the children managed this experience. They were prepared beforehand, spoken to honestly and gently about Cambodia’s history and why remembering matters. At the sites, they observed quietly, asked curious questions like all children do, and understood that this was not just about the past, but about humanity, compassion, and ensuring such horrors are never repeated. This is a place that leaves a permanent mark on your heart. This is not an easy visit, but it is an essential one for anyone travelling to Cambodia. |
After the sombre and heavy-hearted experience at Tuol Sleng, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and collect our thoughts. The morning had been intense, but we took it as a learning moment, a reminder of Cambodia’s history and resilience.
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