S-21 - Touk Sleng

In 1979, after Vietnamese troups successfully invaded Phnom Penh to throw out Pol Pot, 2 Vietnamese journalists walked by what seemed to be a school complex and was struck by an overwhelming stench. What they discovered inside shocked them beyond comprehension - they had stumbled upon S-21, a secret facility kept by Pol Pot's regime to torture and execute internal "spies and counterrevolutionaries". It became one of the worse sites of human torture and genocide in modern history - as over 10,000 men, women, children (some as young as 5) were tortured at S-21 and then executed at the Killing Fields.

I visited the school today - which has become a museum. Its an emotionally wrenching place, needless to say. I'd finished David Chandler's "Voices from S-21" recently and the experience brought the book to life in a palpable manner. Particularly horrific were photographs taken by the journalists upon entry of victims still chained to metal beds, faces blackened and bashed in from torture, a pool of blood underneath. The mug shots of people processed through the facility were also particularly disturbing - especially the fearful faces of children and young women. The exhibit is all the more relevant in light of recent events in Abu Ghraib. Our capacity for torture is dormant in all of us.

In need of other diversions, my loyal motobike driver took me to the Russian market where I bought a watch for $9, a pair of birkenstocks for $4, and a t-shirt for $2.

For dinner, I met an Isreali and a Brit at a south indian restaurant near the lake and we discussed S-21 and its indelible impression upon us.

I decided to head to the river district for drinks later - to soak in my last night in this city. I ended up at this bar called Shanghai - which initially struck me as a bit seedy but it turned out to be relatively tame. Two girls who worked there, after their shift was up, invited me to go dancing with them. At first I was hesitant - since I wasn't sure if they were professionals or not - but it turned out they were just out for a good time.

We headed to a club called U2 - I was probably the only male patron there with 2 cute, bumping and grinding girls beside me. They were a lot of fun to dance with - and seemed to know the words to all the tunes. Afterwards, they escorted me back to my guesthouse and my driver kept hinting that one of them wanted to go home with me. I opted to keep the evening perfect as it was - one of them squealed when I gave her a goodbye hug.