Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
colourful murals of the legend. To the south of Wat Preah Ko is a 2m-high, smiling,
green-marble Buddha surrounded by bowls of water that worshippers use to bathe him.
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Choeung Ek
12km southwest of Phnom Penh • Daily 7am-5.30pm • $3; audioguide $3 • Easily accessible by moto and tuk-tuk, or on excursions run
by various Phnom Penh guesthouses (some of which also include side-trips to Tonle Bati); you could even cycle there if you're prepared to
brave the tra
c (and dust) - to drive here, find Monireth Blvd and follow it south, forking left at the large petrol station, from where it's
about 5km to Choeung Ek
Just 12km from Phnom Penh is the notorious site of
Choeung Ek
, where prisoners from
Toul Sleng were brought for execution. As graphically portrayed in the film
The Killing
Fields
, certain sites around the country - this is the best known - became places of
mass murder
, where the Khmer Rouge disposed of its enemies: men, women and
children - even babies - who had allegedly betrayed the state. Early on, the victims
were shot; later, to save on valuable bullets, they were bludgeoned or stabbed to death,
and babies killed by being savagely thrown against trees, as loud music blared in the
background. As fuel became scarce, victims were dragged out of the city and killed en
route, their bodies dumped in the rice paddies closer to town.
Set amid peaceful fields and pleasant countryside, in what was once a Chinese burial
ground, the
Choeung Ek Memorial
now contains the remains of 8985 bodies exhumed
here in 1980, when 86 of the burial pits were excavated. Anecdotal estimates suggest that
more than 17,000 people may have been slaughtered here, and a further 43 mass graves
under the lake at the site remain untouched; there are no plans for these to be
investigated since as yet there is nowhere su
cient to house the remains to Buddhist
standards. Inside the memorial, a gleaming glass-fronted chedi, skulls and bones are piled
on shelves, seventeen tiers high, arranged by age and gender, their tattered clothes below.
An excellent
audioguide
leads you circuitously around the site, stopping at various
key points and finishing up at the memorial stupa. It includes harrowing commentary
from victims and a former Khmer Rouge guard. Make sure to wander around the eerily
beautiful lake.
Before you leave, drop into the museum, where you can cool off in the
air-conditioned “theatre” by watching a dated but informative short video. A raw and
emotional declaration close by states, “We are absolutely determined no [sic] to let this
genocidal regime to reoccur in Kampuchea”.
Tonle Bati
35km south of Phnom Pehn, off NR2 • Daily 7am-5pm • $3, picnic hut rental 5000 riel/day • Take the Takeo bus: buy your ticket directly
from the bus operator for the best price, and get off by the Sokimex petrol station - where there's a large hoarding showing the temple -
and take a moto the final 2.5km to the temple (1000 riel); alternatively, you can do the return journey from the capital by moto ($8-10)
and tuk-tuk ($15-20)
Peaceful
Tonle Bati
is set on the banks of the Bati River in a well-tended grove of
coconut and mango trees, where you can swim and picnic as well as seeing the two
small but appealing
temples
. You will be met immediately by a gaggle of young girls
selling flowers, who will most likely follow you around until you leave, even if you're
adamant about not buying.
Some 300m northwest of the temples are dozens of
picnic huts
built on stilts over the
river, rentable by the day. The owners provide floor mats and cushions, plus a tray of
drinks and snacks, and even inflated inner tubes for swimming. Food's on offer too,
but it's pricey so you might want to bring your own provisions.
Ta Prohm
The first temple you come to on entering the site is the larger of the two,
Ta Prohm
.
Constructed by Jayavarman VII - creator of the magnificent Angkor Thom - on the
