Dealing with Cambodia’s past and life nowadays

Everyone who travels to Cambodia should learn about the country’s recent history. I’m not a big history fan, but in Cambodia’s case, learning about Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime, which only lasted between 1975 – 1979 but had such a big impact on the country and its people, was a given.
Both Tom and I have read “First they killed my father” in preparation for the trip – an emotional story of a young Cambodian girl who has to flee with her family from her home in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge gain power and invade the city on 7th April 1975. Along with millions of other people, they try to escape the leader’s torturous camps, are torn apart as a family and suffer from starvation. Nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s population was extinguished during those 4 years and everyone would have at least one family member, friend or neighbour who didn’t make it.
Once in Phnom Penh, our plan was to dedicate one day to both the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre, more commonly known as ‘the Killing Fields’ and the famous prison S-21. We arranged