Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Penh
Known as Security Prison 21, Tuol Sleng Museum used to be a high school (Tuol Svay Prey High School) before it was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turning into a detention centre to torturte Cambodia citizens before taking them to the Killing Fields to execute them, and bury them in mass graves.
This museum is in the heart of the city, and from the outside still looks like an ordinary school, but as soon as you start wandering around the buildings, you’re faced with the stark reality of the living conditions and torture endured here during 1975 and 1978 period which led to it becoming the largest detention centre in the country.
The cells are in the same condition they were in when the camp closed down, and multiple rooms are used to show black and white photos of the political prisoners interned here.
Wandering past black and white photos of genocide victims is of course not enjoyable, but it humanizes a museum that could otherwise be an empty symbol. The surviving photos are all available on the Tuol Sleng website (WARNING: Some of them are post-mortem)
You should also read this New York Times article about Nhem En, the photography who was on staff at the prison, responsible for meticulously documenting each inmate, with his camera.
The audio tour helps to ground your reality and impression of what’s inside these buildings. It is such an ordinary looking setting, in the centre of urban sprawl, it’s in complete contrast to what happened here.
This is from the Tuol Sleng website:
The 114 photographs on this site are from Pol Pot’s secret prison, codenamed “S-21” during his genocidal rule (1975-79). Between 1-2 million Cambodians – and many thousands of foreigners – were starved to death, tortured, or killed, during this reign of terror.
When the Vietnamese Army invaded in 1979 the S-21 prison staff fled, leaving behind thousands of written and photographic records. Altogether more than 6,000 photographs were left; the majority, however, have been lost or destroyed. Former prison staff say as many as 30,000 prisoners were held at S-21 before the Khmer Rouge leadership was forced to flee, in the first days of 1979.
- Open 8am to 5pm Daily
- $8 with audio tour, $5 without
- http://www.tuolsleng.com/history.php
We spent a couple of hours in the morning fully absorbed by S-21, before heading off too the Killing Fields to see the second half of this Pol Pot puzzle.
BBC Timewatch – Pol Pot: The Journey to the Killing Fields
Was visiting S21 enjoyable? Well no not really, but it was necessary (as was a trip to the killing fields). We combined the two historical sights into an all day trip, and hired a remork driver (like a tuk-tuk) to take us to S21 and wait for us, and then take us to the Killing fields afterwards, and wait for us there too, to bring us back to our hotel.
The atrocities the Cambodian people endured is just unthinkable, and you can’t even begin to image the impact it had on every single family that survived through the nightmare of the Pol Pot regime. But as a tourist or traveller visiting this amazing country, you have to try to grasp even the smallest modicum of understanding about what this nation endured. We visited war-related historical sights in Siem Reap, and even though the most well-known killing fields is on the outskirts of Phnom Penh – it’s not the only killing fields in the country, and S21 wasn’t the only prison.
You know what the most amazing takeaway is about our visit to Cambodia? How the Cambodians are so quick to smile. They have an joy and a simple appreciation for life. They’re grateful for being alive, and don’t sweat the small stuff.
No trip to #PhnomPenh is complete without a trip out to #S21 Prison. Find out the best way to tour this historical site Click To Tweet
Flashpacking through Cambodia
Flashpacking through Cambodia: For Baby Boomers on a Budget is my latest Roving Jay travel guide full of travel tips, advice, and sample itineraries for flash packers who want the back packing experience without foregoing some of life’s creature comforts – like a comfortable bed, a hot shower, free wi-fi, and somewhere to plug your electric toothbrush in.
I spent almost three months backpacking around Cambodia in 2017/2018 to research this travel guide, and I share insights and first hand knowledge of tourist traps and off-the-beaten-path discoveries. We ate street food, drank 50c beers, and travelled by train, bus, minivan and tuktuk to identify the best ways to get from A to B.
If you’d like to receive a free Review Copy ahead of the general public release, please click here.
Here’s my Cambodia posts on this blog:
- Cambodia Visa and Arrival at Siem Reap Airport
- Cambodia: How to Avoid the Crowds at Angkor Wat
- Filling up your scooter in Cambodia
- The Best Tasting Street Food in Siem Reap
- Angkor Wat at Dawn: Is it worth it?
- Come face to face with Angkor Thom’s Bayon
- Good vs. Evil at Angkor Thom’s Impressive Southern Gate
- The Baphuon Temple and the Terrace of the Elephants at Angkor Thom
- Visiting Siem Reap’s War Museum
- Where to Stay in Siem Reap
- Visiting Siem Reap’s Markets
- Give your taste buds a disco at Siem Reap Night Market
- Responsible Tourism at Joe to Go in Siem Reap
- What to See and Do in Siem Reap
- Which Siem Reap Floating Village should you visit?
- Memorable Boat Trip from Siem Reap to Battambang
- Libations and Bric-a-Brac tempt our purse strings in Battambang
- Vegetable Amok at About the World Restaurant in Battambang
- Cooking Classes at Nary’s Kitchen Battambang
- Pomme Bar, Restaurant and Hostel, at the Core of the new Battambang
- An educational trip around Battambang’s Central Market
- Sightseeing and things to do in Battambang Cambodia
- Bayon VIP Bus from Battambang to Phnom Penh Cambodia
- Exploring Phnom Penh’s 172nd Street in the dark
- The challenge of wandering Phnom Penh’s streets
- A visit to Phnom Penh’s Central Market
- Exploring Phnom Penh’s Markets
- Phnom Penh Photo Diary
- Tops sights to see in Phnom Penh
- Touring S-21 Security Prison (Tuol Sleng Museum Phnom Penh)
- A reflective visit to The Killing Fields
- Taking a train from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville
- The majesty of Otres Beach sunsets
- Our Workaway Gig at Otres Beach Market Cambodia
- Working Away to make Cambodian Bagels
- Cambodia Pastry Wars: The Battle of the Quiche
- Our Cambodia workaway gig renovating a market stall
- Unwind on Cambodia’s Koh Ta Kiev Island
- Cambodian Beach Massage and Grilled Seafood
- Building Community during our Cambodian Workaway
- Gecko Village in Kampot Cambodia – a Photo Essay
- Christmas Eve in Kampot
- more coming
Such a tragic story and sombre experience. But it is so important that this history is not forgotten so we learn from this horrific past.
Yes it’s an integral part of visiting countries like this, that you take the time to understand just a little bit of what they’ve been through, especially since it is it such recent history.
I’m super curious about this – what a great museum to tour! I can’t imagine spending time in a Cambodian prison!!
It was a somber experience, especially when the interior has been kept as a stark reminder of the atrocities that happened there. It’s still grimy and unpolished, and gives you a tiny glimpse of what it must have been like.
Such a depressing place to visit. But we need to learn about history and also learn from it.
Not so much depressing, more thought-provoking.
Oh wow… this place has a grim history. Lashes with electric wire and torture…
I always get really down when visiting places like this, but its good to not put your head in the sand and just learn the history.
Yes it’s important to try to understand what’s driving the culture and it’s people.
Such a disturbing history. To turn a place of learning into a place of violence drives that point home. The image of the Cells at S-21Tuol Sleng Museum is haunting, and the black and white photos of the victims sent chills up my arms, legs, and spine! A good friend of mine from the States married a Cambodian woman and lives with her in Siem Reap. She was a child at the time of the Khmer Rouge and remembers the time when neighbors turned on their neighbors. Those that survived are still neighbors, the hatred now behind them, but the atrocities of the past never forgotten.
It’s odd to see a nation with so few older people. So many of them were killed, and it’s left up to the younger generation to keep those memories alive.
It’s just mind-blowing to hear that 30,000 people were brutally tortured in this one prison alone, and that was just a small percentage of the total victims of the genocide. I think it’s so important to visit sites like this when traveling to honor the victims and as a reminder of the atrocities that humans are capable of.
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Yes, there were prisons all over the country .. god knows what the total body count was, but whatever it was it was a senseless act and such a waste of life.
I visited here in 2002, when I left, I went to a nearby coffee shop and cried. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. Shocking and so sad. I have a friend whose father survived the Khmer Rouge by playing deaf and dumb. It worked and he survived. Seeing all the photos of those that died because they wore glasses, were educated etc just broke my heart. But people need to see these places and hopefully learn from it!
I read a lot of articles and a couple of books about this era in history before I went, so visiting these places had a greater impact because I felt like I had a greater understanding of the political details.
A school was turned into a detention centre! I was shocked to read one of the rules listed that said you cannot cry when being lashed or electrocuted! Such grim places remind us of the brutalities that took place there – and sadly, not so long ago.
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Yes it’s just crazy to think how recent these all was.
Wow! So much of the history of our world is so tragic. I am always perplexed to think about the people who chose to carry out the torture and killing and wonder…what would I have done if I had to make the choice? So sobering. Thanks for sharing about this place that teaches us so much about our own humanity.
How awful must it be to be “just following orders” but having to do things you don’t want to do. But if you don’t do them, you’ll be shot and tortured too. Such a dilemma.
Some parts of our history is very horrendous and while it, it makes us shiver. Such a painful story where a high school (Tuol Svay Prey High School) was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces to create a detention centre for torturting Cambodia citizens and then taking them to the Killing Fields to execute them, and bury them in mass graves. You are very brave to visit this museum, as while reading make me so sad and emotional.
I think a visit here is an important part of immersive travel. You can’t really get to know a place or it’s people if you don’t try to understand a little bit of it’s history.
What a horrible reality for the memories of us all to digest, I don’t know if I’d have the guts to go inside. But it’s so important that the genoicide is remembered, too many episodes are forgotten, and always the same one is remembered again and again…
It’s a mix of horrific and tranquil. Not enjoyable, but definitely eye-opening.
Such a moving and really sad part of our history that we need to accept happened in our lifetime. It is unimaginable atrocities inflicted by one human on another and personally don’t know if I can visit the killing fields. But their story must be told and never forgotten and you have done it well.
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Yes, stories are a great way of keeping the memories alive, so that we can help to stop the same thing happening again.