The Tuol Sleng building was a former high school named Ponhea Yat High School. When the Khmer Rouge regime came into power, it took over the building and renamed it Tuol Sleng, or S21, which stands for Security Office 21. It was the Khmer Rouge's main security building for interrogating and exterminating individuals accused of opposing them.
The classrooms in the former high school were converted to interrogation rooms and holding cells.
The yard, where the students did their PE exercises, was used for morning roll call. Some equipment had been turned into more forms of torture.
There was a sign which said no laughing. And for good reason too!
The former torture rooms were really gruesome! Most of the rooms still had torture equipment inside as evidence of the Khmer Rouge's cruelty.
One of the scariest rooms was a room filled with skulls of victims. It was estimated that of over 50,000 prisoners, only 7 survived. Caleb and I could feel fear coursing through our wings, making them tremble violently. Without saying anything, we left the room with Jinxgirl.
We felt better after leaving the room. At the gift shop, Aunty Sarah, Jinxgirl's mum, bought her a book entitled Stay Alive, My Son. It 's a book written by a survivor who escaped from his village to Thailand to evade the Khmer Rouge, who wanted to enslave him and many others to do their work. However, in the process of escaping, he saw his entire family being destroyed right before his eyes. It's a very gripping story, so while waiting for everyone else, Jinxgirl, Caleb and I began reading.
Jinxgirl, Caleb and I played Stress with Ezzuan, another VWAP team member, in the bus while waiting for the adults to finish shopping at the market down the road. After a long wait, they finally returned, and we went to eat lunch.
We ate at a buffet restaurant. It was very filling. Caleb, Jinxgirl and I tried some dragon fruit. Jinxgirl thought it was too sweet but Caleb and I thought it tasted like our favourite Uni snack: Unio Berries! They only grow in our hometown, which we rarely visit, the Forest of Mystic Enchantment. Oh well. Now we know where to find our treat when we want it!
We went shopping at the Marketplace Stalls. It was packed to the gills with both people as well as great bargains! We shopped for quite a while, examining merchandise and purchasing them. Jinxgirl bought a packet of four cloth horses. Max, Hannah's younger brother, saw us and wanted to buy a packet for himself as well. His mother refused. To placate him, Jinxgirl gave him a pink horse, which he happily accepted and named "Bluey". As for the other 3 horses, we took one each.
When we finally decided we had done enough shopping there, we went to Sorya Shopping Mall, a brand new mall in the vicinity. There were many shops there as well. We ate ice cream at level 1 before making our way up to the top level.
The view from the top level was breathtaking! We could see the whole land stretched out before us. The sky was an azure blue with marshmallow white clouds in the sky. Jinxgirl snapped a few shots of the scenery. The major building in the middle is the Central Market. It has 4 walkways representing North, South, East and West. Then, we began to work our way down, looking around at the shops on each level.
At the appointed meeting time, we rejoined the other VWAP members and took the bus back to the hotel. With Aunty Nathlyn as our guide, we made our way to a nearby coconut ice cream shop for dinner.
Thanksgiving and reflection lasted till 11pm in Cambodia that night, or rather, midnight in Singapore.
We felt better after leaving the room. At the gift shop, Aunty Sarah, Jinxgirl's mum, bought her a book entitled Stay Alive, My Son. It 's a book written by a survivor who escaped from his village to Thailand to evade the Khmer Rouge, who wanted to enslave him and many others to do their work. However, in the process of escaping, he saw his entire family being destroyed right before his eyes. It's a very gripping story, so while waiting for everyone else, Jinxgirl, Caleb and I began reading.
Jinxgirl, Caleb and I played Stress with Ezzuan, another VWAP team member, in the bus while waiting for the adults to finish shopping at the market down the road. After a long wait, they finally returned, and we went to eat lunch.
We ate at a buffet restaurant. It was very filling. Caleb, Jinxgirl and I tried some dragon fruit. Jinxgirl thought it was too sweet but Caleb and I thought it tasted like our favourite Uni snack: Unio Berries! They only grow in our hometown, which we rarely visit, the Forest of Mystic Enchantment. Oh well. Now we know where to find our treat when we want it!
We went shopping at the Marketplace Stalls. It was packed to the gills with both people as well as great bargains! We shopped for quite a while, examining merchandise and purchasing them. Jinxgirl bought a packet of four cloth horses. Max, Hannah's younger brother, saw us and wanted to buy a packet for himself as well. His mother refused. To placate him, Jinxgirl gave him a pink horse, which he happily accepted and named "Bluey". As for the other 3 horses, we took one each.
When we finally decided we had done enough shopping there, we went to Sorya Shopping Mall, a brand new mall in the vicinity. There were many shops there as well. We ate ice cream at level 1 before making our way up to the top level.
The view from the top level was breathtaking! We could see the whole land stretched out before us. The sky was an azure blue with marshmallow white clouds in the sky. Jinxgirl snapped a few shots of the scenery. The major building in the middle is the Central Market. It has 4 walkways representing North, South, East and West. Then, we began to work our way down, looking around at the shops on each level.At the appointed meeting time, we rejoined the other VWAP members and took the bus back to the hotel. With Aunty Nathlyn as our guide, we made our way to a nearby coconut ice cream shop for dinner.
Thanksgiving and reflection lasted till 11pm in Cambodia that night, or rather, midnight in Singapore.
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