we spent the rest of the morning at the Imperial Palace and Silver Pagoda. Absolutely amazing architecture. The Silver Pagoda is so named because it has a silver tile floor. We were able to see part of it but mostly it is covered in carpet runners to protect it. The King of Cambodia lives on the grounds of the palace and we were lucky to see him as he left his home. The grounds are impeccable too.
In the afternoon we went to the prison S21. The Pol Pot regime ran S-21 as a secret prison in Phnom Penh from the middle of 1975 until the end of 1978. Those who were accused of treason were brought to S-21 with their families and were photographed when they arrived. These prisoners were brutally tortured until they confessed to whatever crime they had been charged with and were executed shortly thereafter. The photographs and confessions were submitted to Khmer Rouge authorities as proof that the “traitors” had been eliminated. Out of the 17,000 people who were known to have been in S-21, only six survived.
That evening we went to a Cambodian Khmer restaurant. The food was delicious. Ron had a Cambodian curry and I had morning glory roots. Both came with rice 😍
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