Explore Phnom Penh with Kids

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and is a city steeped in history. It is important to understand some of that history before visiting Phnom Penh. Here is our guide to exploring Phnom Penh with kids.

HISTORY OF CAMBODIA AND PHNOM PENH

There are few countries that boast quite such a violent recent history as Cambodia. The effects of the Khmer Rouge Regime were widespread and extreme.

On 17th April 1975 the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh and immediately forced the entire population into the countryside. This was part of its radical social programme to turn the whole country into an agrarian society – starting at Year Zero.  It is estimated that two million Cambodians died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge during their four year reign of terror, many dying in the countryside as a result of starvation, disease and forced labour.

Phnom Penh has managed to survive the violence of its recent history and is a thriving city once again.

There are two main memorials to the atrocities that occurred under the Khmer Rouge Regime in the 1970’s: the Tuol Sleng Museum (S-21), previously a school that became a prison camp during the regime, and the Choeung Ek “Killing Fields”.

VISITING PHNOM PENH WITH KIDS

TUOL SLENG MUSEUM (S-21)

In 1975 Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon became the largest centre for detention and torture in the country. More than 17,000 people held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp at Choeung Ek to be executed. Detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison grounds. S-21 has been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum, which serves as testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge.

Inside, many of the school rooms were partitioned by bricks or wood into areas just 0.8m by 2m. The prisoners had one small metal tin for human waste and one small plastic bowl for food. Other school rooms were left as mass detention rooms where prisoners were shackled all together.

Prisoners were severely tortured. They were lashed, whipped, stabbed and drowned.

When the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh in early 1979, it found only seven prisoners alive at S-21. We met one of the survivors, Bou Meng. He said “I survived, but I can’t say I was lucky. My wife and children are dead and the torture I endured was horrible.”

SHOULD YOU VISIT TUOL SLENG MUSEUM WITH KIDS?

A visit to Tuol Sleng Museum is a difficult and at times horrific experience. We took our children as we felt it was an important part of Cambodian history. We let them do as much as they wanted. They only entered some of the prison buildings, although much of the time they preferred to sit in the grounds and listen to the audio guides.

We highly recommend the audio guides which provide a thoughtful and thorough account of the history.  They also advise the listener when the details might be upsetting so that sections can be skipped.

KILLING FIELDS OF CHOEUNG EK

Between 1975 and 1978 about 17,000 people detained and tortured at S-21 prison were transported to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek. This included men, women, children and infants. They were often bludgeoned to death with hoes, machetes, hammers and even bamboo poles. Bullets were deemed too expensive and noisy.

The remains of 8985 people were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one time orchard. 43 of the 129 communal graves were left untouched. Fragments of human bone and bits of clothing are scattered around the many pits, exposed during rainy periods as the soil is washed away.

A hollow tree was used to hang speakers where music was played from 9pm to 10pm every night. This was the killing hour. It was necessary to drown out the screams of the prisoners so that outsiders wouldn’t realise what was happening.

Another harrowing site is the killing tree, where children and babies were beaten against to be killed.

The memorial pagoda at the centre of Choeung Ek houses 8,000 human skulls divided into male and female and different age groups.

SHOULD YOU TAKE KIDS TO THE KILLING FILEDS AND TUOL SLENG MUSEUM?

We considered this point a great deal before visiting.  Whilst we wanted them to learn about the recent atrocities in the country we did not want to scare them. We decided to take them (aged 8, 10 and 12 at the time) to the Tuol Sleng Museum, but not the Killing Fields, more because it was too much all in the same day, rather than any other reason. Instead they returned to the hotel in the afternoon for a swim.

Our visits to Tuol Sleng and Choeung Ek were sad and thought provoking experiences.  We closely managed how the children received information and then provided our own commentary to explain what they were seeing in an age appropriate way.

For younger children it would rather depend on whether they can stay quiet for a longish period, as most of the detail would go over their heads. These sites are quiet and contemplative, so children do need to be quiet and not run around. For slightly older children, it would very much depend on the child and their maturity and personality.

I hesitated about what to include in this blog post but I hope that by sharing some of what we learned it will re-affirm for others that genocide in any country is something the international community, all of us, must share accountability to prevent.

AND FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT…

FREE THE BEARS

On a lighter note, we visited Phnom Tamao, Cambodia’s leading zoo, come safari park, about an hours drive from Phnom Penh. We spent the day with Free the Bears on their Bear Care Tour. The Bear Care Programme looks after more than 130 rescued Sun and Moon bears. These bears are native species to Cambodia.

Our day started with us getting up close to the sun and moon bears. The juvenile sun bears were an instant hit with our children. Next, it was time for food preparation. We chopped fruit and vegetables ready for the afternoon feed and made enrichment feeding toys. We stuffed plastic balls and bamboo tubes with food for the bears to devour.

After lunch we had a tour of the park to see some of the other animals, all native species of Cambodia – tigers, lions, elephants, dear, gibbons, snakes. It was then time for us to hide food throughout the juvenile sun bear enclosure, so that they could come in and find it all. To end the day we got to meet the youngest bear at the park, a sun bear cub of just three months.

It was Logan’s 11th birthday today and as he is an animal lover this was a special treat for him. He had a great time celebrating his birthday with friends from the UK and being with the bears. He even had a bear birthday cake after lunch.

WHERE WE STAYED

We spent three nights at The Kabiki. Despite good reviews, this hotel was a disappointment to us. We had long waits at the restaurant for both lunch and breakfast, the internet only worked sporadically, and the staff seemed generally dis-interested in the guests. Family rooms were of a good size, although lacked natural light. There is a swimming pool, although it was constantly full of leaves during our visit. There are better places to stay in Phnom Penh.

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Have you been to Phnom Penh? Do you have any recommendations of things to do in Phnom Penh with kids? 

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