I recently returned from Cambodia. Nothing I’d read or heard could possibly have prepared me for what I was to experience. My pictures, good as they are, in no way portray the sights I saw. Words no matter how eloquent could ever describe this fascinating and intriguing country or its people, a people who have suffered unspeakable atrocities and came out of a civil war just twelve years ago. 150 years ago the French discovered in the jungle the remains of some the most spectacular buildings on the planet. They uncovered no less than 18 temples and walled townships.

The largest of these is Angkor Wat. Built in the 12th century, it remains in remarkably good condition mainly due to international assistance in preserving this world treasure. But the most amazing of the Angkor temples for me has to be Ta Prohm. Dating back to the 13th century, the buildings have been completely overwhelmed by grotesque silk cotton and fig trees In. total contrast, Angkor Tohm remains very much as it was in the 12th Century. It is huge, and is thought to be the original capital city of Angkor. The centrepiece of the temple features the four faces of Buddha.

No photo could ever do justice to these enormous effigies. We took a flight down to Phnom Penh where we visited S21, one of over 100 Khmer Rouge prisons. It was created from a large school which was abandoned when the residents were driven out of the city. Here prisoners were held for various reasons. Many had been accused of taking part in anti Khmer Rouge activities; others were prominent people who were thought to have information useful to Pol Pot. Some had simply refused to leave the city. Here they were interrogated and tortured by soldiers who in most cases were between ten and seventeen years old, young enough to be brainwashed and drawn into the Khmer cause.

Accommodation was either in large rooms where just one prisoner would be shackled to a bed, or in classrooms which were crudely converted to tiny individual cells created from brick or the wood from school benches and desks. When their captors felt that were no longer of use to them they were taken to a nearby killing field where they were murdered and thrown into mass graves. Babies and young children were beaten to death against the trunk of the killing tree which stands today as a reminder of those awful times. It’s a sobering thought that this was going on just 40 years ago during many of our lifetimes. The royal palace with its surrounding buildings is truly spectacular.

After days of visiting ancient black and grey temples, the bright colours of the buildings came as quite a relief! I would like to write more, but I simply don’t have the words to describe the mixed emotions I felt when I left this tragic country.