For Whom the Gong Tolls

摘要

Cambodia is a heartwrench. One day you stand stupefied in the courtyard of Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, the infamous interrogation/torture center, now a museum. From here the Khmer Rouge sent thousands to the killing fields at Choeung Ek. You read the posted translation of the security regulations (Rule 6: While Getting Lashes or Electrification You Must Not Cry at All), stare at the seemingly endless photo gallery of prisoners who knew they were about to die, and your mind goes numb. Next day, flown 150 miles courtesy of Royal Air Cambodge, you are equally stupefied as you peer upward at the monumental towers of Angkor Wat, perhaps the most inspiring religious building in the world.