Near Phnom Penh, Cambodia are several sites with significance to one of the more recent, and yet less well-known genocides. Upon arrival we were taken by bus to the site of a former high school, which was converted into a torture facility by the Khmer Rouge hardly 30 years ago.

Certainly this isn’t for just anyone, and especially not the faint of heart or someone seeking a pleasant vacation, but it was truly a powerful experience for me. On the self guided tour through the site, called Tuol Sleng, you could see the bullet holes and blood stains, still mostly intact on the walls. In one of the larger rooms they have on display pictures taken of every prisoner upon their entry to the complex. The looks of abject apprehension and terror on their faces further adds to the intensity of vising Tuol Sleng.

Next, we were taken by our tour operator to one of the infamous “Killing Fields.” It is, indeed, just a field. But as one steps on to this particular field, an eerie feeling comes, inevitably. The landscape is still riddled with bones and teeth if you look hard enough, and, on the day I happened to visit, a group of Buddhist monks were performing a chant at the monument in the centre of the field, which was broadcast over the loudspeaker. The experience truly shook me to the core, and once I learned the recent history of the country and the genocide, it made it that much more worthwile. If you don’t mind seeing some of the harsher truths of our world, it will move you.

There are certainly other things to see in Phnom Penh. The architecture is absolutely beautiful, most locals I came across were friendly, the shopping merchandise and prices can’t be beat, and the city plays host to a fascinating population of Western expatriates. The country would definitely appreciate any tourist’s contribution to their economy.