The Killing Caves, Battambang
During the planning phase of our journey Battambang did not make the list of places to visit. That immediately changed however when we met a fellow traveler in Ho Chi Mihn City who informed us of a very of a special mountain, Phnom Sampeau, outside of the city. The mountain has two very unique features that draw tourists to it. The first, and the topic of this post is the Killing Cave. During the reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge, people who were turned in to the government as enemies of the state for various reasons were taken to the mouth of this particular cave and pushed over the ledge to their deaths. There is now a monument and shrine to memorialize the dead and help educate others on the atrocities committed by Pol Pot’s dictatorship and how to prevent it from happening in the future. Needless to say, the experience was very somber and led to quite a bit of introspection regarding our human nature and propensity to inflict such horrors on our fellow man.
