Having been stranded in Cambodia during Covid myself and indeed YPT started to really explore the dark tourism sites within the country. Therefore, with a week between tours and pretty much no idea how to complete the task, I decided to head to Prek Sbauv in Kampong Thom Province, the place where the notorious former leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, was born and spent his formative years.
Why did I decide to visit such a place? Well, since moving to Cambodia 5+ years ago I have become a little obsessed with the dark recent history of the country. And this has not just been a course of discovery for myself, but has also led to YPT developing our Dark Cambodia Tour, as well as publicising places such as Anlong Veng to the wider world.
Oh, and as for the pros and cons of Dark Tourism? You can read my take here.
Getting to Kampong Thom
Getting to Kampong Thom and Prek Sbauv was actually a lot easier than I had expected, particularly in comparison to places such as Anlong Veng, or the as of now yet to be visited Phnom Malai. This is where Pol Pot’s sister allegedly resides.
You will need to head to Kampong Thom, both a province and city that is equidistant between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. On this day I was personally traveling from Siem Reap, which cost about $11 per person by bus. In actuality, a private car would not just have been a similar price, but also a darn sight quicker with the rest stop factored in.
On arrival, I checked into the fairly plush and centrally located Glorious Hotel. According to the map, Prek Sbauv was just walkable at 8 kilometers away, but I wanted more than just walking around; I wanted to meet family members should they exist. This would require a lttle more time effort and planning than just going guerilla.
Meeting The Pol Pot Family in Prek Sbauv
Through connections from Phnom Penh, as well as a local translator, we were presented with a TukTuk driver, who for an extremely reasonable price was prepared to not just show us what was what in Prek Sbauv, but also introduce us to the last known relation of Pol Pot, his nephew Mao (not to be confused with the Mao Ze Dong).
The journey took probably just under 15 minutes as we drove from downtown to the village through seemingly never-ending family houses, as well as the relaxing Stung Sen River. On arrival, the driver pulled into a plot where a bunch of people were just hanging out on a Sunday, including one familiar looking guy.
The translator started translating and it was then that I realized we were talking to Pol Pot’s, or rather Saloth Sar’s, 62-year-old nephew, whom we believe to be the son of Saloth Roeung, famously a concubine of King Sisowath Monivong. It truly is a big small world that we all call home.
Chatting with the Nephew
After the driver had introduced us, chairs were presented and we started talking via translator. At this stage I asked if we could record, which, while he was a bit reticent about, did agree to. To be honest, this kind of surprised me, and I would not have been offended had he pretty much told us to just piss off.
He was though very quick to lay down some ground rules in that he knew nothing of, nor wished to speak about, the politics of the Khmer Rouge. This led to us talking much more broadly about him, his immediate family and what people in the area did. Predominantly this was farming and fishing around the area.
The most interesting tidbit I was given though was that he had met Pol Pot just once in adulthood, back in 1993 just after the Paris Peace Accords and of course just before the elections. These elections were of course boyboted by the Khmer Rouge, now knowns as the Cambodian National Unity Party who would again return to arms, as well as forming the The Provisional Government of National Union and National Salvation of Cambodia (PGNUNSC) rump state.
I also tepidly tried to ask about other family members, but he declared that many had gone to Phnom Penh, abroad, or they simply had no contact with, such as his daughter, who is believed to live in Phnom Malai. The driver would later tell us that this was not strictly true and that his sister owned the house located at the site where he was born, which we got to take a picture of, but that the family there were “less friendly.” It is unclear if this area was owned by the descendants of loyalist Saloth Roeung, or another sister entirely. Alas, they were not so open about discussing the family tree.
What is There to See Around Prek Sbauv?
Following speaking to the family, we went to check out the other sites of Prek Sbauv, which were few to say the least. The first main site is the former home area of Pol Pot where he supposedly was born and grew up. Alas, the original building is gone, but there is still a very eerie structure here that looks like it is straight from a horror film. Apparently they don’t like photos so much, so I was quick and to the point.
Next along there was the extremely fascinating Good Shepherd Catholic Church where we got to speak to the father. This gentleman from Italy not only spoke Khmer perfectly, but after having been in the country since 1994 was an absolute treasure trove of information. According to him, the church had been here initially since before World War 1 and was first closed after being bombed by the government of Lon Nol, rather than through any interaction with the Khmer Rouge. It is likely that he would have interacted with the church, who were big humanitarians at the time before he left in the mid 1930s.
Aside from that, there are no murals, no notices, no monuments, and indeed no homage to a man responsible for a time period most Cambodians are still trying really hard to forget.
Conclusion
Technically there is very little to see, or do in Prek Sbauv, a point proved by the fact that the nephew of Pol Pot said I was only the second “barang” (foreigner) to show up on the rail in about 20 years.
That though does not take away from not just its importance, but also just how eerie it is. While in Prek Sbauv you could literally be anywhere in rural Cambodia as there is karaoke everywhere, little shops, the river, kids running around. Here’s the kicker though, you are not! In fact you are in the very place where one of the most notorious leaders the world has ever seen spent his formative years.
And of course YPT can take you here, as we now have the right contacts. This is essential in a place like this where tensions still of course run very high.
Click to see our Cambodia Tours, where we offer tours specifcially based around the history of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
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