Ta Mok's House

Ta Mok's house, on a peaceful lakeside site, is a Spartan structure with a bunker in the basement, five childish wall murals downstairs and three more murals upstairs, including a map and an idyllic wildlife scene. About the only furnishings that weren't looted are the floor tiles - on these very bits of ceramic, the men who killed 1.7 million Cambodians planned offensives, passed death sentences and joked with friends.

To his former supporters, many of whom still reside around Anlong Veng, Ta Mok (Uncle Mok, AKA Brother Number Five) was harsh but fair, a benevolent builder of orphanages and schools, and a leader who kept order in stark contrast to the anarchic atmosphere that prevailed once the government took over. But to most Cambodians, Pol Pot's military enforcer, responsible for thousands of deaths in successive purges during the terrible years of Democratic Kampuchea, was best known as 'The Butcher'. Arrested in 1999, he died in July 2006 in a Phnom Penh hospital, awaiting trial for genocide and crimes against humanity.

To get to Ta Mok's house, head north from the Doves of Peace Roundabout for about 2km, turn right and continue 200m past the Tourism Information hut, whose posters promote local curiosities such as 'Ta Mok's mango field'. The admission price includes a tour with a knowledgeable English-speaking guide.