Homemade Trains & Dead Butchers


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December 12th 2006
Published: December 17th 2006
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Pol Pot'sPol Pot'sPol Pot's

The mis-spelt sign at the site of his cremation. Full of bulletholes too.
Saigon - Phnom Penh - Pursat - Battambang - Siem Reap - Anlong Veng - Siem Reap

There's a new scam as you cross the border into Cambodia. It starts with a health declaration form, which is common in many countries. It asks things like 'do you have diarrhoea?' & 'have you had a cold lately?' Of course almost everyone lies, because otherwise you wouldn't be allowed in. I chose not to mention that I'd spent the first hour of the morning in the toilet & didn't mention that I'd blown my nose just minutes earlier. We handed over the forms & were then asked to hand over one dollar. I asked what on earth for & the guy said 'health certificate' Of course he could have asked for the certificate first, rather than the dollar first but that would be just too sensible. As it happens, we have health certificates so despite the immense hassle of actually finding them in our backpacks, we did so & handed them over. We walked on into Cambodia for free & he lost out on the $2 supplement to his salary.

Having managed to find no information about the border crossing we
Bamboo Train Bamboo Train Bamboo Train

A full train pulls into the makeshift station. Near Battambang
wanted to take (Ha Tien) other than 'don't bother' (thanks yet again Lonely Planet), we opted to change our route & take the most straightforward option which involves booking a bus ticket right through to Phnom Penh (where we hadn't really wanted to end up at all). I've done this route before, in 1999, but the border post couldn't be more different. I remember walking across a dusty no man's land with a couple of wooden huts serving as the immigration offices. Today there are grand buildings all around, a shopping mall & as soon as you enter Cambodia, casinos. With gambling being illegal in Vietnam it's an easy trip for Vietnamese to make to the border to lose a few dollars.

As we'd caught a 'tourist' bus we were dropped off at the owner's uncle's brother's cat's guest house, as is normally the way. We didn't really want to stay there, but couldn't face looking for a better place & stayed. These places survive by selling tours, tickets & generally ripping you off. They weren't at all impressed when I said this was my fourth time in the city & that we didn't need any tours at all
Tonle SapTonle SapTonle Sap

Battambang to Siem Reap
thank you very much.

Phnom Penh has changed. It's still a dusty, crumbling mess of a city, but it's starting sprout shopping malls, neon lights, supermarkets & a lot of flash cars. All things that you just didn't see a few years back.

We left Phnom Penh the next morning on a bus to Pursat a few hours away. Pursat was just a stepping stone to nearby Kompong Luong a floating village on the edge of Tonle Sap - the lake that is the heart of Cambodia. Tonle Sap is a true giant that swells from 2500 square feet in the dry season to a collosal 13,000 square feet when the rains come. It is the world's second largest source of freshwater fish & for Cambodians is their lifeblood. A number of settlements lie around the lake, but what is unique about Kompong Luong is that it is always moving. The whole village lives on ther water, in boats & on rafts that have have been modernised into houses & shops. Homes vary in size, and are surrounded by hairdressers, mobile phone shops, gas stations & even a karaoke bar. Although always moving, the village is layed out
High Street High Street High Street

Kompong Luong.
with canal like streets that you can explore in a local boat. It's a beautiful place & the people appear to live such an idyllic life. Whether they see it the same way is hard to tell. There's a couple of static buildings built on very high stilts, giving an indication of much the water has risen up their steps & gates.

From Pursat we travelled a few hours further north to Battambang. As with many towns in Cambodia, Battambang is built around a bustling central market & sits on a river. As with most other towns it's fairly small & it's fairly dusty, a mixture of old Khmer, French colonial & a few but not many modern buildings. Battambang reminds me of how I found Phnom Penh to have been seven years ago. You can tell how grand many of the buildings and parts of town were before years of civil war turned so much to ruin. Today it's a race between decay & rebirth, although it's often hard to tell which is winning. Although life around the markets carries on way after dark, you don't need to stray far to find yourself in utter darkness as most places have no street lights.

There's something special about the way so many towns are centred on the market - it's a real focal point for the community. From before sunrise to way after sunset, there's always a steady flow of shoppers buying everything from still crawling turtles to skin whitening deodorant (quite why you'd want white armpits is beyond me). There's always vast amounts of fresh produce, that's far more colourful than what you find at your local Sainsbury's or New World.

As is the way in many towns, we were greeted from our bus by a throng of motorbike drivers all wanting to take us to a hotel. Some people treat the drivers as if they are the lowest people on the planet, but although often the last thing you want to deal with after a bus ride, the 'in your face' drivers can turn out to be some of the finest people you'll meet. We've only had one bad experience in six months. Some will take you to a hotel for free, others for just a minimal fee. Most can recommend a decent place & if you don't like it, you don't have to stay
Shrine Shrine Shrine

Educated People - Wat Sampheau. Near Battambang
there. Most will actually be driver/guides, although when you wearily get off of a bus you have no way of knowing who to really trust.

In Battambang we were picked up by a young local guy called Rich, who along with his friend Phi-lay became our driver guide. Although some people are cautious with who they trust when it comes to moto drivers, sometimes you just have to remember that these guys know the places a lot better than we do, and that the prices they charge are normally quite reasonable. It's easy to forget when you're debating a price, that what is peanuts to us may be the difference between having dinner or not that night to them.

We spent a day exploring the sights of the local area with Rich & Phi-lay, although what will perhaps be remembered most are the stories they told along the way. I haven't really covered much about history in former blogs, but I feel for Cambodia it's a bit more important as it's a place that is remembered mainly for war & for a temple, but in reality there's so much more to it. That said, we're still going to
Khmer Graffiti Khmer Graffiti Khmer Graffiti

Wat Sampheau. Near Battambang
begin with war.

Most people have heard of the Khmer Rouge, and it's secretive leader Pol Pot. On 17th April 1975 they marched into the capital Phnom Penh & took power. At first they were welcomed, in fact hard as it now seems to believe, the Khmer Rouge enjoyed much support leading up to & in the early days of their regime. Part of the reason for this, being a reaction against the previous political climate & the fact that the US was secretly bombing Cambodia for the first five years of the 1970's as part of their war in Vietnam. I've actually seen video footage of Nixon saying 'We're helping the Cambodians to help themselves' when talking about dropping bombs on them.

The Khmer Rouge ruled for 3 years, 8 months & 21 days, and in that time perhaps millions died, no one knows for sure. Their simple but absurd philosophy was that the whole country would become an extreme communist utopia, where money was abolished, the country was entirely cut off from the outside world (bar one flight a week to China) & the populations of all the towns & cities were marched out to the
Reclining Buddha Reclining Buddha Reclining Buddha

in the 'Killing Cave' Wat Sampheau, near Battambang
coutryside to begin a new life in the fields. Professionals such as doctors & teachers were killed. As time went by almost anyone could end up being killed - people with glasses, women, children, even babies. Family members were split up & often turned against each other. Starvation & disease were rife.

The Khmer Rouge were ousted by a Vietnamerse invasion in 1979; civil war then continued way into the late 1990's, but we'll come back to that later.

Thirty years have passed since the Khmer Rouge began their reign, but there are still plenty of people with a story to tell. On our day out around Battambang, Rich took us first to Phnom Sampeau, a small hill around 40 minutes from town. As with many hills, there's a wat (temple) on the top. At this point we still had no idea how great our driver/guide would be. Some take you to a place, point at it & then go off for a sleep while you look around & try to make sense of it on your own. Rich took us to the top of the hill & we sat on the steps of the wat, surrounded by
Local Highway Local Highway Local Highway

Near Battambang
monks & kids, looking out at a never ending view of the plains. He began to tell us some traditional Cambodian stories & legends.

Although the wat is small, it's very colourful & quite unique. Sadly the hill (or phnom) is more famous for a more sinister reason. The Killing Fields in Phnom Penh are pretty well known - a large area where mass graves were found after the Khmer Rouge left. Similar places stretch right across the country. On Phnom Sampeau there are a handful of caves, places that the Khmer Rouge used to kill people. It's perhaps best that I don't go into too much detail, but at the same times it seems important to share a few of the stories that we were told along the way. One cave was used to kill the young, another the educated. The methods used were basic but brutal - they didn't want to 'waste' money on bullets.

One refreshingly cool cave is now home to a large reclining Buddha & numerous prayer flags. At one end a large opening to the sky is visible high above. Near the bottom is a cage, a memorial full of bones &
Monks Monks Monks

Wat Banan, near Battambang
skulls. As swarms of mosquitoes nibbled around our ankles, Rich told us in a matter of fact way that this was where the educated were killed by being dropped from the opening high above. This, he said, was where his grandfather was killed. His mother, a young girl then, had been forced to watch - if she'd cried she would have been killed too. He pointed to the pile of bones & said 'my grandfather is somewhere in there'

Aside from the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is perhaps most well known these days for the temples of Angkor Wat. Angkor is just one of hundreds of temples, but despite being the most well known, it is neither the oldest nor the biggest. Near Battambang is Banan, a pre-Angkorian ruin. Sitting at the top of another hill, it's small but well maintained. The ancient Khmer empire was vast & there are amazing ruins like this scattered far & wide across the country.

Perhaps a highlight near Battambang is the 'norry' or Bamboo Train. I'm sure at some point I'll come to talk about the roads in Cambodia, but for now I'll just mention that they are a lot better than
Wat Banan Wat Banan Wat Banan

Near Battambang
they used to be. The advent of some decent roads has sadly spelt the end for passenger trains, although as they travelled at around 20km per hour they weren't really the most efficient way to travel anyway. Even before the trains had stopped, locals here had invented their own bamboo version. Using the same tracks as the normal train, this train is a simple cart built from bamboo with an engine attached to the back. They are used up & down the stretch of track near Battambang for local journeys between villages. There's only one set of tracks, so if two bamboo trains find themselves head to head then the one with the lighter load has to be disembarked, taken apart & removed from the track so the other can pass. It's an exhilarating way to travel, they claim that you hit speeds of over 40km per hour (30mph) & it certainly feels like it. The tracks are in a terrible state - they're warped & buckled, making for a bumpy ride. It's hard to imagine how the freight train that still runs manages to negotiate the tracks without flying off.

Over lunch Phi-lay told us a bit about
Buddha's Foot Buddha's Foot Buddha's Foot

Wat Banan, near Battambang
his life. While Rich is young, born in a refugee camp after Khmer Rouge rule, Phi-lay is an older man, a father with children. He was a child in the seventies & remembers it well. He told us the story of his survival. His family was a moderately wealthy one, from Phnom Penh. They were forcibly moved to the countryside where despite his young age he was to work in the fields. They worked 15 hour days & at full moon had to work at night too. He watched his sister grow sick & die. He kept telling us how much his daughter looks like her & how much he feels the need to protect her. Back in the fields, Phi-lay became skinny & ill, but rather than die like his sister he was taken to a hospital. Luckily someone took pity on him, a rare thing at the time. He was secretly given extra food & he managed to survive. His family had no idea & it wasn't until years later that he was reunited with those members who were still left. His parents had been killed, but some siblings who had for years thought he was dead were
Bamboo Train - rather dubious track Bamboo Train - rather dubious track Bamboo Train - rather dubious track

You really need to open this image to see just how bad it is. Near Battambang
alive too.

For years in Cambodia, boat was one of the main forms of transport. With most towns built on rivers & roads that were barely passable, boat was a very viable alternative. With more & more roads now paved, boats are sadly becoming a thing of the past. There are a few that still remain, and we took one for the stunning trip from Battambang to Siem Reap. The journey leads into the northern tip of the Tonle Sap before arrival in Siem Reap. Being just after the end of the rainy season, the river & lake are at their highest level. The day begins by snaking through jungle & villages, with a never ending echo of 'hello hello' from kids on the riverbank You're constantly surrounded by people on the river, fishing, washing or playing. It's normal for foreigners to travel these routes on the roof of the boat, locals wouldn't be as stupid to sit in the intense heat on a boat in the middle of an expanse of water. As the river leads to the lake it becomes obvious just how much the water level has risen. Tips of submerged trees cling to life as
Tonle SapTonle SapTonle Sap

Battambang to Siem Reap
they emerge from the water. In places, houses built high on stilts now sit at the water lever rather than high above as they would in dry season. The lake strecthes for an eternity, but it's a beautiful sight, an area full of life from birds & fish, to locals coming & going.

Arriving in Siem Reap is a rude awakening. From the serenity of the journey & the echoes of a peaceful Battambang, it's a sudden change to a sea of tuk tuk drivers & moto men all desperate for your business. Once in Siem Reap itself you are in the real centre of tourism in Cambodia, this being the base from which to explore the temples around Angkor. Siem Reap used to be another dusty town on a river with a market. Today it's a building site - hotel after hotel after hotel. And not just any hotel, giant international monoliths are gradually replacing any soul that Siem Reap used to have. Going back to so many places on this trip that I've been once, twice or more times before has meant the opportunity not just to see some favourite sights again, but also to eat in
Ta Mok's Garden Ta Mok's Garden Ta Mok's Garden

An eerie view
some favourite places again. Sadly many have disappeared over the years. I don't know if we'll ever get over the sadness of our favourite Cambodian curry place in Siem Reap having not closed, but instead having entirely changed it's menu & severely hiked up its prices. They don't even serve a decent curry anymore. Tragic. (Fortunately another cheapish & decent curry place turned up a few days later).

As it happens this was just to be a passing visit, after one night we set off further north, almost to the Thai border, to a very small town called Anlong Veng. Far from the standard or even the not so standard tourist routes, Anglong Veng is most well known for its connections with former dictators & their chums.

Until his death in 1998 Pol Pol lived in Choam Sa Ngan near here & until he was finally arrested a few years back Ta Mok lived in Anlong Veng itself. You may wonder why we would want to visit such place with such grim connections, in fact Kylie asked me a few times why I was dragging her there too. The fact that to get there we had to survive
Drunk Pigs Drunk Pigs Drunk Pigs

Leftovers from the process of making rice wine are fed to pigs, leaving them drunk, content & happy to eat more. Near Battambang
one of the worst roads in the country didn't help my cause either (but we'll get back to that later). I guess I wanted to come to Anglong Veng to try & help understand the other side of the Khmer Rouge & why some still support it today. To me it also seemed to be an important part of the historical picture, just as the popular Killing Fields & S21 Torture Centre are in Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge was still engaged in a civil war in Cambodia until 1998 & hard as it is to believe, they did so with support not just from a few Cambodians, but also with funds & support from the USA, UK & Thailand. They were even able to have a seat at the UN thanks to the great politicians in Washington & London.

From Pol Pot's home in the small village right on the Thai border, it was easy for him to flee to Thailand if required, where he was provided with a safe haven for nearly 20 years. The village isn't one of the nicest I've ever seen. Most huts are built from a mix of wood & plastic sacks. As
Trying to escape Trying to escape Trying to escape

She even knows how to start the engine. Anlong Veng
we walked through the market, it easily felt like one of the least friendly places I've been here. One can only assume that if he lived here without ever being knocked off by a disgruntled local, he must have enjoyed some degree of support. However when he finally died in 1998, he was given the type of sending off that would no doubt have pleased many across the nation. He was hastily cremated in a plain wooden coffin that was placed upon a pile of old tyres in a cutting beside the village. Video & photos of the event show that any old rubbish that would easily burn was thrown onto the pyre. Today there is a small memorial where he was cremated. There's a sign which says 'Pol Pot's was cremated here'

The method of cremation & the grammatical error on the sign seem very apt.

While Pol Pot was known as Brother Number One, the one legged Ta Mok was Brother Number Five. Although many simply referred to him as The Butcher - I'm sure you can imagine why.

Every so often you may catch a story on the news about the (twenty five years
Khmer Rouge Carvings Khmer Rouge Carvings Khmer Rouge Carvings

Khmer people have long been famous for carving although normally at temples. These soldiers are near Anlong Veng
too late) genocide trials in Cambodia. The news story a few weeks ago was about food. The Europeans involved in the trial had chosen a fancy expensive ex-pat restaurant to provide lunches - a ridiculous mix of high class food that even you or I wouldn't expect to regularly eat. At lunchtime the locals were all disappearing off to the local food stalls to buy rice & noodles - something they could stomach instead. To me this sums up the whole debacle quite nicely. Thirty years after the event, and still no one has been tried. Court proceedings are slowly taking place, but it's most likely that all the remaining leaders will be dead by the time anything happens. Ta Mok was in jail awaiting trial, but died a few months ago. Almost everyone was connected to the Khmer Rouge in some way. Many had no choice but to be a soldier. If the trials will ever really happen remains to be seen, but when you consider that even the current Prime Minster was a Khmer Rouge soldier, it's hard to imagine how they could ever really bring everyone to justice.

Hated though he was by many, those in
Bamboo Train - head on   Bamboo Train - head on   Bamboo Train - head on

Our train carries a heavier load, so the other has to be taken apart while we pass. Near Battambang
Anglong Veng see Ta Mok as a bit of a hero. We visited his house, a large open plan stilt house sitting on the banks of a beautiful yet eerie lake. His possesions are long gone, but the walls haven't changed, they are all painted - from magnificent Angkorian Temples to a lush river & jungle seen, abundant with wildlife. I couldn't help but think of other paintings I'd seen of Khmer Rouge soldiers torturing people in the very same temples depicted here.

Dead trees are scattered across the lake he once overlooked. Beautiful as it is, it's like looking out at a graveyard.

The body of Brother Number 5 was taken back to Anlong Veng after his death. The crowds came out to see him off, there were monks offering blessings, even though The Butcher had seen to it that monks were brutally murdered 25 years ago.

I was keen to talk to some locals to try to understand ho they could support this evil man, but sadly in Anlong Veng almost no one speaks English. We met one teenager who is a fan, & although he lives hundreds of miles away he often visits to
Paradise Paradise Paradise

As seen in a painting at Ta Mok's house
meet like minded locals. We asked him why, but he couldn't explain it to us.

The only person who really spoke English was Dara, the wonderful cousin of our guest house owner. She was as bemused as we were. Apparently Ta Mok did do some good for the local community, although apparently most people there have strange ideas about what's good for them. Many refuse to send their kids to school & many can't read or write at all - this being despite the fact that the opportunity to be educated is there. The Khmer Rouge killed Dara's parents & her sister. They will have killed the parents & siblings of many other people from Anlong Veng too.

The road to Anlong Veng is in a sorry state, but being dry season we were lucky. During the rains it's even worse. To add to the discomfort the journey was taken in a very overcrowded Toyota Camry. What we didn't realise then is that this is the new way to travel in Cambodia.

But our next 'bad road Toyota Camry experience' wouldn't come for awhile. From the surreal experience of Anlong Veng we ventured back to Siem Reap
Food Food Food

Anlong Veng
for another trip to Angkor Wat.

Wellington - Sydney - Bangkok - Khao Lak - Chaweng (Koh Samui) - Lamai (Koh Samui) - Bangkok - Macau - Guangzhou - Yangshuo - Guangzhou - Zhengzhou - Guangzhou - Shanghai - Huang Shan - Shao Lin - Beijing - Xi'an - Chengdu - Leshan - Kanding - Tagong - Litang - Xiang Cheng - Zhongdian - Lijiang - Kunming - Hekou/Lao Cai - Hanoi - Cat Ba Island - Ninh Binh - Hanoi - Hue - Hoi An - Hue - Hanoi - Sapa - La Chau - Son La - Mai Chau -Hanoi - China Beach - Hoi An - China Beach - Quy Nhon - Kon Tum - Saigon - Phnom Penh - Pursat - Battambang - Siem Reap - Anlong Veng - Siem Reap






Additional photos below
Photos: 37, Displayed: 37


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Bamboo Train Bamboo Train
Bamboo Train

Near Battambang
Tonle SapTonle Sap
Tonle Sap

An endless Lake
Leaning Stilt House Leaning Stilt House
Leaning Stilt House

Kompong Luong. Houses built on stilts are common across Asia, on land as well as water. If it's dry underneath, it's a handy place to store animals or your bike. It's also nice and shaded.
Battambang Market Battambang Market
Battambang Market

Spills onto the street
Flower Flower
Flower

Near Battambang
Floating Village Floating Village
Floating Village

There's no escape from karaoke. Kompong Luong.
Local storeLocal store
Local store

Kompong Luong.
Pineapple Pineapple
Pineapple

Near Battambang
Floating Village Floating Village
Floating Village

They may float but they still have tv. Kompong Luong.
Elephant Tusks Elephant Tusks
Elephant Tusks

On sale near the Thai border
Fruitbat Fruitbat
Fruitbat

Near Battambang
Hairdresser Hairdresser
Hairdresser

Anlong Veng
Local Mechanic Local Mechanic
Local Mechanic

They start them young here, beats going to school. This one certainly knew his way around the workshop. His mother also offered him to us to keep. Anlong Veng
Local bus Local bus
Local bus

Anlong Veng
PlaytimePlaytime
Playtime

...lasts all day. Parents choose not to send them to school. Anlong Veng


18th December 2006

pics
Man! great photos, Tim! I especially like the top one of the bamboo train, the 'local bus,' 'floating village' with the tv ariels, and 'local mechanic.' what do you say when people offer you children? that must be the saddest kind of travel imaginable.

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