Cambodia and Awesome Angkor

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With just a couple of days left on our Vietnamese visas we caught a bus from Saigon to the border with Cambodia. The boarder formalities were straightforward enough and before long we were on our way to the capital Phnom Penh.

Cambodia is the poorest country in the region, which was quite evident when we arrived in Phnom Penh. The city was noticeably dustier and the buildings more dilapidated than the other cities we had visited. Also, despite having their own currency - the Riel - US dollars are the number 1 currency. Even the ATM's dispense dollars. This became pretty frustrating as the GBP began to slide for the first time in 2 years. Despite that, Phnom Penh was still very cheap. The city is situated next to a large tributary of the Mekong. We stayed in a hotel on this waterfront which is littered with counterfeit DVD and bookstores, children and amputee's begging, cafes and robed monks. Quite an eclectic mix! It was on this front that we both discovered the divine dish - Eggs Benedict.

We spent a few days here and were both impressed and deeply depressed by the sights that we saw, which will become clear as we describe them. Beginning with the impressive: The Grand Palace and Silver Pagoda. In all honesty, we were not expecting a lot considering how run-down the rest of the city felt. However the area that enclosed the Grand Palace and Silver Pagoda were exceptionally clean and impeccably well kept. The Grand Palace, whilst not as impressive as it's sister in Bangkok, was gleaming, and the surrounding gardens very tranquil, despite the humid, stifling heat. There are a variety of buildings around the Grand Palace area all of which exude regal charm.

We walked through the Grand Palace area to the Silver Pagoda, which was housed in quite an expansive area surrounded by impressive stupas. It is called the Silver Pagoda because the entire floor area of the pagoda are tiles of silver. Disappointingly only a small area is available for viewing, with the rest covered over. Surely you do not install something so unique to have it completely covered?

Many clothing labels are made in Cambodia and unsurprising some of their merchandise finds its way into some of the local markets in the city. We visited one called the Russian Market, which is supposed to be one of the best. Lovers of GAP, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch would be in heaven here as all of these labels new season designs were on show for the real price - not the 1,000% mark up prices they are seen in the shops! We picked up t-shirts and tops for between $1 to $4. It's a great shopping experience, as you can imagine, but difficult as its a very busy market, which, combined with the heat and claustrophobic passageways ensures no-one spends the day here. We did end up with yet another ton of clothing, which we will have to wait until we get to Bangkok before we can get rid of. The Cambodian postal service is not meant to be particularly reliable!

Onto the more depressing sights of Phnom Penh. Anyone who is aware of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge will perhaps know what a brutal ride the Cambodians have endured for the last 30 or so years. When we understood what this country has been through, we began to appreciate why it is as poor and less developed than it's neighboring countries.

As an overview, the Khmer Rouge came to power in the mid-70's and instigated one of the most brutal regimes in history. It was an incredibly extreme communist society, led by Pol Pot which involved virtually emptying
Phnom Penh and putting its inhabitants to work for 12 hours a day in the fields in the hope of creating a classless society. People were re-educated and others shot dead even if they looked like they were conspiring. In total about 1/4 of the entire population was exterminated. It's leaders have not - even today - been brought to justice.

Alleged conspirators were brought to S21 - a school which was turned into a prison and torture camp. We visited this and were shocked by what we saw. The area has been turned into a museum and is incredibly haunting. Such intensely grotesque acts were committed in buildings dedicated to educating children, which is a very chilling thought. The area is made up of 4 blocks, the functions of which are divided between torture rooms, tiny holding cells and museums. Each block is wrapped in rusted barb-wire lattice ensuring no victim could escape and making it feel even more harrowing here.

The torture cells were quite disgusting - hard check tiled floors with a single bed with iron shackles attached to them allowed us to imagine what atrocities were conducted in these rooms. Blood stains still marked the floors in violent streaks. As if that were not enough, large pictures adorned the walls which showed who was found in the room and in what state. Not surprisingly these people were dead, but they had endured stomach-churning torture at the hands of their captors before that release. Inmates were often bludgeoned to death to save bullets.

The cell blocks were a mixture of wood and brick, all very hastily compiled. Each cell was very small - at a guess 3ft by 4 ft with a disused ammo crate to use for the toilet. The final wing was a harrowing display of photos. The Khmer Rouge photographed every individual that was at the camp - including the children. We walked past row after row of them. Photographs of people who knew they would soon be tortured and then killed. Children stared back at us, wide-eyed and despondent. Each picture was ghostly, but it was the number of them which also shocked us.

After being horrifically tortured at S21, inmates were often ferried to an area outside Phnom Penh, now called the Killing Fields. We chartered a tuk-tuk to this area and made our way through a cloud of dust to an area where thousands were infamously killed, then dumped in a pit to rot. A large monument has been built at the entrance of the Killing Fields to commemorate the dead and to serve as a poignant reminder to future generations of what happened at this sight and during the Khmer Rouge era. This tall monument houses hundreds of skulls of the people who died here all laid out and stacked about 10 levels high. Just seeing one skull can be unsettling, seeing hundreds piled high was an experience we will not forget.

Considering the amount of people who met their ends here, the area is considerably small, we could just picture hundreds of lifeless bodies piled on top of each other. There are pits everywhere - each of which could contain the remains of hundreds of people. Bits of bone and clothing still litter the site and certain trees and rocks are sign-posted as they were used to either crack peoples heads against or to hang speakers off playing music to muffle the moans and groans of the dead and dying. Entire families were brought here, crammed into trucks, savagely beaten and then killed. Anyone who has not seen the 'Killing Fields' film, we would strongly recommend. We wandered around this area for some time quite solemnly - it was eerily quiet save for a few children playing in a nearby river.

After our somewhat enlightening visit to Phnom Penh we made our way by bus to Cambodia's biggest and best attraction by the town of Siem Reap - The Temples of Angkor. On arrival in Siem Reap we were greeted by the usual touts but also a group of begging children. As we climbed off the bus they began clawing at us trying to grab a polystyrene box we had - in the hope that it contained food. We only had a couple of bits if pineapple inside which we let them have. As soon as they had custody of it the gang ran off with their prize. Their desperation was something we were not prepared for at all.

Siem Reap is another dusty town, which is thriving because of its proximity to Angkor Wat. Consisting of markets and hotels, there also appear to be hundreds of tuk-tuk drivers lining the streets. You cannot walk a few paces without one touting for business. We finally found a driver, after bargaining for his services for an evening and a day. We opted to watch the sunset over Angkor Wat, followed by sunrise and a full day of exploration of the entire complex the following day.

The entire complex is staggering in terms of size and equally breathtaking in appearance. The area contains many temples and ancient buildings - the most impressive were Angkor Wat itself, Angkor Thom, Bayon and Ta Prohm. I expect to either run out of, or massively over-use superlatives when describing each of them!

Sunrise at Angkor Wat was awesome. The famous temple was silhouetted against the purple sky of dawn which soon gave way to beautiful rays of orange that slowly lit up the main stupa. The scene was mesmerising as monks wandered around and mystical music was played to the rising sun - it felt like a theatrical performance. The best way to describe the scene is magical, as gradually the detail of each column is brought into view, casting its reflection into the ponds in the foreground. As the sun climbed higher we made our way into the temple itself. Built in the early years of the 12th century, the temple is quite an astounding architectural achievement and the central towers are awe-inspiring.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a large green area, an outer wall and then a moat with the temples in the centre ensuring they are the focal point and that the surrounding jungle is kept at bay. Such must have been these peoples devotion to their religion that they would build such a magnificent monument is incredible. Each corner of the crumbling complex is seeped in history and one cannot help but be mightily impressed.

The next area we visited was the walled city of Angkor Thom, which contains a temple called Bayon. The walled city is magnificent. From Angkor Wat we entered by the Eastern Gate, which consists of a row of stone Buddha's lining the road leading to a huge gate with a crumbling mystical face gazing out. Once inside Angkor Thom we felt as if we were in a well kept park, with well clipped grass and tall trees shading the road en-route to Bayon. A procession of tuk-tuk's flittering past on either side ferrying tourists around the complex.

From a distance, Bayon looks like a pile of stony rubble. However, as we got closer we could really see how impressive a monolith it is. The temple is made up of 3 levels, each smaller than the last. The defining characteristic of Bayon is the many mystical faces that gaze out in all directions. There are about 200 faces of Lokesvara in total. Each has a serene look on its face which was designed to influence the citizens of Angkor Thom wherever they may be in the walled city - and to ensure they were aware they were being watched by a higher authority at all times.

We scaled up and down the levels, exploring as many cracks (there were many) as we could. We were surprised at how many small passageways and areas were accessible and took the opportunity to get up close to some of the Lokesvara faces. Their ambiguous stare can actually be quite unsettling!

The final temple we visited is probably the most iconic and atmospheric of all - Ta Prohm. This temple appears in the first Tomb Raider film and is famous for the trees which are twisted around parts of the temple. A magnificent battle between man and nature is taking place, the eventual victor is quite obvious. The jungle is slowly reclaiming this site - huge trees have grown in grotesque ways around stone walls, columns and door ways. They have wrapped themselves around in such a way that it is now apparently impossible to remove them as they are now part of the structural fabric which is keeping the building erect. Grass and moss sprout from many parts of the stone which makes this temple all the more atmospheric.

After a few nights out in Bar Street and particularly Angkor Wat? - a famous bar on this strip we were finally ready to make our way back to Thailand. The ride here was a very bumpy one as the road has not yet been paved. We were thrown around in the back of a taxi for 3 hours before crossing the boarder at Poipet and finally emerging from the dust to glide along the smooth tarmacked roads of Thailand back to Bangkok.

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