Lessons learned in Cambodia

I have been in Cambodia since Feb. 26. Arrived after two short flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City ( formerly Saigon) and then on to Siem Reap. If Vietnam was hot then Cambodia borders on hell. The temps hover between 90 - 100 and the humidity is so high that just walking at a slow pace produces copious waterfalls of dripping sweat. We found some wonderful Khmer neckerchiefs that you soak in water and throw around your neck and they help to keep you cool. Perhaps it is just psychological but they seemed to have helped.

So lesson #1 is give yourself plenty of time to see the wonderful, amazing, exquisite and historic temple sites. That is what we did since as many of you know we are perfecting the art of 'slow travel'.

Lesson #2- get your VISA when you arrive at the airport in Siem Reap ( rather than sending your passport to one of those agencies that charge $100 bucks- which is a huge ripoff. You will need a passport size photo and $20 in US currency. If you don't have the currency there are 2 ATM's right by where you wait in line. The process is fast and efficient and you are through in about 10 minutes.

Lesson #3- go to visit the temples early in the morning. Take a break from noon to 3ish and cool off at your hotel and then go back later in the day. There is a night market in Siem Reap which means you don't have to walk around in the broiling sun. if you are in the sun ewear lots of sunscreen, a hat and carry an umbrella.

Lesson #4- A 'tuk- tuk' ( small 2 seater carts pulled by a motorscooter) runs between $2/ 3 a ride around town. They like to wait for you so you might get a better price if you tell them you want a round trip. They especially like to take you out to Angkor Wat and around to the other temples. You can then hire one for the entire day. It is well worth it as walking between temple sites in the heat would be asking to die.

Lesson #5- Sometimes your hotel has the best priced and most delicious food on the block. While this is not usually the case, I found that we had lucked out at the Tara Angkor where most of our meals ran between $4- 6 including water and dessert.

Lesson#6- Siem Reap appears to be in a building boom . Huge hotels are going up at an alarming rate. It is hard to believe that they will all have customers. Super enormous department stores are being built on almost every block. The architecture is strange as it doesn't seem to reflect anything Cambodian or Asian. Some of the behemoth buildings remind me of the Stalinist big block edifices that were blots on every country the Russians had under the control or large Germanic hulking structures that were built during the time of the 3rd.Reich( think the Reichstag in Berlin). Our theory is that there are foreign investors who are building these i'e' the Japanese and Korean as as those were the majority of the tourist groups we saw. While we did see them touring some of the temples( which often consisted of taking photos in cute poses) mostly we saw their buses outside the shopping centers. I would think that the prices here would bee quite low for most of them and so Cambodia might just be their version of Wal-Mart or Target. For whatever reason it is providing jobs ( albeit low paying and service industry ones) for the local young people.

Lesson #7- Everyone seems to know a bit of English or they are studying it. The driver who picked us up from the airport had a 5 inch dictionary that he carried around in his car. His son and former wife lived in Boston and he needs to know English not only for his job but so he will be able to talk to his son who is forgetting how to speak Cambodian. We met a young boy of 18 in a local cemetery who was reading his English dictionary when we walked in. He asked us how long we had been speaking English. He has been studying it for 5 months and wanted to talk to us. He was very poor and lived in a small room amongst the funeral monuments. English is spoken to all the European visitors.

Lesson #8-when you go only a few hundred yards outside the tourist district you can see how poor the people are and the homes that they live in are basically thatched roof hovels with straw mats for walls. There is no electricity per se so some run a light off a generator. There is no indoor plumbing. When we rode out to Ta Prohm temple we went past many houses that had signs in their yards saying that their well was a product of the Cambodian Water Project and money donated by- and it would give the name and country of the donor. We saw wells donated by Swedes, Brits, and mostly Americans. The most amazing group of houses was the floating village of Chong Khneas. These are boats or structures built on the Tonle Sap Lake that house Vietnamese boat people who fled after the war. Because they are illegal immigrants they cannot enter Cambodia. They have been there for many years and now have a Catholic church, stores, a school. Fishing is their main occupation. It is an incredible testament to the determination of these people that they have set up a community under the most adverse conditions. I don't know much about the politic. It seems that Cambodia could easily evict them if they really wanted to but for now they all seem to be living in peace.

Lesson #8- Many boys go to the monastery to get educated and fed. It helps the family economically and gives the boy a chance for a better future. We had a waiter who spoke pretty good English. He told us he was a monastery boy, that he was very poor but now he has a job and was happy. Y

Lesson #9- It really is all about the temples. You would need a month to see all the temple sites in Siem Reap or else be 15 years old and on crack. Choose wisely, young grasshoppers and go to the ones that interest you the most. You have to get a pass to enter any of the temple sites. It can be for 1 day, 3 days or a week. They take your picture for your pass and you have to show it everywhere you go. I went to Banteay Srei ( means 'Citadel of Women'). It is said that it must have been built by women because the elaborate carvings are too fine for the hands of a man. Most of the temples were built between 1,100and 1,200A.D. It is one of th smallest in size but he carvings are so elaborate and adorn almost every inch of space. It is about 32 km north of Siem Reap and it is best to go early in the morning before the tour buses get there.
Another one I went to was Ta Prohm which is best known as the setting of the movie 'Tomb Raider'. It has been left in its original jungle like state and oozes with huge trees with roots that have overtaken the ground like giant squid tentacles. It is said that it took 80,000 people to build it.
Then, of course, I went to the granddaddy of all the temples, Angkor Wat said to be the largest religious structure in the world. While the temple is extraordinary the moat and walls surrounding it are works of art themselves. the 'churning of the Ocean Milk' bas relief is over 800 meters long and has carvings of 88 demons on one side and 92 gods on the other. I could go on and on but best to google it and see for yourself. We treated ourselves to a hot air balloon ride and saw the entire structure from on high.
Lesson #10-Cambodia is a sweet country that is trying to move ahead after years of horrific pain, war, and living under the horrible dictator Pol Pot. Everywhere we went we saw small groups of handicapped musicians who had been injured by exploding mines. They were trying to retain their dignity and not beg. Most of the mines have been cleared but not all. It is a country of grinding poverty with hard working people putting all their efforts into developing a tourist industry. So come, enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage Site. While you are here contribute to building a well, helping an orphanage, donating money to the children's hospital. Be an aware tourist who gives more than they take away.

Next stop....Vientiane, Laos

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