On and Off the Tourist Route in Cambodia

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Part 14
February 13 Siem Reap, Cambodia

Surely there is a Cambodia beyond Siem Reap, a town that seems to have been rapidly transformed by the sudden "in-ness" of Cambodia and particularly Angkor Wat. From stepping off the plane to the sharp old airport aside the under construction new one, you can tell this is a big step above Laos or India in terms of tourist orientation. Driving into town (with a taxi driver speaking fine English), we passed dozens of spanking new, remarkably similar looking, giant hotels (all named Angkor this or that). And past all this, in the former backpacker part of town, we found "Bar Street," lined with balconiued restaurants that wouldn't look out of place in Seattle or San Francisco (except for their pricing--a bargain by US standards at $3-5 per meal, but pricier than neighboring countries by a fair bit). Although it doesn't exactly feel very "Cambodian" to eat in such posh places, it seems the thing to do here, so the kids are enjoying the comforts of pesto noodles, pizzas, baked goods, ice cream, etc. (Elaine and I have yet to crave foods from home and seek our the local dishes even in restaurants that look far from local, but we are succumbing to the Chocolate Fondant with ice cream at the Blue Pumpkin, where we can lounge on stark white couches in the minimalist, air con, free wifi equipped lounge).
Cambodia now gets over 1 million tourists a year, and it likely every single one comes through Siem Reap. The vast majority actually are Asians (mainly Korean and Japanese) and it is likely they are fueling the fancy hotel building spree. Even with these numbers, it is hard to imagine there is enough business for all these countless hotels and guesthouses, but even a small cut of 1 million tourists spending can probably finance a lot of construction.
It is a bit hard to find the real Cambodia amidst all this tourist orientation. From the moment you step on the street, someone is there to offer to drive you in a tuk tuk or to sell books (illegal copies sold very cheap) or hawk postcards or simply beg. Most are fairly innocuous, and some of the kids have this banter they have learned to recite with facts and figures about the US (and presumably other countries) (apparently, kids here often learn several languages just on the street, and this is evident in the numerous guides out at the temples who speak a slew of languages with remarkable fluency.) Most of this selling is necessary given the poverty still quite present here, and many of the kids are working this angle as an after school job.
Last evening, we ventured out to Angkor Wat for sunset, crossing the path of hundreds leaving the temple (presumably to join the hordes at the more favored sunset spot atop another nearby edifice). Nearly everyone who visits Angkor seems awed by it and its magical feel. Somehow, we missed this sensation, perhaps because the thousands who had been there earlier that day may have used up all the magic for the day. In truth, we are not much for seeing "sights," much preferring experiencing cultures and the everyday lives of others. And Angkor has the added problem of being old and dark and somewhat worn, leaving a fair bit of its grandeur to the imagination.
Today, we did the grand tour of the temples on bikes, covering some 45 km and stopping at about 7 temples (some of which are over a square kilometer in size). This has a feel similar to Tikal in Guatemala, with temples spread out through the jungle, although they seem more restored here. The temples mostly are quite similar, with very symmetrical layouts, a central tower surrounded by four corner towers. Some have intricate carvings adorning the lintels or walls or towers, including some impressive bas reliefs surrounding the outer walls of Angkor Wat and Bayon. Bayon has huge faces staring down from all angles, and elsewhere we saw various decorative animal sculptures of elephants or lions.
The major cultural feature of the temples are the masses of Korean tour groups being led through the paces. The most significant cultural markers of this tribe is their penchant for photographing each other in front of every monument or sight and traveling in packs. This seemed to raise their interest in sights a bit beyond ours, although, thankfully, they didn't seem to have the fortitude to venture to the further out temples they left for more quiet and uncrowded appreciation of others.
Perhaps the numbers of Koreans were inflated by the fact that yesterday was "Buddha day," a holiday here to celebrate Buddha's birthday, death, etc. I guess this is like Christmas and Easter and a few other Christian holidays wrapped into one, but with more of the Buddhist understatement and a lot less of the consumer culture that colors many holidays in the US. The main feature we saw of the holiday was the march of the monks--thousands of monks and nuns, dressed in robes of saffron or white respectively, lined up to receive gifts from dutiful parishioners. What looked like simple alms giving became much more impressive in scope when you saw the quantities (and products) involved. The majority of offerings were in cash, but even this involved huge stacks of bills, doled out one by one (except when someone needed change and had to dig into a monk's bowl to spread the wealth). Apparently, the monks can't touch their stash until everything is completed, so each has a little kid helper who manages the collection, periodically moving piles of bills into the monks satchel, and later collecting the odd other gifts of ramen noodles, cans of soda, bottles of water, and assorted other edibles that made the final take (a huge flour sack full that the assistant and monk could barely lift together) look like a varsity version of Halloween.
The rest of the day was spent biking on the mercifully quiet and shaded and flat road that ran amongst the numerous temples of the Angkor complex. We passed the many sellers of cold drinks and t shirts and Buddha sculptures (with endless calls of cold drink, sir, cold drink), and also the many small rows of elevated bamboo or wood houses with thatched palm roofs that constituted the villages that remain in proximity to the ruins. Nice day of riding, capped by well deserved ice creams, a much appreciated cold shower, and fine dining at The Soup Dragon, one of those hip restaurants that gives a fair chunk of their profits to the Angkor Children's Hospital (the idea of coupling commerce with social services being prevalent in Cambodia in all sorts of guises from the Seeing Hands Massage by the blind to Friends Restaurant training the urban poor for the hospitality industry to Artisans of Angkor giving rural youth skills in the arts to the landmine bands who play near the monuments to the many other shops that tout socially responsible business practices).

Feb 14
Siem Reap
The hot sun today made us appreciate the slight cloudiness yesterday that made our ride much more feasible. Today we rode by remorque-kang, these locally made shaded carts with facing cushy seats that are pulled behind fancy 110 cc motorcycles. We headed out to Khal Spean, known for its rock carvings of Vishnu and Shiva set in a river running through the (hot) jungle. This brought us out into a more authentic Cambodia, although still being quite on the tourist track, it is probably far from unaffected by the passing traffic. Still, we saw some more cultural sights of palm sugar makers, charcoal sellers, and battery rechargers (where a whole village of car batteries are hooked up to some generator in what passes as the local electric utility. Obviously, there is no electric power out this way, and water is supplied by drop the bucket down type wells and a few hand pumps built with Japanese support. Unlike Laos, where the villages are built around the water supply, the villages here seem strung out along the road, maybe a bit less communal, or simply a factor of land titles and geography (you can stick houses seemingly anywhere on the flat terrain here--the hills in Laos may be more limiting).

Feb 15 Siem Reap
I think we are winning the longest in Siem Reap award, as most tourists seem to blow through here for the 1-3 days at Angkor Wat and out. Now that we are off that circuit, we can have a much more educational experience, today visiting the Angkor Hospital for Children, The Landmine Museum, and The Silk Farm, with a shadow puppet performance planned for tonight (and who says we aren't doing schooling?)
Walking to the hospital, we walked one street off the main drag, and rather quickly were immersed in the more real Cambodia of dirt streets, shops in tiny stalls, and the ever present low priced barber shops. Here there were many more people waving hello and no one begging or trying to sell us illegally copied books.
The hospital is one of those places that reminds me of Compass--where goodwill and commitment gives off a feeling of good vibes throughout the place. AHC was founded by a Japanese photographer who witnessed the death of a Cambodian child and vowed to try to prevent preventable deaths here in the future. Through Friends without a Border (www.fwab.org), he has managed to finance this hospital that provides free services in a place where health care is pitiful, as well training Cambodian doctors and nurses to serve here and throughout the country. (Amazingly, only about 15 doctors are graduated in Cambodia annually, thereby severely limiting how much health care could be delivered even if there were facilities.) Not surprisingly, the hospital was packed, inside and out, with parents and their young children. Respiratory infections are the most common problem, but it was obvious the care ran the gamut from oral rehydration to emergency care to surgery. Thankfully, volunteer medical personnel come from throughout the globe (including Dr. Bob Nassau from Brattleboro who spends a month here each year) to help with training and development. A real beam of goodwill in a country that has plenty of rough spots still.
From here, we went to the understated Landmine Museum (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) that embodied a similar selfless commitment from its founder, Aki Ra, himself as survivor of the Khmer Rouge who has dedicated himself to ridding the countryside of landmines (clearing 30 or so a day still). In the process of this critical work, he has also taken in a slew of landmine victims, who call the museum site home, happily inhabiting the premises with their children and other family. Landmines are a terrible atrocity that have lingering effects years, even decades, after their placement. In Cambodia, 90 people a month are still injured or killed by landmines planted mainly by the Khmer Rouge, but produced, shamefully, by the US, Israel, and Russia. A small museum but eye opening and important for us all to visit.
Finally, we found the yet undiscovered backpacker's wonder trip--a free tour, in air con Mercedes van, 16 km outside of town, through rural villages, to see a Silk Farm and Research and Training Center. This was the full educational program, from seeing mulberry trees used to feed the worms, to the cocoonery to watching the threads extracted from the cocoons to the spinning and weaving. Each stage was incredibly labor intensive, particularly Ikat dyeing the warp threads (which involves tying hundreds of plastic strings around threads to resist the dye (then cutting them all away later) and then weaving with these threads (which involves lining up the variegated colors with each throw of the shuttle). It takes 5 days just to weave two meters of this cloth, which then sells for only $79 in the pricey tourist shop on site.
Heading back to town in the mercifully cool van (we have learned that the 90 degree heat and humidity is due to an unusually hot February), we were given, free, the coldest water we have had in months, all part of this free tour courtesy of the Artisans of Angkor shop in hopes, I presume, of sales they didn't achieve with us(although it is worth supporting this program to educate and employ rural youth). This tour is sure to make it to Lonely Planet, as it is a great cultural excursion and the right price for the backpacker set.
And now we are back in our semi air conditioned room (the small air conditioner fighting off the hot sun beating down on the outside stone walls that penetrates right to the inside as well). Koby is back to watching World Wrestling performance art, which seemed a complete (if humorous) waste of time until we left our guesthouse the other night and saw bars full of Cambodians glued to the set watching the very same contrived wrestling shows (I wonder if they know this is all just acting and fixed?). So now we let Koby watch as it is almost a piece of Cambodian culture (even though the wrestling shows are from the US (or, for worse wrestling/acting but more exciting announcing, from Japan)).

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Photos

Koby Facing Off with Angkor Thom Guards
A Lovely Bike Ride Around the Angkor Complex, just as we leave the crowds behind, and face the stone faced guards of yesteryear

Angkor Wat--And A Few Visitors
Our first sight of Angkor Wat, and the mass of tourists visiting as well

Angkor Wat--Better View near Sunset
Sunset colors add to the view, and keep away most of the crowd who have moved to the more popular sunset view a km away

Eerie Faces of Bayon
The many faces of the Bayon temple were a bit more exciting, or amusing, to the kids, and us all.

Heading out on the Road
Leaving Angkor Thom, on to the many other temples along the less traveled road

Nuns Line Up for Holyday Alms
Some of the thousands of monks and nuns lined up, with freshly shaved heads, for the alms ceremony

Better than Halloween
The monks can barely lift the haul of gifts from parishioners.

Obligatory Good Monk Picture
I wonder if anyone would photograph monks if they wore grey robes or less flowing clothes?

Helping Health Care
Just a small part of those lining up for health care at Angkor Hospital for Children

Landmines
A tiny part of the collection of recovered landmines and bombs left in Cambodia, many years after the fighting has ended

More Visitors at A Temple
Even the monks visit these ancient sites, and add to the color.

Obligatory Good Kid Picture
Kids we meet along the way on a bike trip down completely untouristed roads, just off the more traveled path