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Hey all,
In a hot hot town called Siam Reep in Cambodia. Unlike Vietnam, there is a breeze here which is a pleasant surprise because as Eddie Murphy once said, "it's Africa hot!" Siam Reep is where the famous temple Angkor Wat is located. We spent the day at Angkor Wat yesterday and it's amazing. It's like being in a piece of art. Not just a piece of art, but the Mona Lisa, because there really aren't any ropes holding you back. You are actually walking on and through this 900 year old masterpiece. I feel a bit guilty because I feel like people shouldn't be walking on this wonder. Looking around, it's like a jungle gym for tourists because people are crawling through windows, picking up rocks, and I wonder how long this can last.
But Cambodia is a poor poor country and they need all the tourism they can get which brings me to the nation of Cambodia itself. I don't like to talk about politics much, but this entire region has been plagued by corruption and war for so long, it's inevitable. Vietnam has been free of war for only 24 years (China attacked them in 1980)
and Cambodia still has some fighting in the country.
Okay, it's November 5, 2004. John Kerry has beaten George Bush in the election. However, Bush doesn't want to leave office, so he has John Kerry killed because Bush still has a lot of power and army behind him. Three years later, Hillary Clinton announces she's running for President. Before the election, Hillary disappears and due to intimidation, Bush wins again even though he again lost the popular vote to Eric Bram, the new democratic nominee. This is Cambodia today. It's not nearly as bad as Pol Pot/Killing Fields days, but the corruption is incredible. Their current PM was elected out of office and is a former Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot cronie) officer that won't leave his communist position even though the nation voted for a democracy. His opponents have died both mysteriously and non-mysteriously yet there have been no trials and investigations are "pending". Just the fact that this PM was a high-ranking figure in the Khmer Rouge (rivaling the Nazi's in evil) should be enough to get him out, but it doesn't work like that here.
Imagine if George Bush was a Nazi and he was running
our country. Basically, the Khmer Rouge overthrew the monarchy and created a communist society where all intelligent minds and opposition was killed. It was true communism where they only wanted people working in the fields and not having independent thought. 1/3rd of all Cambodian people were killed from 1975-1979. Please read something about this because it truly is a horrible stain in human history and is still continuing today. Many of Cambodian politicians are from the Khmer Rouge days and have never been tried for their crimes. Cambodia would like to put it behind them and move forward. But tell that to a family who have lost a loved one in the war and sees the murderer of their loved one leading the country. It's sad.
Cambodia used to be a monarchy but like the english royalty, they are merely rich puppets of the parliament. This country disgusts me in many ways. Seeing the grand palace where they have a 10 foot tall solid gold buddha and children starving in the streets doesn't make sense to me.
Like Vietnam, you can't travel abroad by yourself. They want to keep their people. So you can travel to only other SE
asia countries (SE asia countries are all in the same financial boat so defecting isn't a big deal) in a tour group. If you want to go to Western countries, you have to sign contracts and have a certain amount of money in the bank so they can penalize you if there is a defection. You also have to be 40 years old so the chances of you starting a new life are slim to none. They don't mind students studying abroad but they have to have their parents sign a contract and it's a huge financial penalty to the parents if the kid defects which is why it doesn't happen.
The good thing is that most of these countries are becoming more democratic, but as I've said before, this is a slow slow process and Vietnam is way ahead of Cambodia.
Anyway, that's enough politics. We took a boat on the Mekong Delta into Cambodia and because of the low water level, had to change boats three times. Each boat getting progressively smaller and closer to the repulsive water. People aren't supposed to go in the Mekong due to parasites just licking their lips and waiting to
get inside of you. Sorry if any of you were eating while reading this but imagine me being a foot from it!!! Had a great time with the people on the boat, we drank and played card games as the sun set. Really beautiful. It's a shame that I'll probably never see any of these people again, but it's the way it goes when your travelling. And since we'd make various stops, people would be there one minute and then you have the awkward goodbye part where you don't know them well enough to say we'll keep in touch and like them more than a casual acquaintance. So you say something lame like, "have good travels" or "keep cool."
I mean what else can you say. You give some your email address but in reality, you don't know this person and do you really plan to be great friends with Jonas from Denmark? It's good to have contacts across the world but I have no plans to visit Denmark anytime soon and it would be awkward if in 15 years I shoot Jonas an email saying, "dude, i'm visiting Denmark, can I crash at your place?" You see the
problem. So it's just those lame sayings until i get back. Just feel proud that your getting this email because it means that you are above the lame sayings in my mind.
Best regards,
Eric
p.s. we splurged and got a hotel with a pool. It has helped the depression caused by the poverty.
Oh, interesting fact. Pale women are desired here and not tan women because if your pale it means that you don't work out in the fields and are more demure supposedly.
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