Advertisement
Published: January 27th 2006
Edit Blog Post
...since we've last talked. Im now in Cambodia! We had to spend a little extra in Thailand on Ko Chang, because first Shawn and Hayley got food poisoning, so we waited a few days till that passed. Then I aste something funky and got sick, and I had to get all sorts of medication and such. Not a fun experience at all. So after we were all better we got on the boat and headed for mainland Thailand. Get out your maps. WE caught a bus to Trat, then to Chantaburi, then to the Thai-Cambodian border at Aranya Prathet/Poipet. We crossed int he afternoon and spent about 30 mins getting our Kingdom of Cambodia visas. The change from Thailand to Cambodia was incredibly drastic. The poverty in rural (and city) Cambodia is widespread. I've seen the harshness of poverty on my trip to Nicaragua, but practice doesn't make it any easier.
We caught a taxi from Poipet to Siem Reap. It was a Toyota Camry. However, the roads in Cambodia are amoungst the worst int he world (actually alongside the Congo and Mozembique for the worst quality). The ride was, to say the least, exciting. We witnessed one rolled over semi,
one truck's driver attempting to replace his rear exle, and a bunch of other unfortunate events as a result of the foot-deep potholes. We got into Siem Reap close to midnight, and fortunatly found a guest house to stay in. During the next 2 days we went to the world famous Angkor temples. It was one of the most amzing things I have ever seen. Pictures truely cannot convey the beauty and intricate majesty of the 1000 year old hindu and buddhist temples.
The most amazing moment for me was when i got seperated from my travel mates inside an old temple with trees growing out of the roots. As I was walking around aimlessly, a Buddhist monk got my attention and asked me to sit with him under a tree. The monks in southeast asia recieve alot of respect from the people here, and there are alot of rules to follow when dealing with them. For example, a women is never allowed to directly hand anything to one, and you should also offer a monk a small sum of money to help them eat and study etc.. So I chatted with this monk for quite awhile, under his favourite tree inside the temple( which also turned out to be theTomb Raider temple). His name was Sanna and he told me how his mother and father were killed when he was young (most likely by the Khmer Rouge) and that he loved learning English in his school in Siem Reap. It was an incredibly serene moment for me.
Today we are in the capital, Phnom Penh. We caught a boat early this morning from Siem Reap across the Great Lake (biggest in S/E Asia) and along the rivers into the capital. I must say I truely love this city even though I've been here all of 12 hours. It is poor in many spots, but nonetheless a beautiful city filled with incredibly kind people.
Before my trip, I heard from one of the NovaGold bosses, Jim Munsert, that the people in Thailand were amazingly kind and generous. That was every bit true and I was pleased to meet so many Thais. But the people of Cambodia are even more kind. Ive never waved to so many people in my life as I have in this country. And for all that this country has been through in the last 30 years, it is remarkable that they still can smile and be so friendly. Today we went to S.21, an old school that was converted under the Khmer Rouge to be their political prison and torture warehouse. It was a solemn visit, as 14000 people had been killed amidst its walls. And of all the people to enter its gates, only 12 lived to tell of its horrors. The walls were lined with pictures of each person killed there, and there was a room filled with shelves of skulls. However this was only a small portion of the genocide that tore this country apart in the late 1970s. Tomorrow I am going to the actual killing fields that were the final resting place of many. Prior to the genocide, Phnom Penh had a population of over 2 million. Afterwards its population was 1 million. As well, 1 in 265 people in Cambodia have been unfortunate enough to lose an arm or leg due to landmines from the Civil War, and unexploded ordinances dropped by the US during the Vietnam war.
But Cambodia thrives. The city is beautiful, and tourism continues to flourish. And Cambodians respect that fact, and are ever so willing to lend a helping hand to the lost, confused, or curious westerner.
Although we arent on nice tropical beaches or partying on islands, I have to say that so far Cambodia has been the best part of the trip.
Up next.....Vietnam.
ps.. sorry for no pictures, they will be up soon, and they are amazing.....
Cheerio-Fraz
Advertisement
Tot: 0.042s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0237s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb