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Published: July 26th 2009
Welcome to Cambodia! It is a country with a split personality: it revels in the pride and majesty of a bygone era and still writhes from horrors of the regime under Pol Pot and Khmer Rouge.
We started our travels reveling in the beauty of Angkor Wat, from the glory days of the Khmer empire. "Angkor" means "Capital City" or "Holy City" and "Wat" means "temple", so basically -- "Capital/Holy City of Temples". It is appropriately named. The temples are spread out over 400 square kilometers of jungle, and each felt grander than the previous temple.
Dating back from the 9th to 15th centuries AD, Angkor reflects the best years of Khmer people. "Khmer" refers to the dominant ethnic group in ancient and current Cambodia, and their years at Angkor Wat showed the height of their power. The ancient capital and one of the man-made wonders of the world. The temple complex at Angkor is stunning, a monumental Hindu/Buddhist temple compound of behemoth block temples, towering spires, giant carved faces, and ornate bas reliefs.
We hired a tuk-tuk (a small three-wheeled motorized cart) and drove around to the various temples. It was hot and humid -- even to
Angkor Wat
Famous stone carvings in a riverbed. During the "wetter" season, water would have been running over them!hot to eat. We had two young coconuts for lunch. Unlike Bagan in Burma, at least we didn't have to take off our shoes at each temple. No more burned feet!
We did take one stop off at an attraction related to the country's more recent harder times, at the Cambodian Landmine Museum. This attraction was a jarring reminder of the country’s three decades of war. Established by a former Khmer Rouge child soldier, the museum provides a detailed account of the horrors Cambodians faced during the years of war and the continued horrors due to the unexploded land mines, which continue to maim and kill innocent civilians and farmers. Efforts to clear unexploded ordnance and millions of land mines have been made since the 1990s, yet it’s estimated that fewer than half have been cleared.
Certainly a result of the years of instability, Cambodia has suffered from corrupt governments and influences up to today. A constant reminder are the signs along the highways and in magazines against child abuse. Foreign "sexpats" and fugitives from the law still find Cambodia a nice, cozy place to crawl under the rug. We also had a higher-than-average number of run-ins with
Angkor Wat
Stone carvings at the Banteay Strey temple are so fine and delicate, that it is said that only women could have completed them. run-of-the-mill crooks. We were always "on guard" to make sure we weren't being ripped off. The most common scam resulted from getting change. In Cambodia when you go to an ATM you get US dollars. When you spend the money, however, you get the local currency, Riel, as change. Invariably we would be given the wrong change in Riel and would have to ask them to recalculate and give us the correct change.
Of course, one has to account for the fact that most Cambodians have suffered under decades of war and terrorism and the effect that this can have on a person. Though hard to summarize succinctly, I'll try.
Between 1969 and 1973, U.S. forces bombed and briefly invaded Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge. Some two million Cambodians were made refugees by the war and fled to Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. The regime, then led by Pol Pot, changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. They immediately evacuated the cities and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's
Angkor Wat
The Ta Prohm monastery complex, has more fig and silk-cotton trees than monks! agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine, and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western. They targeted ethnic minorities, such as the Muslims and Chinese, as well as intellectuals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers. In 1978 the Vietnamese invaded and during the 1980s there was warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts. It wasn't until the early 90s that peace finally broke out.
Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million. This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng (School 21) became as notorious as Auschwitz in the history of mass killing.
These two sites were sobering. We spent the morning and early afternoon at Tuol Sleng and afternoon at the Killing Fields. The pictures speak louder than words, and I hope you see what I mean.
Despite the atrocities and sadness, Phnom Penh, has a certain charm, with crumbling French colonial architecture and a splendid palace. We enjoyed the vibe there and it was our last stop in Cambodia before heading for lazy, lovely Laos. Stay tuned!
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Vince
non-member comment
Fantastic fotos and commentary!
You guys have to write a book! The shots and Heather's commentaries are excellent. Thanks for sharing this. Vince