Angkor-ed

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After a long day and a border crossing that left us $8 overcharged for our tourist visas we have arrived in Siem Reap. Entering Cambodia left me feeling a little strange but mostly sad. I have immersed myself in reading about this country lately. Books like "First They Killed My Father", "When Broken Glass Floats" and "Memoirs of the Children of the Killing Fields" describe in detail the atrocities that happened in this country that somehow I never knew about until recently.

In 1975 on Independence Day the Khmer Rouge took power and forced its city dwelling citizens out of their homes and the country as a whole into a purely agrarian society. But this is too simple of an explanation. They also proceed to murder anyone of any intellegence including those who wore glasses (as they saw this as a sign of literacy and therefore intellegence). During their short reign an estimated 1.5 million Cambodians, about 1/5th of the population died as a result of execution, starvation, hard labor and torture. Over half from execution alone.

The Khmer Rouge ruled over Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 (although war raged in the country well into the 1980s) and finally were pushed out by the Vietnamese (who were only slightly nicer to the locals).

This country and its people have been through so much, so recently I was almost afraid of how things would be now. The drive to Siem Reap was truly gorgeous as we passed stilt houses raised far enough off the ground to accommodate a few massive white cows underneath and mid day hammocks surrounded by acres of rice paddies framed by palm trees.

We arrived to Siem Reap late in the evening and trusted accommodation to our tuk tuk driver who agreed to take us around Angkor Wat in the next couple of days. Checked in and headed straight to town for some lovely Khmer (local) food. The amok, a sort of mild Cambodian curry, was fantastic and it didn't take us long to notice that the people here are probably the nicest we have met on our travels thus far. Locals are eager to chat and use their English. Its so hard to believe that anyone older than 20 years has experienced war and anyone older than 30 years was probably subjected to much more during those horrible years under the Khmer Rouge.

We spent our first day sleeping in, having a massage (in tiny black pants) and enjoying the local food. Early night as we were exploring Angkor Wat the next day. On our first day of temples we headed for straight for Angkor Wat. The wat is massive and we spent a couple of hours just walking around the entrance gate, grounds and the temple itself. Although a bit ruined it is a maginficent sight. It must have been an absolutely astonishing place in its time. From there we tuk tuked around the small circuit and took in loads and loads of other temples. Some were small, some covered in trees (literally growing out of the walls) as well as the old palace. Very very hot but a fantastic day!

Up at 4am the next day and headed back to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Waited anxiously for the first rays of daylight to appear over the temple and we weren't disappointed. From there we checked out the large circuit with fewer temples but still a lovely day. That night headed into town for dinner and a free Apsara show - local Cambodian dancing. The costumes were wonderful and the dances gave a real feel for the old Khmer culture.

After two days around Angkor we were templed out so we spent some more time in relaxation mode before exploring the local silk farm where we learned how silk is made. Which is both facinating and extremely gross. Silk is made by silk worms...yes I know. But I never knew exactly how. We were walked step by step through the process of how the worms develop and form their cocoons using spit. Yes folks that lovely silk frock you maybe wearing is none other than silk worm spit. Attractive! The worms are then killed in the sun (as if they hatch they will ruin the silk) and the cocoons are then thrust into boiling water to extract the raw silk from the outside of the cocoon and the fine silk from the inside of the cocoon. The silk is then dyed, spun and woven.

The rest of our time in town was spent relaxing and checking out the local restaurants. This town is lovely!

Headed for Phnom Penh after our weeks hiatus in Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is a bit of a shock to the system after the relaxation brought on by Siem Reap and the temples. It's dusty, dirty, hectic and poverty is all around us. We headed straight out to see the Killing Fields and S-21 that tell of the horrific past of Cambodia.

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek are about 15kms outside of the city and the site of 129 mass graves. They estimate that over 20,000 people were brought to this place and killed during the 4 year reign of the Khmer Rouge. The main monument consists of 8,000 human skulls found here. From the Fields we went to S21 (Security Prison 21) a former high school that was converted into a prison and a center for torture in the city. They estimate that around 13,000 people were held here throughout the reign, many who ended up at the Killing Fields after their torture/interrogation was complete. Unbelievably the people who committed these crimes have not yet been brought to justice as many people in high places just want to see the past forgotten.

Cambodia is such a place of contrasts: happiness vs. deep sadness, rich vs. poor and ancient vs. modern world. We have enjoyed our nearly 4 months in Asia and Cambodia has been a great place to finish our journey. I only hope this country can move forward from the past by holding the war crimes trial and closing the gap between the rich and poor, giving all citizens the basic human rights they deserve.

Heading to Singapore for a few days before our week in Honolulu, courtesy of the US governments green card requirements, before heading for Australia.

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Comments

[janelle]

awesome pictures (as usual). Hawaii next eh?