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Published: February 12th 2012
Many of you reading this entry have heard some variation of this story already from me. For those of you who haven't, this is the version worth reading anyway*. I will warn you all, if you are uncomfortable hearing about the harsh realities of the world and prefer stories with happy endings, you may want to stop now and go find something else to read.
On Tuesday, January 31, I got up and went for a 4 mile run. I started the day off with a delicious breakfast and a smile on my face. The previous few days in Cambodia had been overwhelming, but I was ready to start a new day with a positive attitude. I met my tuk tuk driver outside my guesthouse at 9:00 AM sharp and we headed off to Angkor Wat. I bought my one day pass at the gate, and my driver took me out to the main temple, the one everyone goes to, the one on all the brochures. I was immediately in awe of this massive stone structure, with its intricate carvings on every surface available. I had been walking around for an hour or so, in the mobs of
tourists, listening to people complaining about one thing after another, pushing each other to get the best view, clambering all over the temple and eroding the walls. Annoyed with the general public, I found my way out to the back and decided to escape the masses by following a trio of backpackers down a path into the woods. It was definitely off the beaten path, but these three seemed to know about an older temple, one often missed by most visitors in the neglience. I arrived a few minutes later at this hidden treasure and after a while they headed back, but I continued to walk through the temple.
Exiting on the other side, I ended up along the moat, outside the wall surrounding the grounds. It was beautiful, and I saw more people walking ahead of me along the path to my right. I knew the path would eventually lead me back to the front entrance, so I thought a walk along the moat looked like a wonderful idea. At this time, I noticed a group of boys swimming, nothing out of the ordinary as Cambodian children are always playing outside, usually half-clothed. So I continued to follow
this path along the wall, taking pictures of trees and scenery, until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned to see one of the older boys from the river dart behind a tree. I didn't think anything of it at the time, as the kids here are always curious of Westerners and I thought he was just shy (since he was only in his underwear from swimming in the moat). I kept walking, falling farther behind the group ahead due to my picture taking. I heard the boy behind me again and turned around to see he was closer this time. I thought it rude to stare, since he was probably just following the path like everyone else and I was really in his territory. I came around the last corner to the front of the temple, saw the crowds of tourists flooding in, and thats when I heard him running up behind me.
In my head I thought he was going to run past me. I even smiled, thinking how innocent and playful the kids over here can be. How horribly mistaken I was. The boy did not run past me, he was not playing games or being
shy. I now understand that he had been stalking me, like an animal. He ran up quickly behind me and hit me very hard in the back of the neck with a stick. The blow was so hard that it literally made my knees buckle underneath me and I collapsed forward in the dirt. Luckily, the blow was not enough to knock me out and as it happened I managed to scream, a high-pitched noise I've never heard myself make before. Even as I lay on the ground in shock, my survival instincts kicked in. All I could think was that he was going to hurt me so I needed to protect myself and keep screaming to get people's attention. I turned around on the ground to scream "what the fuck" at him as he ran off in the direction we'd come. I looked to my left and saw three boats out in the moat, full of people who had witnessed the incident. They stared at me, unmoving. Unsure of whether the boy ran off because he failed to knock me out or because he had been seen, I wasn't going to wait to find out. I continued to scream
bloody murder as I forced my shaky legs to stand up. And then I ran, I ran and I screamed and I felt like no one could hear me or even cared that I was screaming. People continued to walk into the temple unphased, but I happened to find two security guards coming out the side. I managed to blabber out that I'd been attacked before I broke down in tears. They immediately set off in the direction I pointed in search of the boy, leaving me standing, sobbing, alone in the front of this huge stone temple. One of the guards stopped to interrogate the people from the boats who had finally made it ashore while the other went after the boy. A group of 3 European tourists came down the path a short while later and I asked them if they had witnessed what happened or seen the boy, but they had been too far back to notice either. Eventually the guards returned to me and told me they had caught a boy and that I would be escorted to the tourist police to "file a complaint".
My poor tuk tuk driver was astonished to see me
return to the vehicle in such a frazzled state, escorted by an officer. He followed the officer's orders and drove us to the room where they were holding the suspected boy. Without any warning, they lead me into the room to face a scrawny, almost naked Cambodian boy staring at me with a confused expression. They asked me if he was the one who'd hit me. Still in shock and completely unsure, I said honestly that I didn't know. They then brought me to an interrogation room where I spent the next few hours reporting the incident to the "police". One thing the officer did explain is that, although the boy appeared young to me, he was probably between the ages of 15 and 17. He was very thourough in the report and made me feel like I was in safe hands. Yet, I felt like we were simply goign through the motions; none of this routine would ever result in any satisfaction for me. My tuk tuk driver, who was only 19, was eventually asked to be a witness to the report and place his fingerprint next to mine on all the documents. Meanwhile, the cops rounded up every
Swollen lip
The force of the blow must've caused me to bite my own lipboy they could find in those woods and were going to have me pick from a line-up. Moments before we were set to go, one of the boys confessed. I asked the officer what his punishment would be. Because he's a minor, did not steal anything from me, and he "did not cause me any injury", he'll get a maximum of 2 weeks in jail. My driver returned me to my guesthouse that afternoon and I gave him the most sincere thanking I could muster. I spent the remainder of the day nursing my wounds and booking my ticket out of Cambodia. After making a call to my parents that I'm sure they never wanted to receive, I packed up my bags and went to bed in preparation to leave at 6 AM the following day. I slept very little that night, but was wide awake and itching to leave by the time my tuk tuk arrived in the morning.
Initially, all I felt was fear. I was scared of everything, jumped when someone would walk by me quickly or make a sudden movement beside me. I constantly checked over my shoulder, watching who was around me, potentially following me out of paranoia. Eventually, it turned into confusion. Why me? What did he want from me? I have never before in my life, felt hunted, like someone wanted to see me hurt and suffer. At first I didn't believe that was his intention. I assumed he just wanted to steal my bag, rob me. You know what he would've gotten? A used book, a pair of fake raybans, and my wallet containing my debit card which I would've cancelled and $13 US. I couldn't mentally justify being physically attacked for $13. Not when he could've easily run past me and grabbed the bag off my shoulder. There was no need for violence, he would've been able to outrun me. Just as I was beginning to let everything go, thinking I would never have an explanation, a different scenario was introduced to me. This is not one I had come up with myself, and neither has any Westerner I've talked to so far. I think this is where a difference of culture comes in. One of my couchsurfing hosts, who happens to be a Thailand native, says he has heard similar cases to mine. But they don't end the same. In his stories the girl is attacked, raped, and then almost always killed. My host truly believes those were the intentions of this boy.
I am aware how truly lucky I am, on so many levels. This is not something I take lightly and never will. I have always considered myself a cautious and observant person. But on this day I was too trusting, lured into a false sense of security by my proximity to a tourist attraction (as well as sacred temple). Needless to say I don't feel safe traveling alone anymore, especially not to the counties I had intended to visit in the next few months. I am fortunate that the rest of my plans following Cambodia involved staying with people I already know and that has made me feel infinitely more comfortable. I am grateful to everyone who has offered me support, in any form, during the past 2 weeks. So from here I am heading to South Korea, to stay with my friends high school, and then in early March I am flying home. I am trying not to feel defeated. I will still travel to all the places I dream of visiting, it will just take time and the recruitment of a good travel buddy. I've learned the hard way that there are just some places you shouldn't be alone, especially as a woman. Of all the things I have learned from this, the most important is that I am a fighter, and I am a survivor. And it makes me that much stronger as a person.
This entry was written from Bangkok, but put under "Cambodia" since that was where it took place. I hope other travelers looking for information on Cambodia will find it and use this knowledge to their advantage.
Please feel free to ask me anything further, I'm finally ready to talk.
*To Cait: I was unable to reply to you with the provided e-mail, so I hope you find this blog. If you would like to ask me anything further, message me again with another way I can reach you 😊
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
We are pleased that you survived!
But sorry that you had to experience this assault. Other than this incident, the rest of your trip starting in new Zealand has been fantastic, and we've enjoyed reading about it. We hope you have a great time in Korea before flying home. Please don't let this be the end of your travels, as we hope to hear more from you in the future.