The Sites of Cambodia

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Travels in Cambodia

The years of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were among the most horrific civil wars in history. Not only were millions killed and the country physically destroyed, virtually all of Cambodia’s educated classes - doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers, teachers, and, perhaps the single most chilling fact, anyone who wore glasses (because that meant they could read) - were eliminated, many of them in the infamous “killing fields.” And then, after Viet Nam had invaded Cambodia and defeated the Khmer Rouge, there were 10 years of a US-European embargo against the Vietnam-supported regime, a critical decade when aid was withheld or kept to a minimum. So it is not surprising that Cambodia is less developed than Thailand and some of its other neighbors. However, it seems that development is starting again, and that people have hope for the future. And there seems to be a widely shared abhorrence of the dark days, as evidenced by the attached photograph of a billboard we saw in Siem Reap.

We’ve taken two weekend trips. The first was to Kampot, south of Phnom Penh. Along the way, we stopped at the village of Daem Po, where an amazingly successful NGO had started a rice bank - like credit, but with rice instead of money - and then branched out into many other areas of village life. The village cares for its indigent with loans of rice and uses the sale of its rice to build schools and its community center. Lucky us - there was a wedding the day we were there, and we were invited. We got a chance to spend time with the village elders and the bride and groom. And we were treated like royalty as we ate the food that was prepared nearby in the open-air kitchen.

The other interesting aspect of our trip to Kampot was the ride we took to the top of Bokor National Park to the eerie ghost town that used to be a lively casino developed by the then King in the 1925. The views of the Gulf of Thailand in the distance and the rain forest around us were beautiful. We toured the abandoned casino and imagined the wealthy Cambodians who had made the trip up the mountain for their evening’s luxurious entertainment. Unfortunately, because of the location’s strategic importance, the area was taken over by the Khmer Rouge and then the Vietnamese and the hill station destroyed. If you would like to see what the town now looks like, rent the B-grade movie “City of Ghosts” about Cambodia and the lives of several expats living here. The end of the movie was filmed at the top of Bokor.

The short visit to Kep, a former colonial retreat for the French elite and later looted by both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese, on our last day of the trip has been our only view of the Gulf of Thailand. Our traveling companions on both of these trips, Carole and Geoffrey, went swimming in it and David and I relaxed in the shade and watched them jump in the surf. This spot was our first experience with the fruit durian. It is supposed to be delicious to eat but smells like a garbage dump. Everyone else tasted it but me. The odor was too off-putting for me to get anywhere near the stuff. It seems as though it’s an acquired taste.

Our second trip was a three-day interlude in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. There were originally some 300 temples in the Angkor area, of which about 70 are now open to the public. We visited 3 - Bayon at Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, and Angkor Wat. Each one is unique, built in different eras, for different purposes, and remarkable for different reasons. And all are hard to describe. So, instead of trying, we’ll just show you some pictures. The most distinctive thing about the Ta Prohm temple is the trees that have grown on top of the stone, destroying much of it, but creating their own dramatic statements. The roots extend and grow and look like surrealistic sculptures or something out of a bad horror movie. And the Bayon faces are among the most famous images from the Angkor Wat area. In Siem Reap we had a chance to see some traditional Cambodian dances where the women dancers extend their fingers back in a downward arch ---- ouch. The costumes were beautiful and the choreography interesting (at least for about the first half hour). The dances were based on Cambodian folk tales involving lots of abductions of young women and lots of testosterone-induced fighting between young men and spirits.

We’re sad that we haven’t had a chance to see more of Cambodia. Our work (to be described in the next and last travelblog) has been challenging and intense and has required our presence in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is an amazing country emerging from an impossible-to-imagine past. We’ve been so fortunate to be here.

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Comments

[Geoffrey]

Wow!
Bokor sounds really interesting. Can't wait to go back!

[Sam]

Thank yo
Thank you so much for creating the blog. It helps me feel in touch with the two of you when you are so far away. I feel a part of your adventures while learning something about places I have never been. Enjoy and keep up the blog!

[Janice]

poor children
Hi Judy and David...love reading about your trip...am reading Sidney Poitier's "The Measure of a Man" in which he describes his life in extreme poverty as a young boy on Cat Island in The Bahamas where he was born and raised. He talked about the difference between being poor then and now...although he/they had nothing, there was always love, a solid family life and a secure natural way to view his world and learn...I wonder how this compares to the children in the villages that you have visited...as compared to todays poor growing up in frightening cities who can't fish in the rivers and oceans or find food in the forest. Hugs Janice

[[e-mail]]

You Two are Quite Photogenic
Hi, Thanks so much for keeping us informed of your travels and for the good and probably tedious work you are doing. Your dedication to the betterment of others is inspiring. I liked your description of the dances and food too. And for being in a foreign and looks like hot climate you too are very put together. I tend to become deshabbile (sp?) after traveling awhile and long for my own kitchen. Have you encountered digestion problems in this region? You are right about the unimaginable past these folks have endured, makes our recent administration woes seem lightweight in comparison. Of course, the latest from my family hometown (New Orleans) is that the newly repaired levees are not going to withstand a Cat 2 hurricane and the new pumps (from an associate of Jeb Bush) have already failed. We don't take care of our citizens either. Marc and I miss seeing you both and hope to do so before long. Cheers to you. Jil Marie and Marc