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Published: November 24th 2007
Rachel
Enjoying the view after another hard day of power-loungingWell, one more country to visit before we head back home.... next up, Cambodia. We're going light and fast... with only two small daypacks. There will be no climbing here, no trekking, no camping. None of this is really recommended, due to the landmines still decorating the countryside.
Nope. For this country we will travel like plain-old tourists - hitting the beach, the capitol, the historical and cultural trademarks of the country - the Killing Fields and the Ancient temples of Angkor Wat. And if that isn't enough to make us real tourists, we will have help. To teach us to travel in higher style, we will spend time and travel with Philippe's parents.
To sum up my time in Cambodia.... I'd say it was one of my favorite countries, and yet I had a revolving emotional state - wonder, anger, and sadness. A beautiful country with a lot of potential, but a sad history. It is currently digging its way out of poverty by cultivating its tourist industry, with all of the predictable consequences of it.
The Sihanoukville Beach.... same same, but different From Thailand, we decided on the water border crossing, although there were a lot
Fast Boat to Cambodia
Our one stop at some unknown island community, 4 hours from the thai border to Sihanoukville more buses than boats. Four buses of varying sizes carried us from Khao San Rd. to a little island/town called Koh Kong, just across the Cambodian border.
Koh Kong may have a variety of interesting excursions and such, but we weren't really that interested in anything except a cheap place to stay and directions to the next morning's boat to Sihanoukville. We took a little walk around town, but forgot our headlamps with us after too much decadence (i.e., electricity) in Bangkok. On our abbreviated tour I managed to learn a few things.... 1) the cuisine here isn't Thailand, 2) the people don't speak Thai, but 3) they still have cross dressers like Thailand (although we were in the town's Thai restaurant at that point, so maybe not so much).
Anyway, boat trip with a strange movie with really bad subtitles (a welcome break from Thai karaoke... I actually enjoyed it) and we made it to Sihanoukville in about four hours. Sinhanoukville sounds like something out of Dr. Seuss, but it is actually named after their king. It's Cambodia's second largest town, only port city, and biggest beach.
After making our way to shore and past the
Monks
Yes, even monks enjoy a little sand and surf and cop a few looks at the euro bikini teams immigration check at the gate, we waved off the aggressive tuk-tuk drivers and mopeds in favor of the 1km walk to town that we read about in our guide. Turns out we had a 1km walk to town, plus an hour-long walk through town to get to the beach we'd chosen. It was a little bit like seeing the R&R scenes from China Beach 30 years later. (Too young for China Beach? Try Googling Marg Helgenberger.) Anyway, the town was modern, but somehow still influenced by these GIs who came here to relax and unwind back in the war.
Tired from our unplanned mid-day (i.e., hot) walk through town, we had trouble finding a hotel at our anticipated prices. We managed to change some money at the most official looking bank for the worst rates in the entire country; but at least it bought us much-desired coffee at some Italian gelato cafe that seemed really out of place in CAMBODIA. I suppose this was a clue at the tourist business in these parts.
We'd been told that Cambodia was much cheaper than Thailand, so we were disappointed to arrive (finally) at the beach to discover that the places
Sea Critters
Not a shrimp, not a lobster but delicious and spicy... all charged more than our cruddy Bangkok guest house... (yes, we're only talking about $15 or so, but after paying less than $5 for Thailand's beaches, we weren't too psyched). Giving up, we decided to rest at the beach for a drink and the last couple of daylight hours before finding someplace else to stay in our budget. As luck would have it, we chose to kick it at a beach bar that had $4 private-ish rooms... a huge room with walls that went up towards the ceiling, bathrooms with a shower (but sadly, no toilet), fan and mosquito net (with only a few holes)... we were sold.
Comparing the Thai and Cambodian beaches is a perfect illustration of the oft-heard phrase 'same same, but different' (apparently, 'similar' hasn't crept it's way into SE Asia vocabulary). The beaches were beautiful, both have sunsets and warm water. However, while the beaches in Thailand have bars near the water, in Cambodia they may be swept out to sea by a full-moon high tide. Both beaches have their share of mosquitos, but Cambodia has all of these disconcerting signs about hemorrhagic dengue fever. You can buy all kinds of things on the
Chicken truck
Chickens headed to market, organic free-range cage-free...sort of beach (e.g., massage, hair braids), but only in Cambodia did a woman start waxing my legs without my knowledge (or obviously, consent). Beach food, surely, but instead of fruit and meat on a stick, in Cambodia you find deep fried critters (e.g., crickets, spiders). You see? Same same.
We enjoyed ourselves enough to spend a full day relaxing on the beach before heading to the city to meet P's parents. A little sunburn, drinks with our new English friends from South Africa (which I've now added to the travel wish list), lots of people selling things, and lots more just asking for money. It was the beginning of the guilty experience that would be repeated over and over through this country. As a woman passed by with a crippled man in her arms, the couple we were with remarked that a local told them she rents him to take out begging. Now, what am I supposed to do with that??? Maybe you can start to imagine why I couldn't decide between angry and sad.
Phnom Penh City Experience When we finally dragged ourselves out of our beach chairs, a couple of mopeds took us to our bus (moped
S-21
A grim reality check, between visiting this notorious prison and torture venue (a khmer version of Gitmo) and the killing fields one had a sense of where modern cambodia came from are pretty much the only mode of travel in Sihanouville). P and I wanted to ride on the same one - I mean they can fit four people on a moped, so three seemed reasonable. When in Rome, right? Wrong.
There seems to be a gringo limit to the mopeds that is designed for both maximum profit and safety. Not only did I not ride side saddle like the ladies do, but I almost lost my flip-flops about a million times on the ten minute ride. Let's just say that I have new respect for the full families that ride with babies, chickens, and furniture.
Anyway, we'd heard that PP was nothing to get excited about, so with low expectations we found ourselves extremely pleased by what we found (satisfaction = expectations - reality). Corner cafes with iced coffee for the equivalent of a quarter and yummy food cheap cheap. Crazy traffic going every which way (you cross the street by just walking across slowly so the moped and tuk-tuks can go around you). One of our best hotel rooms of the trip at a decent city price (AC, TV, hot water... wow!).
We met P's folks
How does a monk view genocide?
One of the most potent displays of photography I have ever seen. The Khmer photo'd every one of their victims, on display here.... here, as they flew in from Chang Mai. They stayed at the Foreign Correspondents Club... a hot spot for ex-pats and foreigners. Sort of like Casablanca, only with great views of the local temple, the Mekong, and the chaos (from a distance far enough to remove you from the stress of it, but still close enough to appreciate it). Nice digs.
We had a full day to hang out, and I threw in my wish for the day...
My personal theory on group vacations, each people should have something they want to do. One person shouldn't bogart the whole trip with their agenda, but everyone should get to have a special something that steers the group at least once in a trip. Why I picked S21 and the Killing Fields is a mystery. I don't think I'm a glutton for punishment or a masochist; I just wanted a sense of this country's history and what happened here while I was rescuing ladybugs from my grandma's pool and making mud pies with Suzie. Pol Pot and his regime had so much influence on this country's people, politics, economy... and the fact that it happened while I was
Children of the Khmer rouge
strange to visit the killing fields while the whole time one could hear children playing at the neighboring school alive made it much more real, somehow more significant to me.
I can't explain here all about the experience, except to say that P's great pictures can't even do it justice. It's not so much what you see, but for me realizing the current-ness of it all hit home.... a tour guide my age hid with his brother, and then helped the Vietnamese find the prisons and Killing Fields when they arrived in Cambodia, the decor in the school-turned-prison was straight out of the 60s, the dates of the prisoners' photos were of times I could remember.
I guess it's easier to accept bad things that happened 'before' - before you were around, before you could do anything about it... like Hitler or Stalin. Realizing that the Khmer Rouge was starving people, pulling out toenails, chaining people up like animals, and shooting them for no reason, all while we were watching the Brady Bunch... well, it's a lot to take in.
Siem Reap Temple Tour After the cheery current events lesson, we headed to Siem Reap to shift gears and experience some ancient history. The temples around Siem Reap (Angkor Wat being the best-known) date back ~1000
Mom and Dad
Chilling at Ta Phroem years. Every ruler for about 500 years had their own temples, but Jayavarman VII, the last bigwig in the empire, was really the Donald Trump of the empire. Not only did he build profusely, but his face is the Buddha face you see everywhere! I'm not sure what this civilization was doing besides digging moats, dragging stones from quarries, carving them up into intricate buddhist-hindu combo designs, and building the wildest temples around. Maybe that's why they didn't last too long.
Sadly, the Lara Croft Tomb Raider films used some of the most prominent and visually interesting spots, so it's difficult to wander around without thinking about Angelina and her much-publicized time here. Before your eyes finish rolling, it's not just me.... the guides talk about it, the guide books talk about it, the tourists talk about it. Sad, but true.
If you're still rolling your eyes, thinking you're above the influence of Hollywood and American culture.... What is the first thing you think of when you hear Chichen Itza? Sweaty sex scene from Against All Odds? How about listening to a minute or two of Rhapsody in Blue? United Airlines? See? It's not just me.
Back
Rain and jungle
I never saw tombraider but Im pretty sure they should have filmed it here to Angkor... If you're interested (or if you're having a slow workday while you read this), check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor for more info about the joint.
What I didn't mention yet about the temples was the six year-old girls with masters degrees in Psychology. There are people selling things just beyond the temple entrances more aggressively than at the beach; and these kids are well trained. They can spot the American woman (a.k.a., sucker) from a temple away. They didn't even approach Philippe (who has perfected the stoney-faced scowl and no eye-contact sunglasses look). They have an answer for everything... already have a bracelet? you need more. Don't want one? they have something else to sell you instead. if you are impressed by their English, they let you know that they need money for school. It's endless.
I know you parents out there might say the same of your own kids and their ability to push buttons to get what they want, but these kids are studied. Start with the fact that they're doing it in a different language. Add in that learn the capitol and largest cities of the countries people visit from - a real attention-getter.
Asymetry
Hidden temple framed neatly by jungle Anyway, for all of our traveling in poor countries (with Pakistan at the top of the list), I haven't felt accosted and targeted like I do here. After 10 days of wearing a sign on my back that says (in Khmer) 'ask me for money,' being the target of most obvious (but effective) guilt trip made me sad in a different way. Not sad because these kids lost their families to Pol Pot's cruel leadership, not because they don't have clean clothes or clean water, not sad because their future prospects aren't very bright.
I was sad because their way of addressing these problems was to lower themselves to begging... everywhere, including the Killing Fields themselves, ironically in front of a mass grave for children. Not exactly the paradise Pol Pot had in mind, but not exactly paradise either.
Accenture (my former employer) spends millions of dollars on sales gurus, but these kids could teach them a thing or two. They may be selling bracelets here, but they could just as easily hawk new business strategies, IT projects, or even the merits of HR outsourcing. Hmmm, maybe they do have a future...
That said, there were
many people who didn't fit this mold - and I was more than happy to share my riel with them. My favorites were the musicians. We ran into street bands comprised of landmine victims all over. One band had a sign that explained that they don't want to lose their dignity to beg, so they play instead. A close second were the artists and crafts-people... I suppose you could say that I became a proud supporter of the arts here in Cambodia.
Favorite art excursion of the trip was to the Silk Farm, where we learned about and saw how silk is made...
http://www.artisansdangkor.com/ for those of you interested (that means you, mom). For those who just want the highlights, 1) it's a long, tedious process, and 2) they eat the worms after they harvest the silk from the cocoon (deep fried would be my guess).
Like I said, I was more than happy to spend my hard-earned riel supporting these guys and other organizations like them (as my family will
discover on Christmas).
Back to Bangkok One last bus trip, full of gringos... backpackers who showed me a glimpse of what the 20-something crowd looks
Beach training
Not much vertical and the air is rather thick but still managed to get some beautiful sunset runs in along the white sands of Cambodia and sounds like. Their favorite part of Laos? Floating on tires on the Mekong, with bars pulling them in for drinks (sort of a variation on the barstools in the pool). Angkor Wat? Couldn't really be bothered, but did a day there since it was such a big deal. Killing Fields? Depressing, sure, but to these kids it fit into the 'one of a million tragedies that happened before I was born,' so it didn't have the same impact. Maybe they'll go to Africa in 10 years and see Rwanda with a different attitude.
Last border crossing, no problem... last bus ride, long but on time.... yes, we've started the countdown to our flight back to the states.
After California, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Thailand, and Cambodia.... we're excited to get back to Nederland and Colorado, even if there's not much snow yet. I'm excited to see my car again, even if gas is expensive and the crack in my windshield is still there. I'm excited to eat a cheeseburger, even though I rarely ate them before my trip. Mostly, I'm excited to see my family and have a bit of routine. Real shampoo, my own computer, a kitchen...
the list goes on.
Two more nights in Bangkok, a long flight, and our first trip across the international date line, and then we'll see you all again!
peace,
Rachel and Philippe
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Great Photos
What great photos - I can't wait to see the other two thousand! Dad