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Published: August 10th 2006
Hello from Cambodia!
The main attraction in Cambodia are the temples of Angkor and they
are as amazing and inspiring as all the hype around them is. it is in the
same league as the Inca ruins of Machu-Pichu and the Mayan ruins on
Tikal (both of which Yaron visited so he can say) and all these places
make you feel very privileged to be in these places. they are magical
and mysterious and also make you feel a little like Indiana Jones
The temples in Angkor are in the middle of the jungle and they are
huge pyramids and structures. there are so many of them and they
are spread around a wide area of the jungle. it took us 3 days just to
cover the major ones. they were built between 850 and 1150 at the
height of the Khmer kingdom. most were abandoned until the
beginning of the 20th century. although they were never forgotten
they were left to the elements until they were renovated in the 20s.
the temples are so beautiful that pictures cannot give all the
impression
Cambodian sky
over the Mekong river of the place. definitely not our pictures which don't do the
place justice
wars, bombs and landmines
Cambodia is only recently emerging from over 3 decades of wars, civil-
wars, oppressive governments and genocide. it is one of the most
bombed countries of the world (along with neighboring Laos). the
Communist Khmer rouge killed between 1 and 2 million Cambodians in
the later 70s and the country is littered to this day with many
landmines that hurt people even now. almost every family in Cambodia
has been effected. what is interesting to see when traveling in
Cambodia is how fast life goes on and how impossible it is to destroy a
whole nation. even after all the suffering Cambodia is managing (with
outside help) to build itself and once the oppression stops people are
quickly able to resume life. it is not that things are forgotten but
somehow humans are very versatile creatures.
There is probably a lesson to be leaned to other wars that try to break
nations and people by terror and bombing...
fresh air
Cambodia has the best clear air on the trip so far. it has no industry
(we did not visit the capital...) so it has no pollution. there are not
many cars and most us small 50cc motorcycles. but best of all is the
monsoon rain that cleans the air and packs the dust so it doesn't fly. it
also adds that nice ozone smell. riding down a river in Cambodia feels
with the green-grass smells fells like this is the cleanest air in the
world.
Cambodia is a very flat country with green countryside. most has been
de-forested. that is bad for the enviroment but it allowes you to see all
the horizons at once which makes Cambodia a place with very big and
courful skys.
fusion
Cambodia is the 5th country on our trip. moving to a new country is
always very exciting. The first thing you see is the new flag in the
border crossing. then you have to get used to new currency. we find
new tricks to convert the currency into dollars and Shekels
(divide by 2
add ten percent and stand on your head...) but mostly we find useful
having a quick way to convert to Chinese Yuan as a reference currency
since we paid for everything we ever need in the 2.5 months in China
the next challenge is finding a reliable and tasty water company to buy
water from in the country. once you get the basics we start exploring
the country...
We start by reading the history chapter in the guide book so we can
better understand the people, mentality and the sites. listening to a
new language and form of writing is very fun in a new country as well
but also fun is the mix of languages we here in every touristic place we
go. (all the European and Asian languages are represented along side
Hebrew)
after being in a new country for 1 or 2 days we also start knowing all
the local souvenirs and arts that are sold in the tourist places.
new countries are opportunities to meet new people but
the most fun
we have is when we meet people from other places. In Nepal we met
an Australian girl we first met 3 months before (!) in Yangsho, China
(our first city in China). in Cambodia we met 3 German guys we first
saw in Tibet over 1month and thousands of KMs before
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Deborah
non-member comment
your photos
Hi there, just wanted to say that your photos are absolutely stunning, Cambodia looks so beautiful. You`ve done a fantastic job at capturing it. I can`t wait to go there now! Take care :)