Smile and the world smiles back - Cambodia- March 2013

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"Welcome to our country, welcome to Cambodia" a phrase that echoed around us as we touched down in Phnom Penh, the new capital city. The people instantly hitting you as proud people, so glad that, as a tourist you had decided to visit. So knowledgable about both their country and yours it was hard not to warm to them instantly, and this is exactly what we did. We could not really comprehend how people who did not have real democracy until 1998, who had witnessed the insane cruelty of both the effects of the Vietnam war and the Civil war that followed, maintained this sense of Karma, but that is what they believe in the most. Do good in this life and you will be rewarded in the next. In my opinion not a bad philosophy at all.

So on this trip we had decided to indulge in a spot of photography, a small group tour company travelling to more remote parts of the country as well as taking in all the big sites. Nathan Horton Photography Tours were who we chose and on the whole we were not disappointed. We started with some classes, getting to know how to actually take a decent photo. Good tips and a trip to Silk Island later and Mark was a pro. OK not quite but he was learning quickly. I couldn't believe the naturally inviting nature of the Cambodian people or Khmers as they are actually called. Within one hour we were invited to a local wedding! Didn't expect that. The bride was done up to the nines, had an hourly dress change and a 2 day wedding. The first was the long Buddhist ceremony and family meal and the second, the party, where they literally set up marquees in the streets and invite the whole village. Music is played at a ridiculously loud volume and goes on all night. Where as in our western world, the music would become a nuisance to our neighbours after 12, here the couple see the music as telling the whole world they are getting married, celebrating it in song. No permits required here, if the marquees were set up on the equivalent M4 you simply had to find another way. It was awesome. We had arrived in wedding season, after the rice harvest. Weddings were heard far and wide, night after night. We even got to try some local food, which was not quite the a la carte dining we were used to 😉 but pork and veg wrapped in rice soaked in coconut and then baked in banana leaves. It had an acquired taste but I tried it not wanting to seem to be rude or disrespectful of my invite, but between us, a local doggie may have helped me out, just a bit!

The children of Cambodia came as quite a shock. We had been used to the shy types in Thailand and the "1 dollar" types in Vietnam but to find children who simply wanted to be your friend was very refreshing. There was no hidden agenda. They were kids being kids. Not something we have really seen in Asia. Mark would take many photos over the 2 week tour and a whole section could be dedicated to "smiling children", for they all wanted was to be in front of the camera and would all laugh and tell you their name when they saw themselves on the screen. Mark had officially become the Pied Piper of Cambodia. That is until they spotted the bag of biscuits or books and pencils I would be carrying behind him! But grateful they always were with a small bow and polite thank you when you gave them anything. After everything was gone, they wanted to hold hands, play games and even get a sneaky piggy back if they could! These kids had nothing, and in remote villages this even meant no running water or sanitation but they were happy, always smiling, waving and even doing the odd spot of gangnam style with them taking it in turns to sing as there was no music!!! How this song ever reached these remote parts is still beyond me. It was lovely to see. It even made me maternal, and for those who know me well this is unheard of!! Adoption, maybe, but I also wonder if in fact they would have a better life in our western world of rude lazy teenagers, ungratefulness and money. Maybe I will just have to stay in Cambodia permanently!

Our trip would not have been complete unless we visited the temples of Angkor and a few others besides. The pre Angkor ones were made of brick and dated between 6-8 Century and Angkor Wat and the later temples made from Sand stone. All were deemed holy buildings with the villagers living within the main walls. Angkor in its prime housed several hundred thousand people within its gates. Moat upon moat around the complex meant the buildings would not flood and one theory is that the moats are the only reason so much is still standing today. To give you an idea of the size, the moat is 5km on each side of the inner temple and there is a further shallower moat 15km on each side. How these people built this thing is beyond me. If anyone has ever seen 'Ancient Aliens' then this place makes you wonder, there is even a carved stone which can be described as nothing other than a dinosaur. Now how is that possible??

Picking your timing to visit the main complex of temples is a must. It was here our tour really came into its own. Nathan had some inside security guards that let us stay on after the complex had closed, or allowed us entry before it was open. Awesome! This truly made the trip special, it made us feel like Indiana Jones! For those who have yet to go it is certainly a wonder not to be missed but whoever you get as your guide, never plan a whole day touring and never stay at Angkor after 8am or before 4pm. What you will be faced with if you do is a few thousand chinese, korean and japanese tourists being herded round with no possibility of getting a decent photo without a chinese tourist giving it a peace sign in the background. So another tip is to start the tour at the exit signs and work your way back to the start.

Our favourite temples were not in fact Angkor Wat, it was huge and with so many tourists visiting they had made it a museum with wooden walkways. You could not explore. Bayon was awesome for the carved faces. Over 200 on one building of the the King Jayanman morphed with Budda. One of my favourite pictures was taken here, Mark capturing the shadows of one face and the sun on the other. Our favourite temple however was Beng Mealea. This temple is an hour out and therefore much less crowded. Unlike Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat it has not undergoing renovation and there is little disturbance by roped off areas. This meant you could really explore, Tomb Raider here we come. We climbed through small holes, round buildings that were overcome by the strangling fig trees and really got to see what it would have been like to live if such a place. By sunset no one else was there with the tour groups already herded out, silence. It really made you believe you were in a different world and if you thought about it too long it messed with your mind, aliens?..... just maybe! Our local tour guide that accompanied our group was Chet ([e-mail] 012699193) . Very knowledgable and knew the right spot and times to visit. This isn't a place to rush through but to take your time and plan it carefully, Chet also knew some of the security and a few dollars goes a long way with them! For those there for a few days he organises a bike tour. Around 15km per day and tours the temples in reverse order. It looked fun but be under no illusion it is hot so a reasonable lever of fitness would be a must.

Our Photography tour took us essentially round the great lake Tonle Sap. It is clear from the tour that tourism is still a new concept to most of the country and at times they struggle to make something a "tourist attraction" One such example would be visiting a pepper plantation where you drive up see a few vines and then leave. Its nice that the land is untouched in some ways but they have still got a lot to learn if they expect tourists to pay for a day trip and this is all they get! It was great to see the "real Cambodia". River trips to floating villages, watching the rare Irrawaddy dolphins at sunset walking on the bamboo bridge at Kompang Cham were real treats. Its a shame in a way that the infrastructure is growing at an alarming rate and the rickety bamboo bridge built every year to cross the river will soon be replaced by a concrete permanent one. Just like the bamboo train in Battembang, a unique experience where you sit on what can only be described as a magic carpet held together with bamboo which in turn rests on 2 separate axels. If a train comes the other way they assess who has the most passengers and make the other train disassemble and wait to the other has past. Then they put the train back together and carry on their way. The track bows and clicks and at times creates an almighty thud where the tracks are misaligned. This is all powered by a lawn mower engine! Give the Khmers there due, if they need to find a way to achieve something they do. No trains left, no problem! But this will not be here for much longer with trains being back on the agenda and the train line improvements well underway. So if you want to have a truly unique experience then go soon, I reckon both will be gone within the year.

Another highlight was lunch with the monks. Without being invite we turned up as a group, at their temple, to photograph the monks eat their one main meal a day. It is forbidden for them to eat after midday. Nuns or elderly women prepare the feast and all junior monks offer some of their food to the chief monk. All then pray and eat. What is left is then shared between the women and children that live in the temple complex. This is a normal day. What is not normal, is being invited to join them, sitting down and having a feast prepared for you and insisting that whatever they have, they share. It was quite humbling, especially as they were giving us the luxury food. It was too much, a tea and a few biscuits were all we took and that which was left given to the others in more need. The monks temple is where Mark came into his own. By chance this day Mark decided to wear his bright orange T shirt. With his bald head he fitted right in! It wasn't long before the locals noticed and he was the centre of amusement by all. Even the nuns were having a giggle behind their hands. From then on we had a running joke. Can't find a monk to pose for your silhouette shots, no problem, just get mark to wear his t shirt and scarf!

Some of the highlights of the trip food wise, were the deep fried tarantulas, red tree ant curry and deep fried whole birds! Mark gave the birds and ants a go but there was no way either of us were going to eat the spiders! 1 guy from our tour group did give it a go but he wasnt overly keen and actually quite ill for a couple of days!

Our trip would not have been complete without educating ourselves as to the countries barbaric history. A trip to the prison S21 and the killing fields made for a somber but necessary day. I will not bore you with all the history, which I in fact found fascinating, as this day to me is something that all should experience for themselves. The one thing that still baffles most however is why Poi Pot insisted on the torture of his fellow countrymen. A communist mentality I understand. Eradicating all those ( a third of his own population ) who were educated, an ideology like Hiltler you can grasp. But making them suffer in such a horrific way is simply the work of an evil man. Every local we met had their own story to tell. Every family had lost members close to them. Our driver lost his father, his uncle, his aunt and he was made to work in the fields from aged 6. In another village, a story of how all were numbered between 1-50. He was given number 46. Every week the next number in line was killed. The killing stopped at 42! But the most moving moment was by chance, meeting one of only 2 living survivors of S21 (11 made it out alive in 1979). He told how he lost his 4 children and his wife to the torture of S21, how he only survived through his ability to paint and draw the torture procedures and portraits of Poi Pot. Duch, the man in charge liked him and that is the only reason he is alive today. Duch, to date is the only man prosecuted for the horrific events of the 1970's. He accepted his part in the killing of thousands. Poi Pot died of Malaria in 1998, a time when the UN still accepted the Khmer rouge as the governing body of Cambodia, turning a blind eye to genocide! Since 2008, 3 now all in the 80/90's await trial, all denying S21 even exists. Despite all the stories, we go back to their belief in Karma. They truly believe that those who do bad will come back as lowly animals or be tortured in some way themselves. They do not seem to hold the anger I would have expected or want revenge in any way. The country seems to finally be at peace and although they don't forget, they have already, it seems, forgiven.

After the bleakness of S21, we needed a little light hearted entertainment. So we decided, on a bit of a whim, to 'pop over' to Malaysia for the Grand Prix. We stayed at a very small Tune Hotel, virtually on the runway of Kuala Lumpur Airport. No frills but very handy for a short stay and only 15 mins from the Sepang International Circuit. The organisation around the circuit was something England and Silverstone could learn a lot from. Buses ferried you around the track to the various grandstands from the car parks, buses were every 2-3mins, so there was very little pushing, shoving, waiting around etc. We had great seats on the main straight, just in line with the last pit garage. We had a fantastic view of the start and into the first 3 corners as well as the pit stop shenanigans. A little downpour provided some excitement to the team tactics just before the start of the race but otherwise it was scorching hot and very humid. The noise of the F1 cars all fighting for position at the start was deafening but luckily we had invested in a couple of pairs of earplugs and spent the next 2 hours shouting at each other from a foot away!! The race was good enough that your needed more pairs of eyes to see what was happening! Flitting from the track to the giant screens and back to the pit lane to try and keep up with the action. A roar of laughter from the crowds when Lewis Hamilton tried to stop in the wrong garage and a bit of controversy between Webber and Vettel made for a talking point in the bars after a great day.

Back into Cambodia for a few more days saw us heading down to Kampot, famous for its pepper apparently. This was a very sleepy village on the river and not too far from the coastline. There was very little to do here, but 1 trip we did make was up to Bokor Hill in the national park. An hour long switchback pass up into the hills saw us in dense fog unfortunately, so that spoilt the supposedly spectacular views across the whole of Cambodia. But, it did make the deserted King's Palaces and the dilapidated Khmer Rouge run church and casino look very, very creepy and gave you a deep sense of foreboding. Whilst there wasn't much more going on up there, it was worth the drive up and as said, on a clear day it would be a different experience also. From there we headed along the coast to Sihanoukville. Here the plan is just to have a few days of quiet coastal luxury, in a nice boutique hotel with a pool. Unfortunately again, this place is fast becoming Cambodias' club 18-30 destination, with booze cruises, burger bars and english chav's everywhere. And whilst a decent hotel and a nice pool means you don't have to wander out the front too often, we are looking forward to our next destination.

The country I have painted so far is perhaps a little glassy eyed. For all is not sweetness in Cambodia. There is crime, tourists are often victims of muggings from moto's. Women are targeted at night on the beach and the begging in the big towns is a little out of control. But this is no different to Thailand or Vietnam and in fact no different to London, I'm sure. You have to be careful. Don't let yourself be a target. Don't walk down an unlit alley at night. Their New Year apparently is the worst time so if you arrive around Songkran (13-15 April) be on your guard. The thieves are out in force. From stories told to us by expats, living in Cambodia is hard. Life always has a price, there was talk of Khmers killing western men for $400. What the papers learn is "tourist dies in Cambodia", nothing more. Corruption is rife and everything has a price. Drugs are freely available and unlike thailand the police are not bothered. The more remote you go the less you see, the less you worry but in Sihanoukville ( mini Benidorm in my opinion! ) you need to be careful. That tuk tuk which costs you 2 dollars even though you hotel is not that far is worth taking. Drunken tourists are easy pickings so just don't let it be you.

Some of the hotels to recommend are the Rikitikitavi in Kampot, by far the most friendliest resort we stayed. The Silver River Hotel for its location in Phnom Penh and if you do visit Sihanoukville ( but in my opinion don't! ) you can't go wrong with Coolabah for location and its nice pool. The Angkoriana in Siem Reap is also worth a look but the pool area is a little tired. All are around $30 a night. Public transport wise use Giant Ibis. A new bus company with luxury buses at the same price as the cheap run down bangers! Do not use mini vans, apart from being insane they pack them full of people and goods. If you want your own seat you have to pay at least double and even then i would not bet you would get one. 7/8 on 3 seats seems to be the norm and 4 on 2 seats in the front. Even the driver shares!!!!!!

Our tour in March meant hot hot weather and no rain, that makes Cambodia a very dusty, baron place. Every day you longed for that cold shower and at times contemplated jumping in that dirty river just to cool down. Consequently we did not get to see the rice paddies in all their glory. It would be nice to return in the monsoon season, or at least at the end of it to see the place full of water and the greenery that apparently erupts in June. So do I like Cambodia, yes. Do I like what it may become, no. Tourists and foreign investors need to respect the country for what it is, please stop trying to change it!

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