Cambodia

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Well we made it from Bangkok to Cambodia, flight was uneventful (and given the fact that Qantas have had a couple of plane problems - bangkok airways seems pretty ok with their Airbus 320 - they even fed us on our flight from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh which was only 30 minutes long - hows that for efficiency). We flew into Siem Reap - the only thing there is the Temples of Angkor - but what a thing to see.

We had organised a tuc tuc to collect us from our hotel at 5am to bring us to the Temples and whilst it seemed like there were a procession of lights heading to the temples that morning - in reality it was all the tuc tucs ferrying the tourists to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat and it was pretty spectacular. Well worth the early start.

Its funny - there are times when I realise how much my life has changed as a consequence of getting my hearing aids - sitting beside Jonathan and not only seeing the sunrise but hearing the dawn call - the birds and insects and yes even the monkeys greeting the dawn made me realise how much more hearing things as well as seeing them adds to the experience of life.

Being at the temples was for me a bittersweet experience - they are amazing, spectacular, awe inspiring and the fact that you can walk all through them makes it a fantastic experience but unfortunately that is part of the issue - the temples lasted hundreds of years under the vegetation (it took nearly 70 years to dig them out) but so many tourists troup through the site that untold damage is being done to the stone work, the stones are not properly secured, the carvings are not protected at all and consequencly, you have to wonder how long this can continue - it would be such a shame for this vastly important site to not be preserved for future generations. The site itself amazed me with its beauty, both artchitecturally in the buildings themselves and artistically in the stone carvings and also the fact that this was created by man over 1000 years ago - really smart, artistic men, one wonders what they could achieve given todays technology.

Jonathan will probably provide more details and photos on the site itself.

After Siem Reap we headed to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia - the place we are staying have been super helpful in helping us organise what we wanted to do whilst we were here.

We went to see the royal palace yesterday (and the king was at home) and it was absolutely madness - seriously the lack of security amazed me - they have loads of the buildings opened to the public except for the private residence. The palace itself did not get damaged during the time of the Khmer Rouge (KR) because the king was placed under house arrest there as the Chinese did not want him killed. At least it meant that the palace remained but a lot of the state artifacts were stolen during that time and have never been recovered. They have a room with a silver floor - in most counties this would be completely closed but here - they have put carpet on top of most of it and you can walk around - our guide was pointing out a golden buddha in a display case and I moved over to have a closer look - I then looked down and realised that I was actually walking on the silver floor - I jumped back in fear and the guide said its fine to stand on this piece........... amazing - I was standing on kilos of silver which had beautiful engravings on it.


So today we headed to the Genocide museum which is the old S21 prison camp (which had previously been a secondary school). To say that it is horrifying is to put t mildly - the sheer evilness of man is astounding when you look at something like this. The idea that when you arrest on man, that you also arrest his family including all his children ("to kill a tree you must also kill its roots") - effectively murdering whole families, torturing "biographies" out of people and then murdering them (of the circa 20,000 people who went through the facility only 200 survived - there are no agreed figures for how many died during that time period but they range from 750,000 to 3,000,000 - the three million is based on survivor accounts).

There was two paintings in the museum which particularily horrified me - a man throwing a baby in the air whilst another man is shooting at it like it was a clay pigeon and the second painting was a man beating a baby to death against a tree. The whole idea that this is how people can become is really a scary prospect - because I cannot believe that you are born to be this terrible.

And yet a catch 22 situation exists with respect to some of those who worked in the S21 prison - a lot of the guard were chiildren ranging from 10 to 15 years who were conscripted (in a do or die situation) by the KR - so whose crime is worse - the kids who murdered the prisoner or the men who made kids into murderers - and should both be punished. I think that this is why the justice process surrounding this time has been so slow to happen because some of the perpetrators are also victims of the regieme.

In the afternoon - to really top off the depression - we went out to the killing fields - the memorial is really something to behold - so much death, all those bones of people who had been shot of beaten to death and all for nothing.

When I walked away from both the museum and the killing fields - apart from the pervading feeling of despair, I also experienced a real fear that thirty years from now I will be visiting places I have not even heard of yet looking at similar footage. We will have learned nothing from all the death in places like cambodia.

No country - however justified in their anger against combatants they may feel - should be allowed to treat prisoners like they were treated by the KR. We work so hard to establish a level of human rights for everyone and yet we stand by and let those rights be usurped in times of conflict not by our actions but by our inactions.

It has been a sad day - and yet the cambodian people are always smiling - its interesting to see how in Russia when you ask why they don't smile they say its because of the terrible times under communism - in Cambodia they smile in spite of all that has happened.


On a lighter note - I had the biggest Mojito ever yesterday (actually I had two) hmm - stagger , stagger. This evening we went for a massage - there is a massage place called seeing hands which employs blind people and it was great.

We are heading for the beach (cause we really need the R & R - snigger) so up early to get the bus tomorrow - I know - the bus.... but there are no trains and the airport at the beach is closed for two years, so five hours on the bus. But hey - wooden bungalow on the beach, it will totally be worth it.

Hope all is good with everybody - I have to say, I do miss my friends and family - Jonathan is great company , but you know - he just does not like the chick flicks and he really does not understand about the shoes and handbags!

Jonathan says: I thought they were tuk-tuks rather than crackers. Either way Cambodia has been such a roller coaster of emotions. A few examples
The largest note is 5000 riel which is worth just under a euro. It causes a real headache as to what to do with them if you change money - a second wallet is necessary to carry the wad.
Petrol being sold on the side of the street from drums or even in 3 litre bottles.
No longer many bikes in the capital - just fleets of mopeds and motorbikes everywhere, at every speed, in every direction, with a variety of passenger numbers.
I saw a donkey upside down on the back of a moped as it was being transported - there's one to try to copy
The larger the vehicle the more right of way it has - you just beep and continue driving across the main road - except if you are a pedestrian, you have to cross the road by blindly walking across it and letting the wave rush around you - madness. Paths are really driveways, parking spaces and food terraces - no point walking on them.
Several times I have seen ordinary looking guys drive past on a motorbike or weave through traffic - ordinary except for the machine gun casually hanging by their side. Nobody even gives them a second glance
Every hotel and tourist brochure warns of the penalties for child abuse - after overhearing one conversation between a westerner who lives here and the father of a cambodian boy, I have to agree that it is a major issue for this country.
What can I say about the temples in Angkor - they are truely amazing - a wonder of the world. The country is branding itself after it though - the water, the beer etc. are all named after it. It is like Mongolia and Mr. Khan all over again
What can I say about the genocide - I am completely lost for words after visiting the sites. As Seppy said, the country has avoided dishing out justice as it would just lead to another witch hunt and the same events being repeated, but why can't the world learn from these things - my mind is a mess.

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Photos

Monkey
By popular request (for Conor) There were loads of them living in and around the temples

Tomb Raider
That famous entrance/exit in the movies. Also starred in Indiana Jones. I waited and waited, but nothing

Steps2
Those steps were steep - it is really surprising that you are allowed to climb them

Jungle takes over
Yes, there is a tree growing on top - it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Amazing how quickly nature can reclaim stuff

Stumbles
An action shot as Seppy falls into a temple - Hollywood big bucks here we go

Petrol
The pump is that drum on the very left of the photo - you could have yellow or green petrol - not sure which is which

Tuk tuk
Doesn't every couple have one of these photos? They warned you to look after your valuables when driving around...

Royal Palace Phnom Penh
a drop of rain too - it is rainy season after all. Immense riches in a few buildings

Royal palace residence
Yep, the King is at home and that guard is about the extent of his security

A dif colour each day
A neat way to dress. Each colour represents a different day (sunday on the left) - and whenever you are meeting the King you have to wear the same colour.

White elephant
The King used to have a white elephant (the queen and the guards had black ones) but all the elephants were killed in the 1970s

Water festival painting
The festival happens every November and the city population doubles. It includes dragon boat racing as painted in the Royal palace - I love the picture of the bloke puking in this losing boat

Trad music
Seppy wants to learn to play the instrument at the back

Toul Sleng
Beneath the photos of the children who were tortured and killed here, you can see the outline of one of the cell wall that each prisoner was kept in. It is less than 2metres by 0-8metres

Toul Sleng2
On the second floor of this former school brick walls would have been too heavy so wood was used instead - the cells were the same tiny size though. The windows and open areas on this floor and the next one were covered with barbed wire to prevent prisoners attempting suicide - totally sick

Choeung Ek
yes, it is floor to ceiling of human skulls that were recovered from the mass graves next to this - the Killing Fields. The skulls contain lots of evidence of the policy of saving expensive bullets

Comments

[Kate]

So glad.....
you made it to Cambodia.....hope you get to Laos too......big hugs, miss you guys. x