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Floating Village
50,000+ people living on the water and eeking out a living on Cambodia's largest river. Border Crossing: This, by far, was the most amazing experience of our trip so far. Everything about Cambodia is mind blowing. Our purpose for heading into Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat, the ancient temples built in the 11th century. We hired a car in Bangkok to drive us the four hour trip to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. We arrived at a dusty, noisy, hectic, HOT make-shift town where it was promptly discovered that Jennifer, the Jordan's daughter had forgotten her passport! It's never boring when you're travelling in a pack! Unfortunately, the Jordans had to head BACK to Bangkok and forgo Cambodia as the Kiddney clan forged ahead. Crossing into Cambodia was a lesson in Asian efficiency (doesn't exist) and true poverty. Thailand may be a developing country but, it is DEVELOPED in comparison to Cambodia. After waiting in several lines (one for filling out forms, one for looking at your passport, one for filling out more forms and looking again at the passport, and one for stamping the passport!), we finally walked into Poi Pet, Cambodia where we were immediately surrounded by begging children pleading for money. As we continued forward, we passed adult beggars with amputated
Village
In the monsoon season, this makeshift town we left from is under 32 feet of water. limbs- the victims of Cambodia's lingering landmines. This was one of the most difficult walks of my life because I so badly wanted to give these people something. But, as Dave steadfastly explains, Westerners CAN NOT give money to beggars. It is a vicious cycle that unfortunately produces more beggars (a much better option we have decided is to donate to charities when we return home). A civil servant in Cambodia probably makes 50 cents a day, why should he continue working when he can push his kid out in the streets and they can make several dollars a day from begging. The entire infrastructure caves in on itself and you end up with a situation like India where, I understand, begging is rampant.
Drive to Siem Reap: Under Dave's guidance (he's made this harrowing journey before), we avoided the various touts and rented a Toyota Camry (the only cars in Cambodia because the engines last forever!) and endured the bumpiest three and half hour drive of our lives. Initially, the road was nominally paved with huge craters pock marking the road. We weaved in, out and around these holes bouncing all the way. Asian drivers aren't too concerned
by oncoming traffic so, there was A LOT of gasping as we narrowly missed hitting passing vehicles! Did I mention that five of us were crammed into this car with me sitting precariously on Dave's lap. We literally knocked heads several times. Driving into Cambodia was like entering a dusty, dilapidated wasteland. The country is so poor yet, the people are incredibly kind. The Cambodians were also celebrating the Lunar New Year and were laughingly clutching the car windows and spraying water on us as we would slow down to pass through the crowds. We stopped once at a local 'everything' store where I proceeded to take some pictures of the owner's children. Digital cameras are an AMAZING thing here. The kids were pleased as punch to see themselves on the camera and posed several times saying "Thank you! Thank you!" afterwards. I can only describe this entire experience as surreal.
Siem Reap, Angkor Wat: We arrived in Siem Reap, the town adjacent to the temples of Angkor Wat. This is pretty much the only tourist attraction in Cambodia and is a friendly town that welcomes tourists. The entire next day was devoted to touring the many temples of
Angkor Wat. What an amazing place! Because of the Khmer Rouge, the site had been badly neglected (and bullet hole ridden) but, thankfully it is now a declared UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization) site and they are working to protect the area. Angkor Wat is a series of ENORMOUS temples located on land the size of Manhattan! It is overwhelming to behold. As we trekked in and out of these gorgeous ruins, you observe huge trees that have grown into the buildings and twisted around the stones. Truly majestic.
Floating City: Dave's parents headed back to Bangkok while Sarah, Dave and I stayed on to experience one more day in Cambodia. We hired a tuk tuk to drive us to the Floating City on the Tonle Sap River. Again, we were amazed by everything we saw. We passed several villages, just in awe of how the people here live. Open air shacks constitute much of the housing. We arrived at a sort of shanty town. Dusty and covered in trash where children ran after us begging for the almighty American dollar. We hired a boat and toured the Floating City. So fascinating! Truly, like nothing I have ever seen. Floating houses, restaurants, pig pens, catfish pens, schools, and even police stations... Picturesque and moving.
Killing Fields, Siem Reap: We then asked our bewildered tuk tuk driver to take us to see some monks. So Western! It's hard not to be fascinated by the stately figures of the passing monks in their gorgeous saffron robes. Having heard that they were incredibly friendly, we hoped to actually meet one. Our driver took us to a Wat (temple), which was entirely deserted! Just our luck. So, we gave up on monks and headed to the Khmer Rouge "Killing Field" which now has a monument and is a quasi tourist attraction. This turned out to be one of our most interesting visits. It is so hard to be in Cambodia and not feel the responsibility of our country's actions. Such a decimated country and such gentle people. After the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, ironically, it was the Vietnamese who ousted the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge managed to kill off the majority of the intelligentsia (along with 1/4 of their population) and so the country is left poor, uneducated and littered with landmines. So, the entire experience of Cambodia is deeply moving. Especially, as a Westerner. How can these people not hate us? Yet, we were universally treated with unwavering kindness.
On entering the Killing Field, we observed the makeshift monument that had a large glass case filled with skulls. Juxtaposed to this setting were little kids smiling, riding their bikes and running around kicking a ball. Bizarre. As we walked around, a voice behind me asked where I was from, and I turned to face a Buddhist monk. Life works in funny ways. We began a conversation and he explained that the locals are all terrified of living on the site of the Killing Fields so, two Buddhist monks have moved in and started a school for orphans and the very poor children who would otherwise go uneducated. The other monk joined us and we all talked and headed to view their school. How incredibly humbling to see a makeshift, open air structure with planks of wood that serve as desks. Little kids ran around us, as we learned that the monks teach the children English endeavoring to give them a chance in life. We immediately gave a donation and praised their efforts. We asked to have a photo taken with them and they were so pleased that their pictures would make it back to the United States and that our American friends would learn of their endeavors! Cambodia both breaks and fills your heart at the same time. A truly beautiful place that we all wish we had more days to explore.
Sorry for the long update everyone! It's been kind of hectic so, hopefully they'll be shorter and more frequent soon! Coming up next: The rest of our stay in Thailand and China!!!
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anonymous
non-member comment
hi
So glad you are "back on line" as we treasure your reports and so look forward to your stories...talked to D and H and they have many great stories for us, too...thinking of you all and miss you ...have a great time Love, Barbie and Kenny - Barbie