The Complete Photos: Cambodia

Our Cambodia side-trip in Southeast Asia was less than a week long. Most of the stuff we saw was either stuff relating to the Killing Fields (which we didn't really take photos of) and Angkor Wat (which we took a lot of photos of).

So, get ready for a lot of pictures of ruins and jungle!

RTW: Cambodia

Two Days of Ruins

As our motorbike driver last night told me, "Nobody would come to Cambodia if we didn't have Angkor Wat." Then he laughed, a common Cambodian reaction after talking about anything sad or even horrific. While probably not entirely true, Angkor Wat--and the many other ruins in the area--are the big draw.

We spent two days going around the ruins in a tuk-tuk with the same driver that picked us up at the bus station. We actually really lucked out. Paul sat in the tuk-tuk with us and acted as an informal guide, telling us things to look for at the sites, when they were built, whether they were Hindu or Buddhist, Hindu stories depicted, and answered questions when we got back. His brother drove the three of us in the tuk-tuk.


Paul in the tuk-tuk

The only downside to Paul was that he had a habit of constantly changing the price of things. When we found him at the bus stop, he was carrying a sign saying "25-cents to your guesthouse." As we walked to the tuk-tuk, he said, "$1 to take you to your guest house." When I pointed out his sign had said 25-cents he relented (though we paid him the equivalent of 50-cents, as 25-cents seemed pretty cheap). First he said either tour (there is the "big"and the "little" circuit) was $5 for both of us. Since we hired him for another day, we didn't pay yet, but Tyler thought he said something about it costing $12. We thought maybe there was some confusion, so before we set out this morning I asked again about the price. According to Paul, "Today $12, yesterday $5."

"So $17 for both? $5 and $12?"

"Yes."

And, not surprisingly, at the end of the day he wanted us to pay $24.

But besides that--and the astonishing heat and humidity--the rest was really great. Here are a few highlights:


I don't know why, but trees growing through ruins are always really compelling. Maybe it just shows the age and time they've spent on the land. Or nature overtaking man. I don't know, but it was always exciting to find.


Tree in temple at Ta Prohm. The site is also famous for being in Tomb Raider.



Tree overtaking the East gate at Ta Som


At first surprising--and then just surprisingly ubuiquitous--all temples contain desecrated Buddhas. Over the centuries, the kings vacillated between being Hindus and Buddhists. And then during the civil war, Pol Pot tried to wipe out religion. So there are lots of holes where Buddhas should be, headless Buddhas, and Buddhas with their faces scraped out or marked. It is amazing to think about the amount of energy that went into creaing and destroying Buddhas over time.


Buddha carving with a slashed face


If you look at the back wall, you will see where Buddha carving upon carving has been chiselled out


As Paul told us, the road to heaven or paradise is difficult. Or that's at least supposedly why the steps up into temples are so darn narrow and steep. Being a little bit afraid of heights, I can easily scramble up them quickly; it's the coming down part that makes my palms sweat a bit. But we got some great views of jungle and the ruins from these impressively tall towers.


Tower at Angkor Thom. And, yes, we climbed all the way too the top level and back down again.


Steps up to highest level of Angkor Wat. Because of the slow progress of tour groups going down with the extra steps and railing, we ended up climbing up the main steps to the right. Scary, steep, but worth it.


View of jungle from Angkor Wat


While the Incan ruins we saw in South America were impressive for their sheer size, location, and amazing positioning of stones, the temples and ruins of Cambodia are incredible for their ornamentation. No surface is left untouched--there are carvings on the walls between doorways that look like tapestries or wallpaper; there are carvings along almost every wall of gods, goddesses, trees; there are bas relief murals along every side of the base of Angkor Wat. Really incredible.


Wall carving at Angkor Wat


Wall carving at Preah Khan. I loved the detail of the tree behind the figure.


One of Cambodia's early kings (whose name has about six-syllables and Paul always said with remarkable speed) really liked the Hindu story of Churning the Ocean of Milk. From what I understand, two gods wrapped a snake (Naga) around the holy island and then pulled back and forth to churn the water. After centuries, they created an immortal elixer they then drank to become gods. It is everywhere, including as a big mural at Angkor Wat.


Statues part of the Churning the Ocean Milk legend at a gate into Angkor Thom. At other gates, many statues were destroyed or deheaded by bombs or later kings.


Naga at Preah Khan from an entryway depiction of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk


It's really nice when things live up to the hype. The temples were really amazing, and we really enjoyed getting inside Angkor Wat.


Tyler with two of the 261 faces at Bayon in Angkor Thom, one of our favorites.


Us at Angkor Wat!


Rainy season also lived up to its "hype." Here we are getting soaked through at Pre Rup, our last stop of the day.

Tomorrow we catch a fancy bus (it might even be called "Limousine Bus") back to Ho Chi Minh City. Hopefully the rain will hold off for some relaxing beach time before meeting up with my friend Alison for my birthday!

"Your Advertisement Here."

Several days ago, while on our tour of the Mekong Delta, I noticed a couple of empty billboards that had the message above printed on them. After thinking about it a bit, I couldn't help but notice that they were in English... while the rest of the billboards (y'know, with actual ads on them) where in Vietnamese. I think thats a bit telling, don't you? While the Vietnames were able to hold their own against the US's technologically superior army, sadly, I think they are proving to be little match for American Consumerism.

Not that this is entirely a bad thing. In comparison to other developing nations that I've visited, there does seem to be a genuine felling of upward mobility in Vietnam. There is money to be made, and people are happy to be making it. While staying at the MyMy Arthouse, I was flipping through an old '94 Lonely Planet in their lobby and I read something to the effect of: "While most Vietnamese people ride on bicycles, most would happily buy a motorcycle or moped if they could." Well, if you go back and read my entry, Ï *Heart* Mopeds*, it basically proves my point.

Oh, speaking of which, here's a picture of a typical street in Ho Chi Minh City:


Now, I definitely don't want to oversimplify the politics and issues surrounding the introduction of Capitalism into Vietnamese society, and I know that there are a number of negatives that come with it, ranging from loss of traditional values to negative environmental consequences (the exhaust of all those mopeds). In facto, I still think Vietnam has many challanges ahead of it, and only time will tell if the steps they are making today are misplaced or not. I only mention it because I find it interesting.

In fact, Vietnam's entire relationship with the US is fascinating. I can't help but wonder if the Vietnam War (or, American War from their perspective) didn't actually have a postive effect on their national psyche overall. If you look beyond the millions dead, the lasting effects of chemicals like Agent Orange and the scores of people still being injured by landmines each year; and the fact is that they managed to hold their own in a war with the World's leading Superpower. A nation that had been previously undefeated. And, by doing so, they unified the country and ensured its independance in a way it hadn't been for years.

Now, the war was an awful experience for both parties involved, and I don't want people to think I'm saying otherwise. But, much like members of US Colonies probably felt after the American Revolution, the general feeling I get from the Vietnames people was that the bad times were behind them, and together they were moving forward into a brighter future.

Which, in itself is an interesting contrast to what seems to be the national character of the Cambodian people. On the surface, they seem every bit of as upbeat and friendly as the people of Vietnam. But, beneath the surface, I think there is a bit of sadness and desperation which isn't as readily apparent as it is in their neighbors to the East.

Unlike the Vietnamese, the Cambodian people's last major historical event involved the country seemly attempting to exterminate itself under the Pol Pot Regime. What had started as a political movement and civil war devolved into genocide which, in my mind, possibly surpasses even the Holocaust in its directionless brutality. While most genocides seem to involve one ethnic or religios group attempting to exterminate another group; Cambodia seemed even more abitrary. What started as the elimnation of the educated and skilled seems to have quickly devolved into something more irrational where neighbor turned on neighbor. Friend on friend. Family member on family member.

And, also unlike the Vietnamese who ended their recent period of turmoil by defeating their perceived aggressor and unifying their nation, Cambodia's last crisis only ended after another nation (Vietnam, of all people) invading and restoring some sense of normalcy.

You can probably see how the two histories would give each nations psyche a different color. As I've mentioned, the people of Cambodia have been nothing but nice to Sarah and I, but there is a dark edge to it. We've heard several individuals talk quite critically of their government, or made statement to the effect of "I'll never get to leave this country" or "If it wasn't for Angkor Wat, no one would care about this country." Which is sad to hear, because it has so much to offer (the food has been quite a pleasant surprise). In addition, I also feel like there is an undercurrent of rage which we didn't see in Vietnam. Boxing seems popular, gun ranges seem to be a popular tourist attraction and kids seem to play-fight more here than I've seen in other countries. I can't help but feel the nation has issues that it has yet to fully address.

But, that's not to say that Cambodia is hopeless. In fact, it seems far from, with the lack of government support or even wide support from abroad (well, except for temple restoration programs), many people have seemed to embraced a "do it yourself" or grassroots approach to combatting national problems. Many restaurants prominently display donation boxes, while others support orphanages and other charitable organizations.

Also, we've seen lots of signs of personal strength. One that bears mentioning are groups of landmine victims we have encountered while coming and going from the temples. Instead of becoming beggars, they've formed musical troupes. In groups of four to six, they sit outside temples and play traditional music in exchange for donations. It's an inspirational sign and (especially in comparison to the bad music we heard on the radio in Tassie) their music is pretty amazing.

I'm not sure why I mention all this, beyond the fact that these two countries have gotten me thinking. In comparison to other nations we've been to, their history has been so troubled and so, well, current that its not hard to think about these issues and revisit personal notions and values. So, I just thought I'd share. I'm far from being an expert in anything I've mentioned above (I was an Art Major after all), so I imagine I've gotten some of my facts wrong. If so, feel free to let me know, and otherwise, I'd still be interested to hear anyones opinions or feelings.

Just sharing.

Phnom Penh: Decaying Grandeur and Genocide

Our arrival into Phnom Penh proved to be an adventure in and of itself. After hours in a metal, hot-box tube of a boat (Tyler will describe the whole adventure more fully below), we landed to find that we needed to fit 11 adults with their baggage (about 13 big pieces) into a hotel van meant to hold eight people. We stood in disbelief around the van, but--sure enough--with lots of squishing and pushing, it all fit in and we hit the hot, bumpy road into the city.

Though we had a short time to draw any strong conclusions about Phnom Penh, I found it to be a fascinating city. It felt like a place that had it's heyday in the 60s and nothing had really been built since the 70s. Imagine French-style buildings, graying and falling into disrepair, with an additional floor at the top of shacks made of corrugated metal. Smoggy but somewhat beguiling. We also saw some of the decadent indolence you see referenced about the city, with almost every backpacker restaurant selling "happy" (AKA marijuana-laced) shakes and pizzas.

Of course, there is also the darker side, with lots of poverty, children wandering around all day trying to sell bootleg books to tourists, land mine victims and women with small children begging for money, orphanages full of children.


We managed to take very few pictures yet in Cambodia, but I think this gives some idea of the feel of the city


Me sweating and a view from the deck of our $4/night guesthouse

We hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the three sites we wanted to be sure to catch: S-21 (or Tuol Sleng) Prison of the Khmer Rouge, the Killing Fields and the Royal Palace.

I have to say upfront that I have a woefully thin knowledge of history in this region overall. Through all my schooling and world history classes, my teachers never managed to get much beyong WWII. I don't know if there was still general reluctance to cover issues like Korea or Vietnam by the time I was in school or if they really did just run out of time. It seems there are many lessons to be learned from experiences here that could be useful today.

We started at S-21. Originally a high school, it is a group of four large classroom buildings, complete with a grassy courtyard and some gym equipment. But it was turned to horrifying use as a prison for political prisoners. Of the 12,000 people brought there, only 12 survivors are known. Classrooms were walled to make cells smaller than the size of a twin bed, blood splatters still evident on the floor. Torture rooms with beds, electrocution equipment and leg irons fill a floor of one building with pictures of the last 14 victims found by the Vietnamese when they invaded the city, almost unrecognizable and surrounded by blood. Rooms and rooms are filled with mugshots of those picked up by the government--men, boys, women, children, monks. The killing seemed to be indiscriminant. It was horrifying. Even now, I feel ill and choked up just thinking about it.

Next we went to the Killing Fields. In a horrifying incongruity, the actual grounds intially feel peaceful and scenic--grassy field, trees. But as you walk around the grounds, you notice a honeycomb pattern of depressions--mass graves that have been excavated. Nearly 9,000 people have been discovered there, but many of the grave sites have not yet been explored. The government took about 17,000 people there to be led to pits and killed, generally with sharp blows to the head to save bullets. To hide their activities from the surrounding areas, they played music to cover the moans and sounds of killing. They covered the bodies with DDT to get rid of the stench and kill any who had survived the blows. Some graves were filled with headless skeletons. Some with only women and children. As you walk around, you can still see bits of clothing sticking up from the dirt and see bones that have been unearthed over time. It's hard to comprehend, and harder still to understand why so little is widely known about the second worst genocide of the 20th century.


Buddhist stupa memorial to the victims, filled with skulls



Independence and War Memorial Monument with many nagas--sorry for the blur, it was taken from a moving tuk-tuk!

Our final stop of the day took us to the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, where the king resides. It had beautiful grounds and buildings, with a number of wats (or temples) with Buddhas, including a gold one with diamonds and one made of green Baccarat crystal.

Unfortunately, we listened to our Lonely Planet guide about not paying extra to use our camera on the grounds, so we don't have any pictures of our own. But here is the Throne Room and some of the grounds:

Drifting up the Mekong

Now, if you go back and look at my previous entries, you'll probably notice that the thing I've complained about the most is tours and tour groups. So, it goes without saying that when we were present with the opportunity to take a three day tour into the Mekong Delta, we jumped at the opportunity. But, before I get into the details of our tour of the Mekong, I just wanted to mention that we visited the Jade Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City which was an interesting experience.

I'd visited other Buddhism temples, or wats, on my trip to Thailand several years ago, but the Jade Pagoda was significantly different from what I saw there. The wats in Thailand (and now in Cambodia too) generally reminded me a bit of Catholic Churches, in that they were usally large, contained a number of devotional pieces or areas, and lots and lots of gold ornamentation. But, the Jade Pagoda seemed much more "hands on" that what I'd come to expect from Buddhist temples. It seemed almost like a workshop, or repair shop, for the soul.

The interior of the Jade Pagoda.

The rooms were small and cramped. Dark and heavily stained by the incense that filled the air. There were scores of little rooms, each dimly lit and cluttered with various depictions of the Buddha, half-burned incense sticks, and offerings ranging from tea to fruit. In the main room people were chanting and singing, while outside a man was burning paper printed to look like money as a ward against hungery ghosts.

I'm not sure if the pagoda was different merely because it was a pagoda and their function is different. Or, if it was because Thailand and Cambodia practice Theravada Buddhim, while Vietnam primarily practices Mahyana Buddhims. But, it was an interest place to visit none-the-less.

OK, back to the tour.

So, Sarah and I signed up take a three day tour of the Mekong Delta that would end by dropping us off in Phonm Penh, Cambodia. The brochure seemed very specific about what activities the tour would be participating in during those three days, but -as you might expect- the actual tour only beared a passing resemblance to what was on paper.

The first day though was pretty straight forward. We were picked up early from the MyMy Arthouse where we were staying. I'm not sure what made the MyMy an "Arthouse"... but it might have had something to do with the fact that it looked like the type of place that Crocket from Miami Vice might stay at if he was down on his luck.

Anyhow, we were loaded onto a bus with about a dozen other people, and driven out to the city of My Tho. There, we were loaded onto a motorboat and toured the Mekong river and some of the cottage industries on it. First up, we navigated a narrow river that took us to a coconut candy "factory" where they showed us how they made the candy. This was followed by the obligatory chance to buy some candy. But, it was quite good, so we obliged.

Making our way up a small river.

After that, we were taken further up the small river to a bee farm, where they showed us a bee hive (surprisingly, I passed on the chance to hold it). And we got to taste some honey (note: tea, honey and a splash of kumquat juice is very good). And, they brought out a python for people to have their picture taken with (surprisingly, Sarah passed at the chance to hold it).

Then, we went back down the river, where the guide took us on a tour of a small village (with another pit-stop to drink tea), then loaded us onto row boats which took us to lunch. Lunch was one of two fish options, both made with the same fish which they called an "elephant fish" (bacause it's fillet looked like an elephants ear). Sarah and I chose the one that was steamed in coconut milk and served in fresh spring rolls which -despite my natural dislike for all things seafood- forced me to admit it "wasn't half bad."

After lunch, we reboarded our original boat, which took us to another island. On that island, we got to eat a variety of tropical fruits (including dragon fruits and rambutans), while Vietnamese sung and played traditional music. After that, it was back on our boat, back across the river and into the tour bus.

Then, it turned out that everyone else on the tour was doing a 1-day tour, while we were doing a 3-day. So, while everyone else climbed onto another bus to go home, we were merged with another tour group that was doing a 2-day tour.

As we got introduced to our new tourmates (a trio of French who worked in China and were on an extend weekend in Vietnam, a pair of Germans on a Round the World Trip, and a Mexican guy), our bus drove us on to Cantho, were we'd spend the night.

To get into Cantho, we had to take a ferry ride which matched the one we took back in Bolivia. First, we were unloaded from the bus, and made our way into a room packed with people and running motorcylces. Then, when the ferry arrived, they opened the doors and had to practically run to the ferry, while dodging the motorcycles which were also trying to get on. Matters were exasperated by two young boys bathing in the river near the ferry entrance, which caused a group of older tourist to stop, take out their camera and start clicking photos... creating an even greater bottleneck to get onto the ferry. Once across the river, we were unloaded from the ferry, and had to wait on a street corner for the bus to come across on a seperate ferry (for safety reasons apparently).

Not surprisingly, after all that, and after checking into our hotel, Sarah and I were happy to join our new tourmates for dinner and drinks before calling it an early evening.

The next morning, we were up bright and early, and made our way down to Cantho's riverfront where we were loaded onto another boat to go see the floating market. Now, I'd seen a floating market in Thailand, so I wasn't that excited, but it turned out to be a surprisingly interesting experience. Where the floating market in Thailand was a small river mainly filled with people trying to sell souvieners to tourists, the floating market was a much larger market, and one that actually served a functional purpose. Basically, farmers from outlying areas would load their boats with produce and take them down the river to Cantho. From there, they would be sold to people in town, or to resellers who would take the produce on to HCMC. The farmers would then stock up on stuff unavailable in their own village and return home.

Eating pineapple on the roof of a boat in the floating market.

After taking in the market (and sampling a pineapple) our tour guide took us to both a rice noodle making factory and a rice husking plant. The rice noodle making process, which involves pouring liquidied rice onto a giant heated piece of silk like a massive pancake, proved to be hyponotic and interesting... even if most members of our tour group seemed more interested in the giant pigs standing in the pens nearby.

Finally, we were taken to another market, where we were allowed time to browse the wide array of exotic fruits, live fish for sale in metal tubs, and bizarre cuts of meat. After that, it was back to Cantho.

A fruit stand in the market. Sarah had a field day checking out the different food and taking pictures.

A meat stand at the market... yep folks, that meat up front is rat.

This is where it got a little bizarre. Since the rest of the group was only doing a 2-day tour, our guide dropped Sarah and I off at a random hotel and told us that another tour guide would be picking us up at 2pm.

Around 3pm, a pair of small tour buses pulled up. Our bags were loaded into one, and we were loaded into another and -without much explanation- we were off again. Not entirely sure our bags were going to meet us at our next destination.

In our new bus was a trio of other couples also doing Round the World Trips: A Belgian couple, a British couple and an American guy married to a British woman. And, a solo Dutch traveller. Oddly, we seemed to be pieced together from three seperate tour groups; and none of us knew where we were going, and our driver seemed cranky. Still the group was lively, and we spent a good portion of the hour and a half long drive that followed shouting, chatting and sharing travelling misadventures.

When our bus finally arrived at our next destination, Sarah and I were happy to see our bags sitting next to the road with our new tour guide who then hurried us onto this boat:



The next three hours were spent drifting down the Mekong, sipping beer, watching the sunset and waving at Vietnamese children playing on the rivers shore. This was exactly what Sarah and I had pictured when we signed up for a tour of the Mekong.

Finally!

After that long day, we finally reached the town of Chau Doc, where we retired to our rooms to try to get some sleep before the final day of our tour.

Waking early again, we were introduced to the new tour guide (our third) driven to the waterfront where we boarded rowboats piloted by Vietnamese men and women rowing from the stern of the boat. They paddled us along the river to a series of house boats. We then got to climb onto a houseboat and look down at the fisheries built below it. After taking in the countless fish swimming beneath the house, we were back onto the rowboats where we were paddled to a Cham village.

The Cham are ethnic minority living in Southern Vietnam. They are Muslim, but a branch of Islam that is greatly influenced by the surround Buddhism and Animism. After watching their weavers work, and seeing their Mosque, we made our way back out to our boats and were paddled out into the river again.

Saying goodbye to our row boat driver. The woman in the pink paddled us around, and her husband and daughter are in the other boat behind here.

Soon, our boat from the previous evening arrived again, and we climbed from our rowboats onto it for another three hour trip down the Mekong to the Cambodian boarder. Again, lounging on the boat proved to be a relaxing experience... but this time, I think they were just preparing us for the boarder crossing.

Arriving at the Vietnamese/Cambodian boarder, we were told to wait for about an hour while our guide took care of the legalities. This boilded down to the group of us standing in a small covered area while kids tried to sell us beer, water and fruit, and middle-aged women tried to convince us to exchange our money from Vietnamese Doung to US Dollars.

After that, we had our bags run through an X-ray machine, and then we crossed out of Veitnam an into Cambodia.

Now, go back and look at the picture of the boat we took in Vietnam. Now, here's the boat they loaded us onto in Cambodia:

The Rocket Boat™

Now, I'm sure that the Yellow Rocket Boat was a piece of State of the Art machine in 1957... but, in 2007, its air-condition-free metal tube proved to be a sweltering oven.

30 minutes later, we were across the river, where we passed through Cambodian imigration, and got our passports stamped. Then, with our new tour guide, it was back onto the Rocket Boat for another sweaty two hours up the river to Phonm Penh.

For those of you keeping track, we had three seperate group we travelled with three different groups of people and four different tour guides. By the end, our itinerary only beared a rough similarity to what we were initially promised (we were supposed to visit a giant Buddha statue and an aligator farm but neither materialized). On the up swing though, we made a lot of great travel friends over the course of the tour. Like our tour in southern Bolivia, there is somethign about being thrown together with other travelers on a rough and tumble tour that instantly bonds you all together. If for no other reason than that, the tour was definitely worth it. But, from the markets to just drifting down the Mekong, there were many wonderful moments.