Cambodia (land of positivity)
Trip Start
Aug 12, 2008
1
8
26
Trip End
Nov 21, 2008
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Fri 5/Sept:
we caught a 12-hour bus from Saigon, Vietnam, and arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Crossing into Cambodia it was very obvious that we had left Vietnam. The streets were a bit more rugged, the towns popped up less frequently, and for the most part, the road was one long straight road to Phnom Penh, and all around was long, flat plains of green farms. Phnom Penh was a madhouse, we spent 1 hour there.
Siem Reap was more our pace, and became increasingly more fun
Banana Pancakes, again..
. The people were amiable and fun-loving, and instantly we would be claiming outrageous requests for little money, just to get a rise out of them, which worked every time. In return, they'd be super serious for a second, respond with a strict price of what they wanted, and then laugh and we'd carry on. This was the nature of nearly every transaction we had in Cambodia - and in this unforgiving heat, a little humor goes a long way.We strolled the town, found out where Angelina Jolie's hangout is (they have a cocktail named after her), and heartbreakingly began our episodes of denying the hundreds of child beggars in the streets. This was the first 4 hours of our 3 day trip.
Sat 6/Sept:
We woke up and finally had a day to just do nothing, take our time, and zen out a bit. So, I wrote on this blog, and took some pics, played a bunch of guitar. Lauren shopped, ate, and then shopped. We were both fulfilled. The make-up of Cambodian lifestyle seems the same as the other places we've seen. Everyone's gunning for a dollar, in fact they use the U.S. Dollar here, instead of their own currency (Riep) seemingly to charge more money, although it was still pretty cheap. Avg meal in Vietnam was 5-6 dollars for two, here a bit more, 7-8 dollars, but the accomodations were cheap, about 7 dollars for a NICE room, Vietnam was more like 12 dollars
Yeah, those stairs are steep
.The food was really good, they're local (Khmer) dishes were very Indian and Chinese influenced, but I think I preferred their curry over the Indian stuff we had in Laos. It was all pretty good.
That night, we took a tuk-tuk to the temples, but our ticket for the next day, and then climbed one of the temples, to watch the sunset. It was awesome. The temple itself was set atop a square, symmetrically layed out series of walls and staircases. Designs were carved into the majority of the statues. However, there were a ton of tourists, and the regard for it's actual preservation was little to none. At one point, younger kids were climbing all over the wobbling remains, along the backside. The impressive part was it's location, atop a pretty massive hill, the only mini mountain for miles around. This was indeed considered holy ground.
Sun 7/Sept:
We woke up super early to catch the sun rising behind Angkor Wat. This was stunning, yet just the beginning of exploring ALL day. Again, just wikipedia Angkor Wat for the history, there's too much. As for the layout, it is surrounded by a gigantic moat, more like a man-made river that squarely borders the temple. The layout and vastness (is that a word?) of the entire place is amazing, it really does seem endless. There are intricate wall-carvings that span LONG hallways, ornate statues that appear at every turn, and the worshipping temples themselves seem to always be just a few more steps towards the sky than you already climbed. It was an inspiring display of symmetry and ancient architecture
Um, are either of you awake?
.After Angkor Wat, we began to explore Angkor Thom which is a city of temples, it's crazy. There are different centuries when each were built, all during the Khmer Empire I think, but ranging between the 8th and 12th centuries. This became an Indiana Jones sort of exploration for us, being driven around in a tuk-tuk through the jungles, and hopping out at each successively more impressive spot. It was awesome!!! I'll just post some pics, but know that on the insides of all these things, there were just more and more carvings and staircases, and secret passageways, and multiple opportunities to scare Lauren or any accidental passerby. We also ran out of camera space, so had to limit our selection of pics, but you'll get the main idea...
At the end of our footstomping over the area of Ankor Thom and Wat, we ended by a large man-made lake that was at the base of one of the temples. It really reminded me of a smaller, more wild version of DC's reflection pond. There were kids using bamboo fishing poles, standing at a broken dock, swimming and sort of hanging out, ages 5-9ish. It was a sort of sad site. In comparison to DC, you have this similar symetrically constructed monument, really a copycat of what this was over 9 centuries ago, and back home it's an immaculate display that signifies the beauty of our country, etc
Angkor Wat Sunrise
. But here we were sitting on the crumbling steps of what used to be, in their time, the greatest empire of the lands; and now there were just a few kids, barely clothed, and making the most out of it that they can. I thought it was sort of symbolic of their entire culture. After almost two decades of recent genocide, the current population of Cambodians maintain a positive attitude, can joke with you as if they're as spoiled as you are, and put forth a joy for life and living. It realy makes you think twice about what you don't even realize you take for granted. Most of these kids (over 40% of the population is under 15!!!) have nothing, some of the really young ones have resorted to streetside begging, many of their parents or older family members were murdered, and yet the consistent attitude is not one of complaint, but optimism. I really admired these people. I really do.We had a great dinner once again, and bought some last minute gifts. The next morning we were off back to Bangkok. I knew we were gonna miss this place, I hope to come back.
