Kingdom of Cambodia
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2007
1
14
19
Trip End
Ongoing
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Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Sunday, May 4, 2008
At the Laos/Cambodia border, there is absolutely nothing around, no other cars, houses, shops, money changers, people, nothing. The border guards on the Laos side were demanding a $1 fee for the stamp to get you out of Laos. On the other side of the border, the Cambodian visa was $20 but a $2 "processing fee". They then send you to another little shack 50 feet away to get your stamp into Cambodia which they charge another $1 for. Of course none of these "fees" are official but you're in the middle of nowhere and you have to remember that the average yearly income for a person living in Cambodia is only $272. I know if I were the one working on the border, I'd probably be charging more than that.
The bus was supposed to take us to a town just north of the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Phen, where we were supposed to spend the night, wake up the next morning, and catch another bus to Siem Reap. However, there was a lot of confusion between the guy driving the bus and everyone else on the bus.
an "Enemy of the State" S-21
He told us that there was no other bus going to Siem Reap the next day from the place we were supposed to stop so everyone got back on and finished riding to Phnom Phen. We finally arrived around midnight after a long day of traveling. This is how the day went: 8am boat to mainland. 9am bus 1 to border. 11am bus 2 to ferry. 12pm ferry across river. 1 pm bus 3 to Phnom Phen arriving at midnight. I got a room nearby, woke up early the next morning and found another bus to Siem Reap.The first thing that you notice when you get to Cambodia is how many friends that you have, especially when you get off a bus. Anywhere you see a bus full of people unloading a flock of guys on motorcycles all swarm to the door asking the person where they are going and if they need a ride. "Hello my friend! Where you go? Come on my friend, I take you there!" For most of the people, this is the only job that they have but competition is fierce. Definitely a buyers market.
Siem Reap is a town built around the tourist industry to Cambodia's claim to fame, the temples of Angkor, the largest religious structure in the world. Despite the huge amounts of revenue that the tourists bring in, there is still a substantial amount of poverty to be seen all around the town. I was actually surprised to see a United Nations World Food Program facility set up near the town. I found a guest house, dropped off my things, and walked around the town a while.
The following morning, I hired a tuk tuk driver to take me to the temples for the day for $10.
Wat Phu, Champasak, Laos
The temples are a must see if you're in Cambodia and the government knows this which is why they can get away with charging $20 dollars per day for a ticket. The first thing that I noticed at the temples was the extent of the buildings. I have been to a lot of other ruins but none that are so spread out. Before going, I was contemplating just renting a bike and going around. Good thing I didn't because it would have taken me forever to get from place to place. The thing that impressed me the most however, was the detail put into the temples themselves. Other ruins that I have seen such as Tikal in Guatemala or Chichen Itza in Mexico were nice because of their symmetry but Angkor takes the cake in the amount of detail inscribed everywhere. The temples themselves are made out of stone but carved in the stones are faces, nymphs, and battle scenes. It's absolutely breathtaking to just sit back and think of the time and effort put into such a meticulous task. I saw all of the main temples in one day and decided that was enough for me. It would have been nice to see all of the smaller ones as well but that would have taken at least a week and since I'm no archaeologist, I decided that was enough for me.All around the temples there are people trying to sell you things (i.e. books, t-shirts, post cards, magnets, clothes, food, drinks, etc.). At times it can get really annoying after the 47th person in 3 minutes has asked you, "Mistah, where you from? Cold drink for you!?" But you just have to remember that they are only trying to make a living, smile, say no thank you, and keep on walking.
Crossing the Mekong River at sunset
One little girl about 11 years old was really persistent and kept trying to sell me things. She had the best line that I had heard all day. When trying to sell me a refrigerator magnet with the outline of the temples on the front I told her no thank you that I didn't need one. She quickly responded, "Well, if you don't need one then you need TWO!" hahaha! Because she was so persistent I did end up buying a book about Cambodia off of her. Most of the books sold in Cambodia are not originals but rather photo copies so you can end up getting them for really cheap. Property rights in Cambodia? haha yeah right.After looking in awe at the temples I went back to Phnom Phen. EVERYTHING is for sale in Phnom Phen. EVERYTHING I repeat. While walking down the streets you are bombarded with guys who will always greet you with the same line, "Hello my friend! How are you? Where you go? Moto? Tuk Tuk?" if you say no to any of these then they come slightly closer and lower their voices a little bit. "Weed? Marijuana? Opium? Lady? Massage? Boom Boom?" I'm sure if you asked for a three legged elephant wearing a pink hat and a Nelly t-shirt they would probably come back in about 30 minutes leading one right behind them. You could really get creative if you wanted to.
While in Phnom Phen, I went to see the infamous Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng prison (a.k.a. S-21). From 1975-1979, Cambodia was ruled by the communist Khmer Rouge and their leader Pol Pot. When they took over the country in 1975, they forced everyone out of the cities to go work on farms in the country.
Joe eating a June bug
They believed that the farmers were the strength of their revolution and sent everyone to the fields to work and learn from them. Millions of people (former teachers, doctors, lawyers, government officials, and military people) were killed. It is estimated that between one and two million people died from murder or starvation during this regime. Tuol Sleng, S-21, is a prison where the political elite, educated people, and anyone else suspected of subversion were sent in order to "confess" their crimes against the government. The people were tortured until they confessed and gave the names of other "conspirators" and then sent to the now infamous killing fields where they were executed. Out of the approximately 17,000 people that were sent there, only 12 survived. At the killing fields, they have erected a memorial dedicated to the people who were killed there. Within the memorial are hundreds of skulls and bones that were recovered from the mass graves that have been uncovered. However, while at these two places, I had a feeling like the memorials and museum were more there to make a profit on the tragic events that happened there rather than to honor the people that died. One sign that really stuck out to me was one that read, "They massacred the population with atrocity in a large scale. It was more cruel than the genocidal act committed by the Hitler fascists." First of all, I don't think that such things can be compared as being more cruel. Killing innocent people is equally cruel no matter who it is or where they are from.
June bug vendor
And secondly, if you were to compare, I think 6 million Jews dying in WWII is a bit more harsh than 1-2 million people in Cambodia. What do you get after years of war are finally over?... A lot of left over guns and ammunition. Why destroy it or throw it away when you can charge tourists to shoot it? That's right. Have you ever wanted to shoot an M-16, AK-47, or even fire a grenade launcher without actually having to sign that enlistment contract with Uncle Sam? Well now you can if you just go to Cambodia. They have firing ranges where you can pay to shoot almost anything imaginable. And for an extra fee they will even put something as small as a chicken to something as big as a water buffalo out there for you to unload on. No kidding, I'm not joking. The government of course has gotten a lot of criticism from different organizations over the years and has cracked down on some of this but it is still very easy to find and accessible. Cambodia is the wild wild west of Southeast Asia for sure.
I left Phnom Phen for a brief trip to Sihanoukville, a town on the coast in the south. I had heard mixed reviews about it and wanted to check it out myself. Final ruling, I don't recommend it. The beaches were littered with trash, the water was murky, and one girl that I met had gotten robbed by two guys with a baseball bat the night before. I left after one night.
Back in Phnom Phen, I bought a boat/bus ticket to Saigon. All of the regular buses were booked up for the next couple of days but instead of waiting, I decide to pay a little bit more for a boat/bus combo ticket and move on to Vietnam. I was told before I left that we would cross the border around 3 pm and arrive in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) by 6 in the evening. We arrived in the border town at 5 pm and then to Saigon just before midnight. Surprise surprise!
