A Tale of (at least) two Cambodias

SE Asia, Cambodia

Phnom Penh

After exploring the length of Vietnam, our next country was Cambodia. The name itself is inextricably tied up with news reports from 1970 of an illegal bombing campaign by the US, with the express goal of shutting down NVA supply lines, and later that same decade, the killing fields of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. So with a little trepidation we boarded a bus for a 10-hour trip from Saigon to Phnom Penh, the capital. The border crossing was uneventful, punctuated by watching Cambodians precariously stack cases of beer from the duty free shop onto their motorcycles, and observing the huge casinos built for visiting Chinese.

Over the course of 8 days we built a gradual understanding of two Cambodias - one a country with an amazing past, exemplified by the massive temple at Angkor Wat, and another just now struggling back from war, both external and civil, almost as if coming out of the Stone Age. We could see the distinct change when we crossed the border - much less developed infrastructure, more rudimentary agriculture, lots of garbage. 

If only that were the case!

The next day we went to Choeung Ek, a Buddhist stupa monument to the victims of genocide, built on the site of one of Pol Pot's killing fields. The building contains over 5,000 human skulls and many other bones, exhumed from the mass graves surrounding the area. We heard many different numbers about how many people died in the 4 years of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, from 1 million to about 2+ million - roughly 20-30% of Cambodia's entire population at the time. The impact was even greater on Cambodian men than women, and today only about 5% of the population is over age 65, compared to 16% or so in the US and Europe.

We then went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a school-turned-prison inside Phnom Penh. When the KR started their rule, they basically evacuated the capital city and drove everyone out into the countryside. Everyone. Because people who lived in cities were decadent and needed to be reformed by working in the fields. Many were killed for reasons as simple as wearing glasses, which indicated they must be educated and thus an intellectual and thus an enemy of the people. The cells are still there that held thousands to be interrogated on their way to the fields, as are old metal bed frames where prisoners were tortured. Amazingly, there were 2 men onsite who survived the prison, one due to his ability to paint portraits (flattering to Pol Pot,) and the other spared due to his ability to fix typewriters.

To say that this day was sobering...is putting it very mildly.


The next day was spent in Battambang, a nice town on the way to Siem Riep and Angkor Wat. Our lodging was in the Classy Hotel - and it was indeed the best hotel we stayed in on the tour, though sadly, for only one night. Amazing wood paneling everywhere, a rooftop bar with a great view, but alas lousy cocktails. Mark’s martini was sweet from Sprite or something, and had a maraschino cherry! Yikes! 

Moving day!

On the way to Battambang, we stopped at a floating village, Kompong Luong, north of Krakor on the southwest side of Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in Cambodia. This village moves to follow the lake as water levels rise and fall, deriving their living from the fish in the lake. They were moving some of the floating houses (and they are not tiny!) while we visited. The water was very dirty, and there is basically no trash collection or sanitation, so you can imagine what it was like, or ...maybe not.

Home delivery

Garbage, garbage everywhere...

Making rice paper

Next day we spent the morning on a bicycle tour, visiting cottage industries where people dried bananas, made rice paper for eating, cooked sticky rice in bamboo over a charcoal fire, and made rice whiskey. Yes, one of the bottles of whiskey had a dead cobra in it. AND we were quickly reminded why we don't ride bikes! We then bussed to Siem Reap.

Rice whiskey with snake infusion

Rice and a tapioca plant

Quick sidebar - rice is a big deal in Cambodia, employing about 3 million people, producing 10 million tonnes annually and contributing about 25% of GDP. Interestingly, productivity (kg/hectare) has nearly tripled since the dark days before 1992. About 75% of cultivated land in the country is planted in rice. Most of the rice grown there is jasmine rice.

Angkor

Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and on just about every destination bucket list out there. This of course sets very high expectations, and unfortunately means it is now overrun with people disgorged from tour buses. 

Tug of war bridge...demon or deva?

Built in the 12th century by a Khmer king, it took 20,000 people per day for 40 years to build. 5 million tonnes of sandstone was brought from 7 different quarries nearby and it is larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza, and 100 feet taller than the Taj Mahal. At its peak, 1 million people lived in the city surrounding it, at a time when there were 100,000 people in Paris. There is an excellent Smithsonian program about it which explains more than you want to read here, in a visual way that really makes it obvious just how fantastic the place and the accomplishment of building it was.

Beautiful Wat Banteay Srie

The carvings are stunning and in amazing condition in many places despite being made of relatively soft sandstone and being nearly a millennium old. We went to Wat Banteay Srie, which was our favorite for the carvings -- not as vast by a long shot but really lovely.

Next morning we went back to Ankgor Wat at 5:15, in the morning, to watch the sunrise. So did about 2000 other people. In 2 words, it sucked. The place would certainly be magical if it were just you and a few others, but this was ridiculous. After the sunrise, we walked around the BACK of the main Angkor Wat building which was actually more interesting! And quiet!

Just to show we didn't get up at 4 a.m. for nothing

The quiet side of Ankgor Wat

We then went to Wat Ta Prohm, an awesome place encrusted by huge trees - and popularly known as the Tomb Raider Temple. Sigh. The trees are impressive, though.








 We also went to the "Cambodian Circus" -- tumbling, comedy, music,art, dancing. The theme was "White Gold" -- aka rice -- Fun!

"do not pass or play Go"

A quick buzz through an amazing country, then the border crossing into Thailand. While this ended up being uneventful, our Cambodian guide was very nervous about being seen as our guide, since Thai immigration could refuse him entry and basically end his tour guide work to Thailand. We disembarked from the bus while still in Cambodia, walked our passports through Cambodia border control, walked a bit, used the restroom, walked to Thailand border control, with strict instructions not to talk to our guide. Mark was designated The Fearless Leader, and we all went through immigration with no issues, aside from waiting for Mr. Joe, the Thai guide connection on the other side for about 20 or so minutes, while smelling fish being carted across the border. Phew! We had some Tiger Balm in our bag and rubbed it under our noses to mitigate the smell.

It was somewhat surprising that many of our tour compatriots were not aware of the Cambodian Genocide, which after all only ended in 1979, and was the topic of the award-winning film, “The Killing Fields.” But perhaps not, as it was more part of the USA’s “Secret War” history. It is somewhat shocking to realize that the Khmer Rouge was still an influence until 1997, and that their leaders were only convicted of genocide in 2018. That a country could kill 25-30% of their own people, wiping out all the “educated” and their entire families to prevent revenge attacks...is yet another example of man’s inhumanity to man, and a caution to us even today.

Next... Thailand!

2019 December