Cambodia! Where to start? Cambodia completely exceeded our expectations. We only had two full days in Phnom Penh and 3 full days in Siem Reap, but in that short time we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Our time in Cambodia was a great mix of excitement and relaxation. We loved the people, the food, the history and the prices. We met interesting people, including a man forced to work the Ho Chi Minh Trail at the age of 11, and another man who was a Buddhist monk for ten years. We tried many new things for the very first time, from exotic foods to, well, you’ll just have to read on to learn more. The prices were the lowest we have seen anywhere in the world.
Even though we were only in Cambodia from February 1-8, this blog post could easily have been one of our longest. It was really hard not to expound on Cambodia’s history over the last 200 years. I could’ve written pages just on the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970’s, and then even more pages about the fantastic Hindu and Buddhist history behind the largest religious monument in the world: Angkor Wat. I did my best to cover these subjects relatively briefly for two main reasons. First, because I like to keep the content “light” and the reign of the Khmer Rouge is about as “heavy” as it gets. Second, because I wanted to get the blog written while it was still fresh in my mind since, immediately after Cambodia, we would be visiting two more countries in a span of only 5 days.
We arrived in Cambodia in the dark. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Pen on a “prop” plane (meaning it had propellers and not jet engines). The flight was less than an hour and was only about half full. A result, we believe, of the coronavirus outbreak. The thousands upon thousands of Chinese tourists expected to descend upon SE Asia for the lunar new year, simply didn’t materialize. We grabbed a Grab at the airport (Grab is a ride-share company similar to Uber) and made our way to the Eman-Sim Boutique Hotel. I’m not sure what the exact definition of “boutique” is but, to me, it means small. This hotel was 15 stories with a swimming pool and a bar on the roof. It was not a luxurious hotel, but for us it was great as we had just spent 10 days in a tiny apartment with a small double bed. Our room at this hotel was probably 2/3 – 3/4 the size of the entire apartment we had in Ho Chi Minh City and it had a huge, comfortable king bed.
We ordered a late dinner from room service. Janne ordered a glass of rose and “Grilled Meat Love”, which included an assortment of grilled meats, potatoes, and tomatoes. I ordered a beer and a much more plainly named dish, “Pineapple Shrimp Fried Rice”. Janne’s was served in a piping hot skillet and mine was served in a carved-out pineapple. Both were surprisingly good and the portions were good sized. The grand total came in at $13 USD.
Cambodia is a country of around 16 million people located in the southern part of the Indochina peninsula. It borders Vietnam to the southeast, Laos to the east and Thailand to the north and northwest. It also has some coast line to the southwest on the Gulf of Thailand. Like Vietnam, their currency, the Rial, is composed of paper bills only. Unlike Vietnam, the US dollar is widely accepted in the cities. In fact, all of the ATM’s that we came across dispensed dollars and not Rials.
To say Cambodia has had a very tumultuous history over the past 200 years would be an understatement. The 19th century began with multiple wars with the Siamese and the Vietnamese and ended with French colonization. The 20thcentury was extremely bloody with French colonial rule, Japanese occupation, political/civil unrest and clashes with Vietnam.
As if all that weren’t enough, the worst was yet to come. The U.S. bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War killed an estimated 100,000 Cambodians. The U.S. dropped more than 2.7 million tons of explosives on Cambodia from 1965-73! That is more than the Allies dropped during the entirety of WWII. Already on shaky ground, these bombings completely destabilized Cambodia and led to civil war and, ultimately, the Khmer Rouge coming to power. The Khmer Rouge is responsible for the death of approximately 3 million people by execution, torture and starvation. That accounted for around 1/4 to 1/3 of the total population of Cambodia at the time.
Only recently is Cambodia starting to recover. Relative to where they have come from, things look good. The economy is the fastest growing in SE Asia, growing at a clip of about 7% per year, and things are relatively peaceful. But from my perspective - the perspective of a westerner with the luxury of growing up in a relatively corruption free democracy - things are still very, very bad. First, let’s address that 7% growth number. 7% of almost nothing is still almost nothing. Cambodia is super poor. The United Nations designates Cambodia as a “least developed nation”.
Cambodia is currently run by a dictator named Hun Sen. He has been the “Prime Minister” since 1985 and, get this, he is an ex-Khmer Rouge commander. In 1997 he successfully launched a coup to consolidate his power and, over the years, many of his enemies have simply vanished. A report put out by the US State Dept says “forces under Hun Sen and the Cambodian People’s Party have committed frequent and large-scale abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture, with impunity”. He is also widely considered as the 3rd richest man in SE Asia after the King of Thailand and the Sultan of Brunei. Much of this wealth is a result of Hun Sen allowing foreign investment in Cambodia that lines his own pocket and robs the Cambodian people.
One of our tuk-tuk drivers was seriously disillusioned. He pointed out a huge gambling/resort complex called Naga World. It was composed of several high-rises that he said were half owned by China and half owned by Hun Sen. He talked about sales of mining and forestry rights to the Chinese that are devastating Cambodia’s natural resources. He showed us a hotel built by the Chinese on land where a fishing village used to stand. The people of the village had no say in the matter, were given a pittance for compensation and now live in squalor on boats in the shadow of the hotel. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
Our first full day in Phnom Penh, we headed out early and took a tuk-tuk to Wat Phnom. It was a great first place to visit in the cool of the morning. Forecasts for our time in Phnom Penh called for temperatures in the low 90’s (32-34c). Wat Phnom has an interesting history and it is the center point of the city. Stories vary depending who you talk to, but the general legend goes something like this. Way back in the 1300’s, a wealthy widow named Lady Penh found 4 Buddha statues inside a koki tree that was floating down the river. Lady Penh decided that she needed to build a temple to house these statues. She enlisted the help of locals. The area was very flat and the people brought in load after load of dirt and created a hill, on which the temple was built. From this central location, the city of Phnom Penh grew. Later, in the 1400’s, a king built the hill even higher and rebuilt the wat (temple) along with a royal stupa (an edifice containing bones and ashes of the cremated) to hold the remains of members of the royal family.
We arrived at Wat Phnom before 9:00AM and the temperature was still in the 70’s (26c) and quite pleasant. The wat was surrounded by a park with old growth trees. This was our first taste of Cambodia and it served as a reminder of why we were traveling the world as we are. We arrived via a tuk-tuk, and our senses were tingling. It felt like everything around us was a new experience. Upon arrival at the wat, everything seemed unusual and unique. The architecture was different. The plant life was different. There were religious items and imagery we didn’t understand (Hindu and Buddhist). There were signs we couldn’t read written in letters that were alien to us. We heard people speaking in an unintelligible (to us) language. There was an overabundance of odors from flowers to garbage to exhaust to incense. This was the travel experience we loved.
We walked up the stairs to visit the temple and the stupa. Outside the temple, in a neighboring building, there was a flurry of activity. There was some sort of religious ceremony going on. Best we could make out was that there were tons of people, most holding eggs along with other items, and trying to get some guy in a blue shirt to bless them.
We left Wat Phnom and walked to the Tonle Sap River – one of the four rivers in Phnom Penh. As we were walking along the river, we paused to look at some interesting buildings. It was there we met Kim (spelling?), a tuk-tuk driver, that we would end up spending the next couple of hours with. We hopped in his tuk-tuk and he showed us all around old Phnom Penh. He took us past several buildings constructed by the French in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He showed us the most expensive hotel in Phnom Penh that also happened to be the former house of Charles de Gaulle. We visited the post office, also built by the French, that had a large clock on the roof line and we got overly excited as a monkey walked out from behind the clock. Kim took us to several other areas including the “Golden Temple”, a cemetery where we could see monkeys, a drive along the river and a ferry across the Mekong.
When we travel, we relish opportunities to interact with the local people. We consider it a privilege when a local person will spend some time with us. Even though we may have initially met them because we hired them to do something (for example, as a guide or a teacher), we find that if we are respectful, they are often willing to share some of their private lives with us, and we connect on a personal level. Cambodia was a highlight trip for us from this perspective. We had the good fortune to come across three different individuals willing to lower their guard and share some of their private lives and personal stories with us. Kim was the first of those three. He told us how he had to work two jobs to try and get by. In the mornings and early afternoon, he worked as a tuk-tuk driver, and then from 4:00PM-midnight he worked at a hotel. He had three children. His grandmother, grandfather and other family members, fled Cambodia in the 1970’s, with help from the U.N. and Thailand, in order to escape from the Khmer Rouge. Those family members now live in Long Beach, CA.
After our allotted “tour time” with Kim had expired, we took him out to lunch. We went to a restaurant that offers a menu of sustainable foods that are prepared by at-risk youth in order to give them skills to be able to support themselves and their family. The food was excellent! We tried what seems to be Cambodia’s national dish: amok. Amok is a traditional Khmer dish that is a bit like a curry stew. It is usually served in a container composed of banana leaves along with a side of rice. Fish is usually the protein used in the dish but chicken and beef amok are also popular. We loved the fish amok and had it more than once over the rest of our time spent in Cambodia.
But before we enjoyed our fish amok, we nibbled on some unique appetizers. We ordered up a plate that included prepared water buffalo, pickled morning glory, frogs and crickets! We liked it all. The buffalo was served almost jerky-like. The morning glory tasted like what you would expect a pickled green to taste like. We had tried frog before, but it was in the form of large frog legs. These were whole frogs that you popped into your mouth. They were so-so. The crickets we thought were quite good. They were crunchy with some nice spices. If it were later in the day, they would have made a good snack to go with a beer.
Appetizer plate Close up of frogs & crickets Fish amok
After lunch, we sought shelter from the sun and went to check out the National Museum. It seemed like a pretty good museum and had many ancient artifacts on display. If you are into ancient history and hundreds of small artifacts, you could probably spend hours here. That really isn’t our thing and we spent about a half hour, but we were glad we went. By the time we finished with the National Museum it was pretty toasty outside, so we headed for the swimming pool on the roof of our hotel for some downtime.
Going to Cambodia was our first jump into the “deep end” of Asian culture. We had been to Japan before – and loved it – but Japan is westernized in many ways, is super safe and has a stable democratic government. We were now traveling in SE Asia and each country visited was moving us more and more out of our comfort zone. To show what I mean, let’s look at the last 3 countries we visited in relation to their government and language. You can see how the progression moves further and further from what one from the West would be comfortable with…..
Singapore: “Flawed Democracy” Hello. How are you? >>> Hello. How are you?
Vietnam: Socialist Republic Hello. How are you? >>> Xin chào. Bạn khỏe không?
Cambodia: Dictatorship Hello. How are you? >>> សួស្តី។ អ្នកសុខសប្បាយទេ?
Our second day in Phnom Penh started on a sober note. We visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Tuol Sleng (also called S-21) was the secret center of a network of nearly 200 prisons where people were tortured by the Khmer Rouge. Between 12,000 – 20,000 were imprisoned at S-21 alone, and there are only 12 confirmed survivors. After torturing the prisoners and extracting false confessions, the Khmer Rouge would take the prisoners to “the killing fields” to murder them. In order to save bullets, they would usually bash the prisoner’s heads in. Men, women and children died this way. Many never knew why they were arrested. Many were arrested for simply being doctors, lawyers, teachers, government workers, musicians or artists. Some were arrested simply for wearing eye glasses – a sign of being an intellectual. You see, the goal of the Khmer Rouge was to set the country back to “Year Zero”. Their leader, Pol Pot, isolated Cambodia from the rest of the world. He emptied cities by forcing the people to march to rural collectives, where the people were forced to work in rice fields or in other types of agriculturally based forced labor. He abolished money, private property and religion. Anyone thought to be an intellectual of any type would be at great risk of torture and death. Things were so far gone that wearing eye glasses or speaking a foreign language would likely get you, and your family members, killed.
Atrocities too numerous to mention were committed at S-21. Leaving the prison, I found myself almost as moved and disgusted as I had been after my visit to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany back in the 1980’s. I think the only reason Dachau affected me more is because I was younger at the time – a teenager - and also because I witnessed people openly weeping there. The scary thing about the rise of the Khmer Rouge is that it occurred within my lifetime and, very likely, the majority of Cambodians that we were interacting with, had lost family members and/or friends. It seems to me, the term of treating someone “inhumanely” used at these types of places, is a misnomer. Humans are entirely capable of such acts of depravity and violence. Calling it “inhuman” is inaccurate. We have demonstrated so many times, over and over for centuries now, that we are very capable of dehumanizing, torturing and killing each other on a grand scale and, unfortunately, the capacity to do those things seems to be an innate part of us – part of being human – and not “inhuman” at all.
Most people that visit S-21 also visit the killing fields. Already depressed enough, we took a pass on that, and spent the rest of the morning checking out some parks and temples in the city until, once again, it got too hot and we headed back to the hotel for a rest. We knew the genocide museum would be a heavy experience so we intentionally planned some light entertainment for that evening. We returned to the National Museum where we took in a delightful dance show. The show was a celebration of Cambodia’s music and dance tradition. It was billed as a “Traditional Dance Show”. Thirty dancers with stunning costumes, accompanied by live music, presented a performance covering “Cambodian mythology, ancestral traditions and village life”. Our favorite part of the show were the Apsara dancers. Their body control was truly amazing. I think their fingers must be double jointed. While performing difficult dance moves, they keep their fingers in positions that represent an alphabet of sorts. Hand gestures, wrist movements and other body part movements tell stories of ancient Hindu mythology. Apsara dancing has been around for thousands of years. The opposite of ballerinas that glide across the stage “en pointe”, top Apsara dancers move through highly difficult positions while their feet are flat on the ground and their toes are bent at an almost 90-degree angle toward the sky. Like the restaurant from the day before, the company putting on the dance show had a social mission. It was a not-for-profit organization working to get at-risk youths off the street and in a position to be able to support themselves and their family. In the case of this dance focused company, their mission included working to keep traditional music and dance alive after it was almost completely wiped out by the Khmer Rouge.
On our final day in Phnom Penh we decided we would get up early and visit the Royal Palace when it opened at 7:30AM. We wanted to hit it early before it got too hot, plus we needed get back to our hotel by 11:00 for checkout by noon. The Royal Palace is a very large complex of buildings and a garden that serve as the royal residence of the King of Cambodia. The royal family has lived there since it was built in the 1860’s with the exception of a period of absence during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
When we arrived, we paid $10ea to get in and then we decided to pay an extra $10 for a private guide. He showed us around the grounds and the different buildings. Three of the more interesting structures were The Throne Hall, the Napoleon III Pavilion and The Silver Pagoda. The throne hall was super ornate and it is used for coronations and other high-level ceremonies. We were not permitted to enter, only to look in from the outside, and no pictures were allowed. The Napoleon III Pavilion made you scratch your head. It didn’t fit in with the rest of the buildings in the complex. It turns out it was originally built by the French for use during the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. It was deconstructed and sent in pieces as a gift to King Norodom in 1876. In a happy coincidence for King Norodom, the structure had the letter “N” emblazoned all over it. Of course, the “N” was originally for Napoleon, and not Norodom.
The Coronation Hall Two lousy tourists & a guide. The Silver Pagoda
The Silver Pagoda was the most impressive of the structures we visited. The Silver Pagoda acquired its name because of its floor, which is made up of 5,000 silver tiles, each about 1ft square (30.5cm square). Inside the temple, hundreds of Royal gifts received by the Royal family over the years are displayed. These gifts include a solid gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds and weighing in at 200lbs (90kg). There is also a 17th century emerald and baccarat crystal Buddha sitting high on an ornate pedestal covered with gold plating. The emerald Buddha is actually the centerpiece of the pagoda (or temple) and what the building was constructed to house. In fact, to Cambodians, the structure is not known as the silver pagoda at all, it is known as The Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Our guide was an interesting guy. He was born in 1968, only 3-years after I was born in 1965. I have always considered myself to be extremely fortunate to have been born where and when I was. I was born in southern California in the USA at a time that allowed me to avoid fighting in a war unless I chose to do so. Our guide was not so fortunate. He was born in ’68 in Cambodia. At 11 years old he was taken away from his family to “go work the Ho Chi Minh Trail” – translation: he was trained to be a soldier. His education consisted only of learning combat and learning about communism. He was taught Russian. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, he searched for and found most of his family. At the urging of his mother, he learned English and then later got a job with the United Nations in the early 1990’s when the UN was pumping in millions of dollars to support the development of Cambodia.
After a couple hours exploring the grounds of the Royal Palace, we headed back to our hotel and then headed for the airport. Our flight to Siem Reap was scheduled to depart at 2:40PM. We arrived at the airport to find that our flight had been cancelled. “Of course it has”, we thought. After traveling for over a year, and never a problem with any of our flights, things had to go awry in the least developed country we have visited, and in the country where we had the least ability to communicate. We did a good job keeping our cool. We received miss-information several times. But the end result was quite acceptable. We flew out only 3-hours later and we received vouchers for a free meal, so basically, a 3-hour delay and a free lunch. Can’t really complain about that. One last detail – we were told the flight was cancelled due to “technical issues”, but we are pretty sure the flight was cancelled because there were too few passengers. The coronavirus has significantly reduced tourism. You would think that our later flight would have been close to full, as it was really a combination of the later flight and, people like us, that had been bumped from the earlier flight. That was not the case – the flight was much less than half full.
Most people that come to Siem Reap, make the trip for one reason, and one reason only – to visit Angkor Wat. Our first full day in Siem Reap was awesome – and it had nothing to do with Angkor Wat. The day was a mix of relaxation and exciting new experiences. We started off with a leisurely breakfast at our hotel’s pool side restaurant. After that, we took a tuk-tuk into town and explored the Old Market. A bustling square block of stands, most measuring around 12ft x 12ft (4m x 4m). Everything was sold there from jewelry to meat to clothes to fabric. We ended up buying a couple shirts. We then walked around town a bit, until we got too hot and tucked into the shade of an open-air restaurant. We ordered 50-cent beers and a Khmer appetizer plate consisting of rice crackers, some kind of ground pork sauce, some kind of dried pork (that looked like the “fur” on the outside of a coconut) and some veggies. From there, we grabbed a tuk-tuk back to the hotel where we lazed by the swimming pool and enjoyed beers and cocktails. I even got my first ever real massage. A 30-minute treatment focused on the head, neck, shoulders and back. After a quick shower, we headed into town to get dinner.
There is an area in downtown Siem Reap that is known for its night-life. It is called Pub Street. We had our tuk-tuk driver drop us off at a restaurant just a block away from Pub Street. It was an authentic Cambodian food restaurant named Khmer Kitchen. I ordered Stir Fried Chicken Cashew Nut. We can’t remember what Janne ordered but both, her dish and mine, were good. I had a beer there that actually had “pop-top” like back in the 70’s. From there, we started making our way to Pub Street. On our way, we stumbled across something that we had both been wanting to try and had even talked about, while
pool-side, earlier that day: a fish pedicure. For those of you unfamiliar with this, a fish pedicure consists of placing your feet into a tank of water filled with small fish called Garra Rufa. Garra Rufa are sometimes referred to as “doctor fish” because they eat away dead skin, leaving new skin exposed. Note that I wrote a tank filled with “small fish”. We got more than we bargained for when we tried the fish pedicure in Siem Reap. Instead of small gold fish sized fish, some of the fish were the size of a silver dollar or larger, and you could really feel them nibble. When you first put your feet in, it is quite an intense experience. We enjoyed it though. We paid $3 and we could let them nibble on us for as long as our hearts desired. After about 10 minutes, we had 50-cent beers delivered from across the street and hung out with our new fish friends for about another 20 minutes while they continued to remove the dead skin from our feet.
We made our way to Pub Street and immediately dove into another first-time experience. This time the experience was food based. We came across a woman carrying a tray offering the following delicacies: frog, snake, crickets, grubs, large spiders and scorpions. Feeling bold, coming off our fish pedicure experience, and after having just eaten frogs and crickets two days prior in Phnom Penh, we decided to go for it. But first, I bought another 50-cent beer to use as a chaser, if needed. Beer chaser in hand, we decided to try some grubs. If you don’t know what grubs are, they are the larva of an insect – usually, a beetle of some type. We bought a skewer with about ten grubs on it. I popped two in my mouth and they weren’t too bad. Then Janne tried two as well.
Next, I decided to give the scorpions a try. The scorpions were a bit more intimidating as they were large and black. Just one scorpion per skewer. I reminded myself that I actually liked the crickets that I tried in Phnom Penh, took a breath and went for it. I tried to bite the scorpion in half but the whole thing came off the stick and I had to use my fingers not to eat the whole thing at once. Janne decided against trying a scorpion. Part of me wanted to try the spiders but I ended up taking a pass. Maybe some other time.
We called it a night after that, as between drinks at the pool, beer with dinner, beer with our foot pedicure and our insect-food beer chaser, we were feeling no pain. Plus, we had to get up at 4:00 AM the next morning to start the day with a sunrise at Angkor Wat.
Our second day in Siem Reap was definitely one to remember. Angkor Wat is unlike anyplace else in the world. While “Angkor Wat” is the name that is used for the entire site, it should probably be known as “The Temples of Angkor” or something to that effect. “Angkor Wat” is just one of hundreds of structures within the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Angkor Wat is one of those places you have to visit. Its essence can’t be conveyed by words or pictures. Even though it is man-made, it is like the Grand Canyon or Milford Sound or the northern lights – you have to see it yourself. That being said, I will try to convey to you why we found it so impactful and awe inspiring.
When you consider the physical characteristics of Angkor Wat, it is truly amazing. The size of some of the temples, and the sheer number of temples, along with the overall size of the site, is as impressive as the length of the Great Wall of China. The detail and intricacy of architectural design rivals that of the Taj Mahal – especially impressive were some of the stone carvings – some of the reliefs stretched hundreds of yards (meters) and reached heights of 12 ft (4m) or more. The challenges related to cutting the stones and transporting them, along with the symmetry of the construction, puts it on par with the pyramids of Egypt.
As if the above weren’t enough. There are a few more things that made Angkor Wat especially impressive to us. First, is that it was very different from what we, as Westerners, are used to. It was very “Asian” to us, often incorporating items into the architecture that, to us, were alien – such as unique shapes, exotic animals (such as monkeys and elephants) and various Gods and creatures from ancient Hindu mythology. Did you know that the Hindu religion has a virtually uncountable number of Gods? If pressed for a number, a popular answer for how many there are is 330 million!
Another thing that is unique about some of the temples at Angkor Wat is that they no longer stand simply as ancient ruins – they are works of art that blend the straight lines and creativity of man with the wonders of nature. Many of the temples stood abandoned for hundreds of years, while the jungle reclaimed its territory, winding its vines and roots through the fabric of the walls and foundations. Many of these temples would simply crumble if an attempt were made to remove trees that now literally cradle the structures as a mother would a child.
The last thing I’ll list that made Angkor Wat so interesting to us, is its history. The “Angkorian Period” spans over 600 years, from around the year 800-1400AD. People lived in the area before and after then, of course, but this was the main period when there was a great civilization in the area. And it was a great civilization. The city served as the center of the Khmer Empire. At one point in history, the city is estimated to have had a population of well over a million people and the empire, at its zenith, ruled over pretty much all of SE Asia and parts of China. For the people of Cambodia, especially those with ethnic roots tied to the Khmer, the temples of Angkor are a source of national pride – as evidenced by the fact that an image of Angkor Wat is placed prominently in the middle of the Cambodian flag. Many Cambodians see the temples of Angkor as an inspiration, as they struggle to rebuild their country after years of violence and turmoil.
What we see at Angkor Wat today, are only the stone temples that have survived the ravages of time. The vast majority of what once made up the ancient city, wooden structures used for living and commerce, have long been devoured by the jungle. The temples that have survived are a very interesting mix of Hindu and Buddhist origin. Many of the temples alternated over time, between serving as a place of worship for Buddhists or Hindus, depending on which religion held favor with the king at the time. Some temples were built as Buddhist temples and then, when the Hindu’s came into power, they removed the carvings of Buddhism, leaving the walls blank or replacing the carvings with Hindu images.
The history of Angkor Wat does not end with the fall of the Khmer Empire and the city being left deserted and sitting at the mercy of the ever-encroaching jungle. The history of the “discovery” of the ruins, in the 1800’s, is an interesting one. Even recent history can peak one’s interest. For example, there was a shoot-out at Angkor Wat between Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces in the 70’s. In the 90’s, NASA aided in the discovery of additional temple sites, and advanced our understanding of the size of the ancient city, through the use of images taken from space. Today, renovations continue, sponsored in large part by the French, Japanese and Chinese. In the future, I’m sure more significant finds will be made when a focus shifts from above ground research and renovation to archeological digs.
Our visit to the temples of Angkor was to begin by watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. The previous day, we arranged for a car and tour guide to pick us up at the hotel. We hit the hotel lobby at 4:30AM, and our guide was waiting for us. Our first stop was to buy tickets. It is a little pricey to see the temples of Angkor. You can buy a 1-day pass for $37 per person, a 3-day pass for $62 or a 7-day pass for $72. We opted for the 1-day pass. Part of the reason we decided to pay for a car, instead of a more economical tuk-tuk, is because we wanted to see Banteay Srei which is located around 13 miles (20km) north of the main temple complex. 26 miles (40km) round trip in a tuk-tuk, in the jungle heat on a bumpy dirt road just didn’t sound ideal to us.
After buying our tickets, we drove for another 10 minutes to the visitor drop-off point for Angkor Wat. From there we walked about another 10 minutes, in the pitch black, to find a spot to view the sunrise. At this point, it was still around 20 minutes before sunrise, so our guide suggested we go to the “library” where we could sit and not be overrun by crowds. We said, “OK, you’re the expert.”, and we followed his advice. It turned out that the “library” was a relatively small (although larger than any house we have ever owned) ancient ruin. After chatting with our guide for 15 minutes or so while sitting on one of the walls of the remains of the library, the guide excused himself and left us to enjoy the sunrise. It really was something. One of the top 3 sunrises of my life. Right up there with the sun rising above the clouds at Haleakala in Maui or, more recently, watching the sun rise on the eastern coast of Australia to illuminate wallabies and kangaroos foraging on the seashore.
After the sunrise, we left Angkor Wat and started the 30 to 40-minute journey north to another ancient temple: Banteay Srei. This provided us with an opportunity to do one of our favorite things while traveling: engage with locals. Here we were on a lengthy drive and we had two “captive” Cambodians at our disposal: our guide and our driver. Turns out the driver didn’t speak much English, but we hit it off well with our guide. He was a 30-year old Cambodian who grew up in poverty in a farming village in the countryside. At 15, he became a Buddhist Monk as a way to better himself and take some financial burden off of his parents. He remained a Buddhist Monk for ten years! Over the past 5-years, since leaving monastic life, he had earned a scholarship to a university, learned English, taken a $25K loan to open a booth in the old market in Siem Reap, became certified as a guide at Angkor Wat (a surprisingly involved and time-consuming process) and became engaged. He was a really interesting guy to talk to about Angkor Wat, but also about Cambodian life in general. Remember, how previously I wrote that the genocide museum at S-21 had a deep impact on us because we realized that it had affected the lives of so many around us? Our guide confirmed this to be true, by sharing with us that he never met one of his grandfathers as he was murdered by the Khmer Rouge.
Visiting Banteay Srei immediately after sunrise was a plan I had put together days prior in order to maximize our time and comfort. The idea was to get to Banteay Srei before the bus loads of tourists (that stayed to check out Angkor Wat after sunrise) arrived around 9:00. Also, I had read that Banteay Srei was a fairly exposed site with very little shade, so it made sense to me to hit this site early, before the sun was at full strength. Banteay Srei did not disappoint. It was built in the 10th century out of red sandstone. Even though it is built out of stone, it has beautifully intricate carvings. Actually, I shouldn’t say “it has” intricate carvings, I should say “it is intricately carved” because the stunning carvings are everywhere – there is almost no flat surface left uncarved. The carvings depict Hindu gods, goddesses and creatures from Hindu mythology.
Next, we headed back south to visit some of the temples around Angkor Wat. We visited Banteay Kdei, initially built in the 12th-13thcentury as a Buddhist temple…..
We visited Ta Prohm Temple. This temple is more commonly known as the “Tomb Raider Temple” – even by the locals……
After a couple more stops, we entered the walled city of Angkor Thom. Here we explored the Bayon Temple, a 12th century Buddhist temple known for its many serenely smiling stone faces…..
By now, it was late afternoon. The sun was high and hot. Most people had taken shelter, seeking out shade or air conditioning. This was the time we decided to “tough it out” and return to visit Angkor Wat when the crowds would be at their smallest. At sunrise, we didn’t actually enter Angkor Wat, we only viewed it from outside. Now it was time to actually explore Angkor Wat. …..
Over the next couple of weeks, we will find out if our timing for visiting Angkor Wat was terrible or great. The answer to that question will depend on whether or not we get sick. Our guide estimated that the size of the crowds while we were there were only about 1/4 to 1/3 of normal. We attribute the lack of crowds to the effect of the coronavirus. After a long, hot and dusty day spent climbing temples - Janne’s smart watch said we walked/climbed over 7.5 miles (12.2km) – we headed back to the hotel for a well-deserved quiet evening. Just before our guide dropped us off back at the hotel, we had a little fun with him. In the 10 or so hours we had spent with him, we developed a good relationship and a comfort level in topics we could or couldn’t talk about that was more relaxed than you might expect – especially, with an ex-monk . This came about due in part to the tour and due in part to his openness about talking about his personal life. For example, many Hindu relics include a “Shiva Linga” and/or a “Shiva Yoni”, representing a penis and vagina, respectively. I could tell the guide was a bit uncomfortable or, perhaps, hesitant in going too far in explaining what these really were. We already knew what these were. We learned about them previously when we visited the National Museum in Phnom Penh. So, I broke the tension by saying something like “they’re a bunch of penises and vaginas – right?”. His eyes got big and then we all had a laugh. At a different time, when we had an opportunity to ask more about his life as a monk, I asked him some questions about what undergarments the monks do or don’t wear. We had a few laughs as he explained the answer to that question to us as well. So, between those two past conversations, I felt we had a good enough relationship that I could broach the subject with him that I wanted to, before he dropped us off and we never saw him again. The subject was “cement”.
You see, throughout the day, we came across several temples that had had some renovation work done to them. Our guide explained to us that this work was done with cement. Except that he didn’t pronounce “cement” correctly. The way he pronounced “cement” sounded like “semen”. This happened all day, probably at least once an hour or more. The first couple times, I just chuckled inside. Around the third time, I looked at Janne and I could tell she was avoiding eye-contact with me for fear of laughing out loud. Now, being a guide at Angkor Wat is a big deal for our guide. It is the way he supports himself and a matter of personal pride. I really felt like we should set him straight on how to pronounce “cement” before we were dropped off at the hotel and we never saw him again. So, I explained to him the incorrect pronunciation and what “semen” was. We had a good laugh and after he gave the correct pronunciation of “cement” several tries, the three of us all agreed the best course of action was for him to say “concrete”.
Our final day in Siem Reap was quite relaxing and, again, included a new experience we had never tried before. We started the day, as usual, with breakfast at the poolside restaurant (included in the price of our hotel stay) and then, at 11:00AM, we participated in a cooking class. The class included a trip to the local street market, food preparation and then eating what we had prepared for lunch. Once again, we lucked out, and we were the only two that signed up for the activity. So, for the price of a group class, we received a private class. The head chef at the restaurant, a Cambodian fellow named Bura, took us to the street market. This was not the street market that tourists go to. This was the real deal, where the local farmers from outside of town bring their goods for sale, and where the local people of Siem Reap come to buy their food. No T-shirts, elephant pants or other tourist trinkets here.
After touring the street market, we returned to the hotel where they had set up a cooking station for us. On the menu for us to prepare was banana flower salad, fish amok and, for dessert, sweet potato saco. It was a fun time and the food turned out to be very delicious. We were totally stuffed and ended up skipping dinner that evening.
That night, we attended what turned out to be the best show we have seen in SE Asia. Better than the “Lang Toi” show in Hanoi or the traditional dance show in Phnom Penh. This show was called “Phare the Cambodian Circus”. Like the student restaurant and the traditional dance show in Phnom Penh, this show was also put on by a not-for-profit group to assist at-risk youth and to carry on the traditional arts in Cambodia. The Phare Circus is nothing like the conventional circus you might be thinking of. The 60-minute show combines performance art (dancing, music, juggling, acrobatics, comedy, etc.) and creative art (painting, design, etc.) in a manner that manages to tell a story with a subtle, yet striking, social message.
It’s hard to explain the performance to you in writing. Rice was the central theme of the show that we attended. Doesn’t sound very exciting, I know – but it was. Different portions of the show depicted how rice, the staple-food of all Asia, permeates the Cambodian culture. How it brings happiness to the people. How the value of rice can lead to greed, and how the lack of rice can lead to conflict and starvation. Rice was intrinsic to the show and incorporated into almost every act. The show opened with a pile of rice in the center of the stage. A performer then came out and used the rice to create a somewhat intricate and cool design, that covered almost the entire stage. Then he, and another performer, danced all around the design (including flips and other acrobatics) without disturbing a single grain of rice. Another example of how rice was incorporated into the show is that, for a good 20-minutes of the show, rice showered down from above the stage and performers juggled and danced under it in imaginative ways. About half-way through the show, a painter appeared above the stage as the performers continued below, and he started creating an image on a large canvas. He continued working on it for a good 20 to 30-minutes. At the very end of the show, the painting was placed into the center of an even larger piece of art, almost like a missing puzzle piece, that served as a perfect climax to a highly enjoyable performance. The applause from the crowd was heavy and deserved. A great finish to our time in Cambodia.
Below are a few more random pictures from our time in Cambodia. As always, you can find more pictures in the “Gallery” section of this website.
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