Some of you may remember a mistake I made a little while back, which threw a giant chainsaw (wrenches are for suckers) into my summer vacay plans. As it was, I missed out on Cambodia the first time around, and was determined to make up for this short coming on my way outta town (also know as the continent of Asia). Thus, on a lovely day in mid October, Ali Matt and I crossed the boarder into the Kingdom of Cambodia... by foot.
The bording crossing itself was just plain silly. After a boat, tuk-tuk, bus combo pack from Don Det, we found ourselves on the border of Laos and Cambodia; or rather, almost at the boarder. Our bus kicked us (and our bags) out just before the border, where we would officially exit the country. Along with a small group of travelers like ourselves (and one man unlucky enough to be dragging a rolling bag throughout this ordeal) we checked out of Laos and crossed into Cambodia by walking along a muddy gravel road past what looked like a pretty grand border crossing building, which had been abandoned mid construction. We made our way to what was essentially a picnic table next to one of those portable awnings they use at fairs and farmers markets labeled with the words Health Check. Here we had to sign a piece of paper saying we didn't have any freaky diseases and have a weird contraption pointed at our heads. I am pretty sure we were having our temperatures checked and it all felt weirdly similar to the summer that was Swine09, when we had to check each camper before they were allowed onto camp at the start of the session (that turned out great...) After our health checks we went to a different office to fill out our Cambodian visa application. Fine. nbd, standard visa app, attach your photos, pay the fee, whatever. What was really silly is the fact that one of the immigration officers spent the entire 30 min or so we were all standing around this office taking photos of everyone on a digital camera. Whether this was their security protocol and/or they were taking photos for the immigration website or something of that nature, we'll never know. What we do know is that someone at the Cambodian immigration office has roughly 30 pictures of each of us. One more office, and an official, hand-written visa later, we had walked our way into Cambodia and onto a bus bound for [Siem Reap, Cambodia]
Those keeping track at home may recall that we were wandering our way through South East Asia during the rainy season and, as such, had heard (and told) more than a handful of stories resulting from the occasional monsoon. We had heard along the way that large portions of Siem Reap were underwater; but, as the city is home to the famous Ankor Temples, and we felt we had given the city a week or so to dry out, we decided to try our luck in the ancient kingdom. Turns out, this was an interesting roll of the dice.
It was amusing and a bit confusing when, upon arriving in Siem Reap, the usual shouts of "Where you go!?" and "You need guest house??" Were replaced with "You need a boat??" Not that anyone had a boat, the shouts were coming from the same tuk-tuks we had seen everywhere else. It was just that these little nuggets were now forcing their way through up to two feet of rushing water to reach their destination. As it was, we got a little wet. Woops.
Having to walk barefoot through knee deep water in the streets of a SE Asian city aside, Siem Reap is a pretty cool place. There are loads of guest houses, and markets and restaurants and nightlife, and lots of shops to benefit various causes (if you can sort the legit from the not-so much...) But, the real reason to come to Siem Reap and the real reason it has become such a popular travel destination, are the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ankor Temples, and their crown Jewel, one of the seven wonders of the world, Ankor Wat.
We may have stayed up too late the day before our 14 hour temple marathon, and it may have rained on our sunrise Ankor Wat party, and my sleepy photos from the first hour or so might be pretty yucky; but, the two days we spent exploring the ruins of the once glorious Khmer kingdom, were absolutly amazing. This, my friends, is a place where words and photos cannot do justice to reality. As it is, I will let a handful of my inappropriate amount of photos do the talking, I swear they will try their best...
One last interesting note, that you will have to imagine on your own, is this: half way to one of the temples our tuk-tuk passed a gaggle of monkeys. Matt decided he wanted to check out said monos and asked our guide to stop. I chose this opportunity to stay in the tuk-tuk and discuss with our new friend Josey how much I hate monkeys and my extensive fears that one will bite me and I will end up with rabies. (It happens ok...) As far as I know Matt had gotten the attention of the monkeys in question by creating a moving target of himself a few yards from the tuk-tuk. I maintain this blissfull ignorance until Josey, who is sitting across from me yells, "OH MY GOD!!" Turning around to see what's going on, I come face to face with a monkey, practically sitting on my shoulder, who has just grabbed a fist full of my hair. Like the cool, calm and collected lady I am, I scream some profanities at the top of my lugs, leap off the tuk-tuk, and start to run down the road. I then refused to return to the tuk-tuk, until our guide was kind enough to drive a considerable distance from the offending primates. It was pretty special and, just so you know, rabies kills.
When not wandering ancient ruins, we filled our time with shopping and eating, and a trip to the Ankor National Museum (don't try this when tired, hungry, and a bit worse for the wear). We even visited a photo exhibit at the Friends Without Boarders, Ankor Hospital for Children and spent one evening perfecting [read:learning] some Khmer cooking skills, by which point we decided we were over fording the river every time we left the guest house. It was time to move on.
On to the next one, on to [Phnom Penh, Cambodia]. Phnom Penh is not an easy place to be; because, for many, Cambodia was/is not an easy place to be. It is impossible to write about Cambodia without touching on the unthinkable history of this beautiful country. Once it was one of the most prosperous, wealthiest countries in South East Asia (and continental Asia). There were teachers, and doctors, and artists. People say it was a wonderful place to live. And then, all of a sudden, it wasn't. Even if it's no fun at all, it's nearly impossible to think about Cambodia without thinking about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. If you can forget the heinous crimes and atrocities committed against its own people by the Khmer Rouge elsewhere, Phnom Penh is where you remember.
When the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, they began to radically transform the nation "into a rural, classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people, and no exploitation." In reality, Pol Pot (Brother #1) and his followers massacred nearly two million Cambodians, between 1975 and 1979. Along with evacuating all major cities, and relocating millions of people to joint-labor rural "communities," the Khmer Rouge targeted the educated and, in effect, wiped out the countries entire infostructure (teachers, doctors, businessmen, education, currency etc.) during its reign. The Khmer Rouge executed and tortured those who did not fit into its "pure, classless, agrarian society" and left behind thousands of mass graves (many filled with women and children), chilling prisons and torture facilities. With out getting into the details, I encourage those unaware to look into what was going on in the world a short four decades ago because, until I went to Asia, I had no idea. "Never Forget, Never Again" are words often associated with the Holocaust, for us Members of The Tribe. Those same words can (and should) be applied to all global genocides, Cambodia's tragic history included. Just as many believe it is imperative to visit the concentration camps sprinkled across Eastern Europe, it is immensely important to visit the Killing Fields and S21 Prison / Genocide Museum when in Phnom Phen. Everyone will react and process in their own way; but, no matter what, it is not enjoyable. You will probably cry and it will make you sick to your stomach. But you have to go and you have to educate yourself. Never Forget. Never Again.
Lest you believe that Phnom Penh is all depressing, though at least a solid day of it most certainly is, my favorite part about the city was the chance to see that is has begun to (and will continue to) come back to life. With out a doubt there are still many problems in the city (and country); there is massive amounts of poverty, malnutrition, drug and sex workers, and a lack of quality education; but, there is also a city full of people who are proud to be Cambodian. There is a country full of people doing everything they can to better their situations and that of their country. Cambodia has come along way since the Khmer Rouge and one can only hope the upcoming years will breath a little bit of justice and a lot of happiness into it's lungs.
My friends and I spent the rest of the next few days, trying to soak up the best of Phnom Penh; which turned out to be attending the tail end of the FIFA U21 Championship game (Myanmar v. Thailand), wandering through the Russian Market, eating at some wonderful "for a good cause" restaurants, and taking a sunset ride along the river.
[Koh Rong, Cambodia] was the perfect end to a wonderful two months. Located off the coast of Sihanoukville, this tiny island was a place to lay on the beach and enjoy a few (or more) last days of Asian sun. In the original game plan, there was one more stop on the list. In reality, once we arrived on Koh Rong, we knew we weren't leaving. Did I mention (after vacating Monkey Island due to an overdose of techno music) we were sleeping in a tree house? Sure, I got more potentially malaria-inducing mosquito bites than I would like and there were freaky-deaky geckos all up in our bathroom and I may or may not have had the Bubons; but it was pretty, and relaxing, and wonderful. Like I said, we weren't leaving, not quite yet.
We laid and swam and read and chatted for one last week and then repacked our bags for the long haul. Ali still had a few weeks of Vietnam (jealousss..) left on her side; but, 48 hours and a lovely layover in Seoul later, Matt and I were on our way home(ish). When we opened our eyes this time, we'd be stateside for the first time in over a year...
And that, my friends, is that. You made it through my adventures sans Malaria, Cholera, Plague or any sort of unfortunate Brokedown Palace situations... Amazing, right? And it only took three months air all that
And what a ridiculous, amazing story it was. I am unbelievably lucky to have had the opportunity to travel as much as I have, it is an opportunity I will always be thankful for, and always remember. I am lucky to have a family that's ok(ish) with my galavanting all over the place and I am lucky to have found a way to support myself throughout (what up GEPIK!) At the end of the day I am also, most especially, lucky to have teamed up with such fabulous travel companions. I owe my sanity and safety (and most of the fun) along the way to my friends Ali and Matt. Thanks for hanging out with me chingus, you're pretty great (and lawless.. and flawless...) !
So, here I am again, 9 days away from boarding a plane to India. Another adventure, and surely, a whole different sort of experience awaits. On to the next one...stick around if you want to hear about it!
Emily
Cambodia Travel Links:
http://www.travelfish.org/country/cambodia
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g293939-s205/Cambodia:Recommended.Reading.html
http://www.canbypublications.com/cambodia/buses.htm
http://www.theangkorguide.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297390-d817089-Reviews-The_Siem_Reap_Hostel-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html
http://www.travelfish.org/accommodation_profile/cambodia/southern_cambodia/sihanoukville/koh_rong/all/4494
