Cambodia Day 2: Angkor Wat and a Village Tour

Written by both Jennifer and Jason

Day two started bright and early with a 7:15am breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  Because of the small size of Journeys Within (JW), guests are asked to select their menu items the night before, so the staff can shop appropriately.   Speaking of the staff, at breakfast we were introduced to one of our favorite JW staff members, a young woman named Rath, who waited on guests in the small restaurant and at the adjoining pool.  She was sweet-natured, friendly, and took tremendous pride in providing great service and getting to know us and our kids.  We truly enjoyed our interactions with her during the trip, and I admit I shed a tear saying goodbye. 

The restaurant

After some pancakes (Cooper), omelet (me) and banana and chocolate crepes (Jason and Sophia), we headed to the lobby to meet our guide and driver for our first tour - Angkor Wat.  I committed my first faux pas (I *hope* my only actually) by wearing shorts.  I had researched the customs, but I had read that "short shorts" weren't allowed, so brought shorts that came right to my knees.  Come to find out, women have to cover their knees and shoulders (had that covered...literally!).  I was not a happy camper at first, until I realized I just couldn't go to the top level of the temple.  With the searing heat, I would gladly exchange climbing an additional level for the comfort of shorts (*relative* comfort). 

So we took off for Angkor Wat with yet another of the friendly JW staff - this time, our temple guide, Sovann.  Sovann, we quickly learned, has two children of his own, but also has FOUR adopted orphans and a baby on the way, all aged 12 and under.  He works as hard as he can to pay for special schooling so all of his children learn English and computers.  He talked more than once about how much he wishes he could buy a second-hand computer for his family so they could practice outside of school, but something like that is far out of reach.  The schooling alone is a huge stretch, financially.  While he was talking, I think I felt physical pangs of guilt thinking about all the laptops in our family.

I find it difficult on these vacations (not only witnessing the poverty) but realizing that I might never return.  Not because I don't want to, but I am a realist.  Cambodia is probably a 24 hour flight from the United States, and I doubt I will ever live in Southeast Asia again.  It is a very empty feeling to say goodbye to these people that you meet for such a short time but feel very fond of.

But rather than dwell on my over-emotional side, let's move on to Angkor Wat....

"Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. The temple was built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.  In the late 13th century, it changed from Hindu to Buddhist use." (thank you, Wikipedia)

The complex is enormous!  It's completely surrounded by a moat, followed by a sandstone wall with multiple entrances (one for the king and queen, two for the nobility, and two more for the unwashed masses).  Once inside this exterior wall, the temple itself is still a few hundred yards away! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sovann led us around, providing just enough information to keep us interested but not overwhelmed, and took us to the best picture-taking spots.  Cooper and Sophia had fun climbing the rocks and narrow steps throughout the complex.  Along the way, we met some (umm...randy) monkeys and passed by many Buddhist monks.  It was amazing to think of how this massive structure was engineered and built so long ago, and just how long it has survived, especially with major damage in the mid 1970s from a war (more on that later).  I think we were all quite awestruck.  Seeing the kids in the pictures really put the size in perspective!

Our next activity was just down the road from Angkor Wat.  We ascended into the sky on a tethered hot-air balloon to see the temples from above.  This was such a great idea as it really gave you a perspective on the land - basically just neverending rice paddies and people working them.   And cows.  Cows everywhere.  While everyone was trying to view Angkor Wat, I stayed on the opposite side of the balloon from everyone else - I was a little creeped out by the slight tipping to one side by everyone's weight!

After the balloon, we were ready for lunch and a break.  Our driver dropped us back at the hotel for a short rest and we ate at the pool and went for a quick swim.  Cooper was soooo happy to have his usual chicken fingers and french fries, and I was delighted with my spring rolls.  I am pretty sure I could live on spring rolls.  (and vegetable ones at that....shocking if you know me!)  The fried yellow noodle with chicken was also excellent.  Check out the pool menu - notably the local favorites section!  I was really bummed that snake was only available in the evening, because I was REALLY craving it at lunch.

We will be talking about Sovann a lot more in the next posts, but please visit his website or email him at sovannkoth@yahoo.com if you are interested in his services.  We highly recommend him!

 

 

At 2:00pm our driver was back, but with a new guide, Sothy ("So-tee").  His job was to take us to his village to meet some of his family and see how they live.  This was easily the most emotional part of the trip.  After about 15 minutes on a regular road, we turned onto a dirt road that was close to undrivable due to huge holes and bumps left behind when the area inevitably floods every wet season.  At one point we passed a man on a motorbike with dead pigs as cargo.  What was to come was starting to become quite clear.  And I admittedly started to get anxious.  See, I cannot hold in emotion.  Call it a weakness, call it a strength, but I call it annoying.  Thank goodness for sunglasses.

The most profound moment of the entire trip came as we drove down this dirt road.  Sothy, in a matter-of-fact way, told us that when he was younger, not many kids attended school in this village.  Not because they didn't have a school or couldn't find teachers - rather, because all of the previous teachers had been tracked down and murdered by the Khmer Rouge regime.

What he is referring to took place mainly between 1976 and 1979 (the genocide part, the violence and fighting lasted many, many more years), when a communist party called the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, drove everyone out of the cities and into country labor camps to work the land basically as slaves.  They executed almost all teachers (95%) and doctors (75%), in fact, anyone with an education, links to law enforcement, the previous government, disabled people, and minorities.  Many times the entire family would be killed.  The only way to survive was to pretend to be a farmer, but no matter who you were your chances were slim.  Children were torn from their parents, trained as soldiers, and took part in torture and execution.  By the end of the reign, approximately 2 million Cambodians died - about half by execution and the rest by starvation and disease.  Did I mention this was in the 70s?  While I was happily playing with my dolls, a quarter of the population of an entire country was being wiped out by monsters.  The world at first mostly denied it was happening, then when it could no longer be denied, largely ignored it. 

 

After a few more minutes of being tossed around the van by the bumpy road, Sothy motioned for the driver to pull over, and we started walking. Sothy was a 36-year old, very pleasant man who came from a family of nine kids.  He has four of his own (I think). His entire family lived in this village, but he had recently moved to another one with his wife and children so he could be much closer to work. He spoke the best English of anyone I met in Cambodia, and from the moment we entered his village, his pride in it was undeniable.  To make ends meet, he worked as a guide, a rice processor, a mason and sometimes fisherman.  (Kelly S - if you read this, we called him the Kurt of Cambodia since he wore so many hats!)

As we ambled along the road, we got a good look at the most common type of housing in Cambodia - open air wood structures with thatched roofs.  People sleep on wood slats or in hammocks.  There is no electricity, no plumbing, and just well water (rarely filtered).  Rice farming is the primary business - rice is grown, it is processed (Sothy owns the only machine in the village and allows others to use it), made into rice wine (see pic), rice noodles, rice milk - you name it.  The people literally work all day at whatever they can.  Livestock are everywhere and live under the wood structures (i.e. the bottom floor of the home).  They still use oxcarts to farm the land.  It is almost the same way they have been living for hundreds of years, if not a thousand. 

Rice wine in process

A bridge to Sothy's old house

A few stats about the country:

• 80% have no electricity
• The child mortality rate is 10%
• 75% get dysentery EVERY year
• 40% of children have stunted growth due to malnutrition

With the exception of a few cars and motorbikes in the village, there are few technological advances reminiscent of the modern world.  The one connection we all seem to have these days though is a mobile phone.  Phone cards are very inexpensive there, so almost everyone has one.  TVs are not common, but some people have one hooked up to a battery generator.

During our walk through the village, we met Sothy's mom, grandmother, some sisters and a baby nephew.  As we passed by a very festive wedding reception (lots of beer cans and lots of dancing - we are not that different in some ways!), we also met his grandfather (or uncle, I'm not sure since he has soooo many relatives!) who was wearing a police uniform.  At first, we didn't notice, but were informed by Sothy that this man had both of his legs blown off by landmines.  I say this so bluntly, because that's precisely how Sothy communicated it to us. The Khmer Rouge planted thousands of these mines, without drawing maps, to keep the people from running away.  They are still being uncovered by unfortunate Cambodians. 

While walking through the reception, an older lady approached us, smiled, and gave Sophia a little kiss on the cheek.  This was the second time this had happened since we arrived.  It became apparent that few people in Cambodia had ever seen a blond girl!  I was happy that Sophia took it in stride, because the lady had the biggest smile on her face.

Throughout the village, there were young children playing or working around their homes.  Many of them stopped to watch us walk by or ran up to say hello, wave and practice the little English they knew.  They were such adorable children and were so interested to see what we were doing in their village.  Eventually, I asked to take a picture of a few young sisters who I had seen more than once. They smiled for me and then were excited to see it on the screen (not sure they had ever seen that).  I just love this picture Jason took of me after I showed it to them. 

After a full loop through the village, and a glimpse into just how primitive and difficult life is for so many, we made our way back toward Journeys Within.  Sothy led us along an overgrown, unmarked trail to the manmade lake that bordered the village and we took a small boat to the other side, where our driver was waiting for us.  When we got back to the hotel, I just looked at Jason and said, "I don't even know what to say."

I still don't really know what to say.

If you'd like to comment, please do.  We love to hear from our readers.

If you are looking for a new book to read, please consider "First They Killed My Father" by Loung Ung.  The link is to Amazon.com.  It helps to understand the rule of the Khmer Rouge, and it is a book you will read in 1-2 days.

 

 

 

 

Our Cambodia Adventure - Day 1

I don't even know where to begin with this round of posts.  This trip was the most eye-opening, humbling experience of my life.  It was fun, heartwarming and heartbreaking all rolled into one, which is a strange mix of emotions to feel over the course of only three days.  I felt elated (meeting the wonderful people), exhausted (climbing temples) and at times on the edge of a nervous breakdown (witnessing the living conditions).  I hope I can write in a way that will paint a vivid picture of this interesting and tragic country. 

Travel from Singapore to Siem Reap was completely uneventful.  It is only a 2-hr flight and we quickly got through immigration since we had electronic visas.  I highly recommend applying on their website to avoid standing in a line upon arrival.  A friendly driver (who spoke no English) held the usual sign with our name on it, loaded up our baggage and we were on our way to the hotel.  Along the short route we saw many large hotels and the usual spattering of stores, bodega-type stands and small restaurants catering to the locals.  And of course, lots of motorbikes and tuk tuks - many overflowing with 3 or 4 passengers sharing a single bike seat. Very few (including young children) wearing helmets.

After a 15-minute ride, we pulled into a very non-descript driveway to what would be our home for the weekend.  The lobby building looked like a beautiful British Colonial house.  Our first greeting came from the resident dog, Tuna.  Cooper and Sophia, to no one's surprise, ran right to the pup and fell instantly in love.  Alex, an intern manager and recent college graduate from Chicago, came out (barefoot and with a very casual way about him) and welcomed us to the Journeys Within Boutique Hotel.  The American owners, Brandon and Andrea, were away so he was in charge. We sat down at a table in the small lobby, were served some fresh pineapple juice and got the lay of the land.   Once we were shown to our room, we were able to relax and really survey our surroundings.  The boutique hotel has only ten rooms, and we occupied two of them (adjoining).  The kids' room had two double beds, ours had a king and we both had large bathrooms with awesome showers.  A balcony ran across the length of both and overlooked the pool.  The rooms were spotless and very tastefully decorated - overall, just very comfortable.  Complimentary laptops were in each room, as well as air conditioning, ceiling fans and TVs on the wall.  Bottled water and sodas were available at no charge from the mini-fridge (unlimited).  Wifi was easily accessed anywhere on the grounds.

Since I have SO much to write, even after dividing up the trip into multiple posts, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.  Journeys Within truly was our little piece of paradise that, after hours of sightseeing in the blisteringly hot climate, we were relieved to return to every day.

I also wanted to mention the school that Journeys Within runs.  They owners of the hotel truly have given back to the community with the creation of several community programs including two schools, one in Cambodia and one in Laos. No matter how eager students are, poor facilities and resources prevent the children of Cambodia from receiving a quality education.  Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC) gives over 700 children a chance to learn English and have a chance at a higher education.  Those that do not continue still learn valuable vocations that will help them lead more productive lives.  Due to the school's schedule and our crazy itinerary, we did not get a chance to visit the children at JWOC, but we did exchange waves and smiles a couple times a day with many of the students, who were so excited to see our kids! 

Since we arrived late afternoon, we let Sophia and Cooper go swimming while we enjoyed a couple of beers.  As with everywhere we visit, we chose the local beer, Angkor in this instance.  Over the next few days, we would get to know Angkor very well!  After a couple of hours, and now fully refreshed, we cleaned up and headed by tuk tuk (hotel offers free rides nightly) into the town of Siem Reap for dinner.

The main tourist area of Siem Reap is Pub Street.  In a country where 80% of the population has no electricity, Pub Street clearly stands out.  Brightly lit shop signs and flashing neon are abundant, as are unique local shops and restaurants, all pretty well blocked off from traffic.  There are restaurants with all kinds of cuisine, western included, and we chose a two-story restaurtant called the Red Piano.

At the time I did not know this, but the Red Piano is now known as the hangout of Angelina Jolie when she was in Siem Reap filming Tomb Raider.  As has been our experience in all Southeast Asian countries, the service here was excellent.  We wanted to sit overlooking Pub Street, but all tables along the balcony edge were taken so we settled on an inside table. Moments later, as soon as a couple left a table on the railing, the staff motioned for us to move over and enjoy the view.  We also had two servers at all times ready and waiting to help us with our needs.  When the bill came we were shocked.  Two beers, two glasses of wine and four adult-sized entrees totaled $27 USD.  (The US dollar is used as the main currency, there is also the Cambodian Riel)  The same dinner in Singapore would have cost at least $150.


Batman Tuk Tuk!

We had wanted to shop at the night market after dinner, but a sleepy Cooper thwarted our plans!  His falling asleep in public is starting to become quite a theme!  It almost deserves its own blog.  First he fell asleep at the table, then on Jason's shoulder and finally in the tuk tuk back to the hotel. 

Finally, I wanted to comment on our tuk tuk driver.  His name was Moang Moal (Mo for short) and he was very friendly, and easy to spot with his pink helmet!  We got his card and ended up calling him every evening to take us out and bring us home.  If anyone runs across this blog and is heading to Siem Reap, please call/text him at (+855) 97 60 29 493 or email him at moeng.moal@gmail.com!

Next time I'll get to some of the good stuff - the temples!