Phnom Penh

I took an organized city tour of Phnom Penh today. Our morning started on a somber note, first visiting the Killing Fields, a complex of mass graves outside Phnom Penh where thousands were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Over the course of the Khmer Rouge's reign of terror, around 2 million people died, and the country is still recovering from this reign of terror and the ensuing civil war. It gives me new respect for the hardworking and generally friendly people of Cambodia and puts my earlier complaints about the city in perspective. One other thing to keep in mind about Phnom Penh is that it is a city that has been through hell - in the 1970s the population of the city first swelled as refugees flowed in from the countryside to avoid American bombing and then emptied out as the Pol Pot regime expelled everyone from the city, leaving it a virtual ghost town, and decimated the population, including killing all the educated elite. Today Phnom Penh is rising from those ashes, and while still a bit rough, is peaceful, stable, and growing.

As we walked around the Killing Fields, some of the paths had exposed bones coming out of the ground. Pretty gruesome. The image of skulls above comes from a display at the center of the Killing Fields that stacks some of the skulls that were collected from around the site. One of the more haunting moments came as I tried to photograph them - my camera has facial recognition software that automatically detects and focuses on faces when taking shots of people and as I put my camera up to take pictures of the skulls, the facial recognition activated around the skulls. It reminded me of the obvious but something that's easy to forget in the moment - that these each of these skulls once belonged to someone who was painfully tortured and killed at the hands of a genocidal regime.

I must say I didn't know much about the Khmer Rouge before coming here and read up a bit before my trip. It is a history that is both alarming and gripping.

We then went to the Genocide Museum, a former high school that had been transformed into the main detention center for political prisoners. The prisoners here were intellectuals and professors, former government officials, dissidents within the Pol Pot regime, their relatives and children, and a whole host of others. Here are the famous images that, along with the skulls above, capture the essence of the Cambodian genocide for most outsiders:




There were signs all around the monument advising us not to smile, as this is a very serious and somber subject. Stripped of its context though, the sign is a bit amusing:

Waterboarding has been discussed widely in the U.S. and it is perhaps unfortunate that it has become something of a late-night punchline, with few stopping to discuss or contemplate the seriousness of the act. It was in fact a signature torture technique of the Pol Pot regime and that was on display here at the Genocide Museum. The 1st image is one of many artistic renderings in the site depicting waterboarding and the 2nd is of a large pot that was routinely filled with filthy water and then used to waterboard political prisoners.
Later in the tour we visited the National Museum, Royal Palace, and Silver Pagoda. These were quite a contrast to the morning's tour of carnage and remind the visitor that the Khmer (Cambodian) civilization has a deep and rich heritage despite its recent troubled past.

I was joined on this tour (organized by our guesthouse) by two absolutely wonderful women from Spain - Aroa and Sonia. After our tour ended we chatted a bit over drinks and dinner, enjoying much lively conversation and sharing some travel tips. They were even so kind as to provide me with their map of Saigon and some extra mosquito repellent!

It's definitely true that one of the most rewarding parts of traveling is meeting other interesting travelers and I hope to continue that going forward.

Sonia, Aroa and I at the Silver Pagoda:


Yesterday I went to the mall here in Phnom Penh to buy some pants to cover my legs from the vicious mosquitoes (seen in the picture above). I felt a little guilty as most of the people at the mall did not have a great grasp of English (unlike those in any commercial context in Thailand) and were visibly frustrated as I failed to communicate effectively with them. Still, they were poised, polite and ever friendly and those that could speak English were helpful and humble in a way that I did not experience in Thailand.

One final, offbeat observation: At the mall, many (though to be fair, not most or even a majority of) people displayed a bit of anxiety at the tops and bottoms of escalators, apprehensively stepping on to them very deliberately, as if they might fall. I was first clued in to this quirk as I tried to get on an escalator and a crowd formed and backed up as a small group of Cambodian girls was scared to get on and just kind of stood at the bottom in fear. Some of them giggled and shrieked as they jumped on and some others backed out and took the stairs. Some adults also displayed some anxiety and stepped on to the escalators awkwardly as well. There are, as you can imagine, not many escalators around here...

Tomorrow I'm crossing into Vietnam and I'll be taking an organized boat tour of the Mekong Delta for the next three days. I'm not sure if I'll have decent Internet access or time to blog so you may not hear from me for a few days. Don't worry, I'm not dead (hopefully).

Feeling Better

Ok I realize my last post was a bit dour, and I admit I was a bit defeated after the six-hour bus ride and very hungry and tired. I went around Phnom Penh a little bit yesterday - it's not so bad. Also I finally got my first full night of quality sleep since I've been here (I've started wearing earplugs every night, which is a great idea with all the roaring honking motos and thin walls here) so I feel much refreshed now.

Taking a city tour of Phnom Penh today and will post a bigger update soon.

Cambodia

I just got into Phnom Penh within the last hour. I must say I'm not too thrilled about Cambodia. The main reason it's on my itinerary at all is because I had to cross it to get to Vietnam and Angkor is one of those can't-miss sites. As soon as our bus pulled up to the guesthouse in Phnom Penh, a crowd of motorbike and tuk-tuk drivers crowded around the entrance. I had to push my way through them just to get off the bus. They wait outside the guesthouse and just now I was followed by one of them the whole length of the 20 feet between my guesthouse and the internet cafe.

I understand that I need to keep perspective on this and realize that these folks are just trying to make a living. Both with the touts and the child beggars, it's clear both how poor ordinary Cambodians are compared to the way we live at home and how hard they try to make an honest living. Still, as a travelever, constantly being hassled begins to wear on you. And I've only been here less than a week! I've found that I actually avoid doing things I want to do (taking a tuk-tuk somewhere in the city, for example) because I'm so annoyed by the hassle of being accosted. I'm growing pretty wary of this already, but recognize I need to toughen up as I continue my trip as Vietnam is known to have similarly aggressive touts.

My trip is planned so that I will do the "hard" part first (overland through Cambodia and Vietnam, lots of buses and trains, visiting tourist sites) and the "fun" part (relaxing on beaches in Bali, scuba diving off the coast of Thai Islands, trekking through Malaysian rainforest, etc.) second as a reward and because it's easier. So I have that to look forward to.

The bus trip here from Siem Reap was a bit of an experience. I paid for the cheaper bus ($5) and me and a Japanese guy were the only foreigners on board. I sat next to a young girl who was carrying her sister on her lap most of the way. At our pit stops, most of the men walked straight to the back of the market to pee on the wall or the trees so I followed suit only to see afterwards that they passed by some urinals on the way over to do that. I was very confused. The road between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh is 2-lanes and mostly paved but shared with a scattering of motorobikes, cars, and cattle. Every now and then, the bus would brake suddenly and everyone would rubberneck to see what was going on before we proceeded onward. At one of the stops I met a nice Irish couple. They had clearly been traveling for a little while already, as they seemed to take this journey in stride, so I chatted them up for a bit. Turns out they've already been here for 5 weeks, though Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Laos and are traveling for a total of 6 months - to Vietnam then up through China and Mongolia across the trans-Siberian railroad and finally finishing in Italy! What an adventure! We had a great chat and I'm learning that I need to just not be shy about breaking the ice and chatting up fellow travelers, as most are quite nice and if I don't I'll be quite lonely for the rest of this trip.

I think I'm going to try to explore Phnom Penh a little bit today (if I can work up the courage to leave the 50-foot radius of the guesthouse and internet cafe) and then do a tour of the Killing Fields tomorrow. Then on Tuesday I plan to enter Vietnam through the Mekong Delta and will be spending almost three weeks there. As much as that sounds like a lot of time, I have a pretty ambitious plan to see lots of the country from the far South all the way to the far North so I probably won't have much "free" time, which is fine. When I was talking to the Irish couple, they noted how for them so far, it's been a lot of work just traveling and constantly going from place to place. I woke up before 7 this morning to get on the bus here, so I understand what they mean.

Still, it is amazing to be traveling, soaking in the richness of new cultures and places.

My legs are officially being devoured by the mosquitoes. I am increasingly concerned about contracting dengue fever (there is no vaccine - the only preventative measure is taking steps to avoid mosquito bites) so maybe I will go to the market to get pants and long sleeved shirts. I was a little baffled as to why all locals wear such hot clothes in this weather but now I understand...

Angkor and Siam Reap

I've been in Cambodia for just over 24 hours now and it's safe to say here I've finally had my introduction to the congested, rough, dusty, hot Southeast Asia that I had imagined before coming here. More on that later, but first - I spent my day touring the temples at Angkor and was astounded by the sheer size and brilliance of the complex.

At the risk of being too dry, I should explain the significance of Angkor for those who are unfamiliar. About a millenium ago, Angkor served as the capital of the powerful Khmer Empire. Over the course of centuries, successive rulers built and expanded massive temple complexes with extremely intricate detail, creating one of the great wonders of the world. Angkor was forgotten for centuries until it was "rediscovered" by French colonists the in 19th century.

Today Angkor is by far Cambodia's most popular tourist attraction and provides an interesting glimpse into the history of the country. Walking around Angkor one is constantly reminded both of the glory and power of the nation's past and the destitute poverty and despair that marks its present - and the enormous impact (and economic importance) of tourism in Cambodia today.

The first thing that struck me about Angkor was its sheer size - it is a sprawling city unto itself with dozens of different temple sites, which at different points in its history served as temples, administrative centers, and even universities. Today most of the stone structures remain in varying conditions , and some have dramatically blended with the jungle landscape.






Throughout Angkor, at every stop, there are vendors selling food and beverages. As in Siam Reap (the nearby town at which visitors to Angkor stay), the vendors are aggressive and unrelenting but I was unprepared at Angkor for the abundance of children who would follow me and try to sell me trinkets or postcards. Some of them would throw quite a fit if ignored ("you don't buy something then you don't like me!") and it is heartbreaking to see that kind of poverty so widespread. Later in the day for some of the children, instead of buying their trinkets, I would pay them to allow me the privilege of taking their picture, one of which is below (leaving aside the ethics of that kind of behavior for now...):



Siam Reap is an interesting town. It is full of visitors from around the world who are just here to see Angkor. It has developed surprisingly good amenities to serve travellers (the Internet cafe I'm using right now, for $0.75/hr, has a speedy computer with a reliable fast connection). The restaurants here are great - I've actually been spending a little more on food than when I was in Thailand but for delicious food in restaurant settings rather than the mainly street food I had been eating in Bangkok. And by a little more I mean I am getting great restaurant meals for $4 each!

Traffic is crazy. Earlier this afternoon I saw a car almost hit and kill a girl on a motorbike - she was thrown off her bike, which flipped onto its side and traffic stopped for only a moment as the car simply veered around her and drove away. The girl was clearly shaken as she got up but no one stopped or approached her to see if she was ok. Finally a westerner on a bike (white guy) pulled up and helped her over to the side of the road. The incident itself was jarring but what disturbed me most was the nonchalance of the other motorists. Many of the bystanders stared but nothing more. I know that on my trip I will have to take a few motorbike taxis (already have once) and today's incident definitely will encourage me to seek alternatives (taxis, tuk-tuks) when available and to keep my wits about me.

It's important to find good drivers too. Today at Angkor I paid a tuk-tuk driver $15 to stick around with me all day, driving me to and from Angkor and around the (very large) site from temple to temple. He was friendly and I picked him because he was not one of the aggressive ones trying to get my attention and he looked nice. At the border crossing into Cambodia, I was approached by some touts who smelled like booze (and it was only 10 in the morning). Sasha, the Russian I met there, warned me that one time he got taken for a ride by a drunk motorbike taxi driver who was swerving and speeding and that it scared the shit out of him. So I'm gonna try to be careful.

So now I realize that Bangkok was definitely a walk in the park compared to some of the other places I'll go on the trip. This is the fun part!

Also there are geckos everywhere inside the buildings just crawling around the walls. A little weird but kind of cool.

I finally found the row of street food in this town. Just had a delicious $1 dinner of fried noodles and vegetables. Yum. Tomorrow I leave for Phnom Penh, where the adventure continues...