3 weeks 3 countries - Part I of II

Over the span of 3 weeks I traveled to 3 different countries in Southeast Asia, which included Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia. I’ll start off by saying that 3 weeks wasn’t remotely close to enough time to see enough of each country and Vietnam alone could’ve encompassed my entire time. However, I had a predetermined plan and was continuously on the move, never staying in one place more than a couple nights and utilizing night busses, which you’re supposed to “sleep” on, so that I could make the most efficient use of time. Overall Southeast Asia was incredible with the beautiful scenery and the cultural norms and attitudes that are furthest from the ones that I grew up with. Where ‘maybe’ actually means ‘maybe,’ life seems simpler and the humidity is 110%, Southeast Asia is a must see for everyone. Below is a post highlighting Cambodia, which will be followed by a subsequent post of Vietnam and Malaysia in the near future.

Cambodia

I flew into Seim Reap where the famed temples of Ankor reside, still standing triumphantly after 800 years of monsoons, invasion and oppressive heat. There are 3 temples that hog the glory when it comes to the city of Ankor and those include Ankor Wat, Bayon and Ta Prohm.Ankor Wat is the big-hitter and the largest religious temple in the world, first dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu God, and then to Theravada Buddhism. It is meticulously decorated in fine detail, carved stone telling grand stories of daily life and war as well as one of the more famous stories in Hinduism “The Churning of the Sea of Milk,” in which 91 demons and 88 gods pull Vasuki, a giant serpent wrapped around Mt. Mandara, churning the sea and creating the elixir of immortality. The temple itself is made up of tall outer walls and 5 impossibly detailed towers representing Mt. Meru, the home of the gods. Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery so the pictures of Ankor Wat’s interior in the morning sun are somewhat limited.

After returning to the hostel to pick up a fresh battery via Tuk-Tuk (a small carriage towed behind a motorcycle that I negotiated the previous evening) I entered the capital of Ankor Thom through the west gate heading to Bayon, the temple famous for hundreds of smiling faces of Jayavarman VII. Even the gate itself was adorned with the King’s face, staring north, south, east and west. Upon arriving at Bayon it was hard to believe that it was the low season as I joined the crowds in exploring the area. Near the entrance to Bayon there were 4 elephants with their “drivers” waiting for those that wanted to take a $15 ride around the temple. I approached one who was idling by a tree to get a close up, but after seeing him react to my approach by raising his trunk and actually motioning toward me, I halted, clicked a couple pictures, and like my faith in the rope the kept him tied to the tree, left. Exploring Bayon was much like Ankor Wat.It had long halls and finely decorated walls. I met and talked with an artist equipped with an arsenal of different pens who was drawing one of the stone faces. Impressed with his skill I asked him where he learned to draw and in retrospect it wasn’t surprising to hear the word “Google” come out of his mouth. He told me one picture takes 24-48 hours and costs $15 in the low season, $20 in the high season.

tuk-tuk

After navigating the crowds, talking to the artist and satisfying my picture taking palate, I headed to Ta Prohm, famous for the fig trees reclaiming their land, growing in, around and through the temple itself, toppling the heavy stones that would still be standing if not for their interference. Seeing a temple in ruins with a reclamation of land by the jungle, light filtering through the canopy above, it looks like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. You’re almost waiting for some obscure tribe in war paint with spears to tie you up and sacrifice you on a stone that hasn’t yet been pushed over by a budding seed. It is a pretty unique place and in fact has been in the film Tomb Raider. This was the last temple that I visited and by mid afternoon the heat had taken its toll, especially after the early morning start to catch the sunrise at Ankor Wat. I headed back to the hostel and ended the day drinking beer and playing pool.

I took another day in Siem Reap to check out the “Old Market” where you can buy anything from books to bugs. Because prices are sometimes inflated in the hundreds of percent, negotiation is a must and while most of the products are still cheap by western standards, nobody likes to get ripped off.

From Siem Reap I headed to the coast in SW Cambodia to Sihanoukville. It was here that you could see the beginnings of the tourist industry sinking its teeth in, with half completed hotels and luxury resorts. While the buildings themselves were taking away from the charm of the Cambodian coast, it’s hard to disagree with the development as a whole given how poor Cambodia is. Sitting on the second floor of my hostel in the common area, I looked to my left to see two kids rummaging through a large basket of trash on the dirt road below, and to my right I see tourists with tunnel vision staring with conviction into their laptop computers, probably looking at facebook for the 5^th time that day. The contrast was profound and frustrating. No one was at fault, but that’s just what the situation was and you soon realize how unfair life is, and how fortunate you are. All justification for any kind of complaint is unfounded after such realizations. Hopefully with the tourist dollars there will be a significant decrease in prostitution and a better life for much of the people there. In Sihanoukville there were bugs abound just as there were in Siem Reap. I felt better about not trying any after I talked with a Swedish guy whose wife was in fact Cambodian. Upon asking him if he ate the bugs, he replied that his wife wouldn’t let him. If the local doesn’t let her husband eat the bugs, that’s saying something. The next day I rented a scooter and rode around Sihanoukville, exploring the area, finding secluded beaches, stray cows and muddy, puddle-laced dirt roads still drying from the previous days monsoon rain. There were newly built resorts sprinkled throughout, monkeys fighting for bananas, and in a few spots, a total feeling of isolation when you didn’t see another person for miles in the rural Cambodian countryside with the mountain backdrop. After my day of exploration, I headed back to the hotel to prepare for my departure the next morning. From Sihanoukville, I took a bus to Phnom Penh, the capital city for a day or two. The bus was graced with a TV and the ride was equipped with Cambodian romance music video’s from the 80’s and sitcoms without the fake laughs or music for entertainment. The rest stop was composed of a few shops along the road and the bathroom was a unisex trash filled field behind them that everyone used, including myself. It was an interesting ride and by the residual laughter I’m guessing the sitcom was pretty funny.

While in Phnom Penh I learned about the Khmer Rouge, the communist movement that ruled from 1975-1979 and led to the death of millions of Cambodians. Their motivation was to turn Cambodia into a self-sufficient agrarian economy, primarily growing rice for food and for export. The quota for rice growing was grossly unrealistic and after exporting there wasn’t enough for the Cambodian citizens to eat, which led to widespread famine. The Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot sought a society with no rich, no poor, and no exploitation. They abolished money, free markets, schools, private property, foreign clothing, religious practices and traditional Khmer culture. They destroyed banks, schools, hospitals, churches’, universities, and seized government buildings. Killing was rampant and having glasses was enough to be considered an intellectual, therefore leading to your death. Woman and children weren’t spared, as illustrated at the killing fields, 15km outside Phnom Penh. Visiting S-21, a high school converted into a political prison, individuals were held before going to the killing fields, questioned and tortured under the Khmer Rouge. Seeing an empty room with a single metal bed frame, a dead car battery and large metal rod was sobering to the torture that took place there and the overall genocide that the Cambodian people endured during the mid to late 70’s. While educational, it was a bit depressing.

Following Phnom Penh I hopped a bus to Saigon, Vietnams largest southern city. This ride didn’t have as much personality as the one from Silhanoukville, but wasn’t bad nonetheless. Next week there will be a post on Vietnam and Malaysia.