Wow! Cambodia!

Kids are kids no matter where they are in the world.

Wow! Cambodia!

This is a very interesting Asian destination. The country has suffered so much and it is hard to comprehend what the last 40 years must have been like for the Cambodian people. What is even more interesting is that it all took place during my lifetime!!
We flew into Siem Reap using a very cheap Jet star deal. We had four days in Siem Reap, our goal was to visit the Angkor Temples and get out to the floating villages of Tonle Sap. We arrived in time for breakfast on day 1, after this we found a tuk-tuk driver to take us out to the floating village. Their lives are lived floating on the water, the photos tell more than words can.

One of many shops that passed us on the water.

A pig pen even the animals live their lives floating

On the way down the river we passsed this school.

Ruth on the floating restaurant and fish farm.

Looking through the village Tonle Sap. See the garden?

Our next three days were spent visiting Temples. We had the same driver for the whole time. He picked us up at Moms, the guest house we stayed in and took us to some amazing temples each day. He was very good. We started off going out to see Angkor Wat at dawn, the sunrise was not your story book splashes of colour type. In fact it was a disappointing murky shade of grey sneaking up to daylight, followed by rain about an hour later! However this did not detract from the magnificence of Angkor Wat. It is the largest religious monument in the world. Nothing prepares you for the share magnitude of this place and seeing it appearing out of the dark for the first time is definitely an inspiring way to view Angkor Wat. Inside it there are many interesting carved walls that tell the history of the Khmer people. In the 12th century (between 1113-1150) this must have been an amazing city. The statues and gold have long gone, but what remains inspires images of grandeur. We visited many Temples during the next three days, in various states of decay. Some were enormous. The task of extracting the stone from Quarries, transporting the huge blocks to the temple sites, building these enormous temples and then completing the magnificently ornate carvings that cover them must have been colossal in the 12th century.
Wayne standing at one of the many Temple Gates

Ruth at Angkor Wat after the rain.

We travelled from Siem Reap to Phnom Pen on the Saturday by bus. The Roads in Cambodia are an experience. I am not sure that there are too many road rules. As far as I could make out if you are on anything that doesn’t have a motor you give way to anything bigger than you. If you ride a motorbike you do anything you please, but try to take the shortest possible route. Consequently motorbikes are adapted in many ways to do many jobs. If you drive a bus you are lord of the road, you drive on both sides of the road so you can avoid the potholes and you continuously sound your horn so everyone knows to get out of your way. It was a 6 hour journey which passes through many rural towns and villages. There were many interesting things to see.

Phnom Pen is a very large Asian City, which has its share of social issues. It is a place where you must be mindful of your personal safety especially after dark. We were interested in finding out more about Pol Pot and the Killing Fields. It was very moving for us, as we became aware of the magnitude of destruction that occurred systematically in Cambodia during this time. It was a few days before the trial of Duch, the leader of S-21 prison camp, was due to begin. Many Cambodians have waited 30 years for this to happen. We visited the secondary school in Phnom Pen that was converted into a containment area where many people were held and tortured. We found out that this included 1 New Zealander, Rob Hamil’s brother. The conditions were appalling and the tortures that went on there were horrific. A trip out to the Killing Fields was even more sobering. There is a monument in the fields that has the skulls of all of the people exhumed from the mass graves. These graves were shallow holes which can be still seen today. It was sickening to think that on one of the trees a loud speaker was hung, from this loud happy music was played while thousands of people were murdered. Another tree was used to tie children to while they were beaten to death. We came away with a new realisation of how every Cambodian must have suffered during this time. Phnom Pen was emptied during this time, people were ordered to leave the cities. It would have been a terrifying time and although we heard about in New Zealand, it was so far away from us that many have not really given much thought to how terrible it must have been for theCambodian people.

We now view this country differently, and now understand that the people who are living there today still have many scars to heal. We are so lucky to have been born in New Zealand. One must never lose sight of the importance of freedom and the responsibilities that go with this.