Cambodia Travelogue - Week 2

Week 2
In week 2 I headed off to the countryside for a visit to my mother's home village. I got to see the only house she's ever lived in the province of Kompong Cham. Knowing that I would be stuck in the village forever, we invited some of them to take us to sightsee at the temples of Angkor in Siem Reap province. However, they somehow filled a van and alot more villagers decided to join in on the tour. Week 2 was possibly the most frustrating, because all the villagers did not want to accept the fact that I was a foreigner. However, I did not pay a dime to see the temples instead of the $20 a day pass for foreigners. I guess I shouldn't complain if I look like a national.

Highlights and Observations

Here, take a cellphone
My cousin gave us an old cellphone he had for us to use to keep in contact with each other. In the city of Phnom Penh, cellphones can be found easily with a cellphone shop at every corner or more. Going into the rural side, I didn’t expect to need it, but surprisingly we always had service, and most families have a cellphone or 2 anyway. Not bad for a developing country, but I wonder which Asian country is producing the most.

That infamous road in Kompong Cham
When I was packed and hit the road on the way to my mother’s house, I got my first glimpse of how absolutely crazy the taxi drivers are in this country. From what I gathered out of my first trip out, I noticed how uncommon it was for a driver to drive on the left side of the road for the entire trip to pass all the slow moving cars in the right lane. All while going 100 km/hour. Now on the first major stretch of road away from Phnom Penh, my mother mentioned me that this was the road that she walked on to escape to Phnom Penh. She would sleep during the day in an abandoned house or marsh to hide from the US B-52 bombers. When night fell, she and 30 something single women would continue their march to safety back to Phnom Penh. Since we have been speeding on this road for a good half hour, I estimated the walk might take here a good 6 or 7 days. Fortunately it only took her 2.

Rural expectations
1 thing about rural living that I can’t stand and will never adjust to is how rural folks don’t expect people to change. The folks that have hosted me in Phnom Penh were nice to let small things slide considering I am this white foreigner from America who spoke broken Khmer. However the rural folks wouldn’t let anything slide. They don’t see many foreigners ever, and they didn’t see me as a foreigner, but as one of them. So they found it funny that I chose to wear shorts or short sleeves or how I really spoke Khmer very badly. Or how I chose to write in my journal everyday and take 100 digital pictures without a care. I felt like they were mocking me the whole time, asking me questions that they knew I couldn’t answer and pointing out ridiculous artifacts and asking me if I ever seen them. 1 job as a tourist is to help other countries understand your country in comparison to yours. Of course there are cows in America, it’s not Cambodia exclusive. During the whole ride, I was upset at the mockery, as I was not sure if they were spiting me or really were just trying to make a good laugh. In one way, they might be upset that I am so rich compared to them, yet I don’t share any of it. It was one of those like you can’t drive down to the ghettoes with a Lexus and expect to make friends. However, my immediate family has plenty of reasons not to share wealth with the extended family, and I agree with them. Whatever, the whole ride, I was really upset.

Pretty bad place to have a breakdown
On our ride, we had to stop twice for a vehicle malfunction. I tell ya, the worst place you want to be at noon is on some dirt road in the middle of the Cambodian countryside. It is hot, sweaty, no sign of water or food for miles let alone people and your car is not functioning. All you can do is cover yourself up, sit down and just wait for hours. And this happened twice in one day.

Typical rural setting Khmer house
A typical rural house is made out of fine dark wood and is raised 5 meters off the ground. Apparently this is because during the monsoon season, either the Mekong or the Tonle Sap will flood the community and all families will be stuck inside their house for about 2 days or so. Even the cattled have raised “cow houses” for that particular season. I can imagine it would look like Venice or so. However the area beneath the house has many uses as an open space to store farming equipment, motorbikes, and is a perfect place to escape the midday heat. The house will have a covered porch where nobody does anything unless there are a couple of mattresses. The porch will lead to the biggest room in the house, which serves as a living room, TV room, huge floor dining room, and sleeping area (notice I said sleeping area). The TV and lights run off a car battery, and if you’re out, you’re out. The rest of the house will have 2 bedrooms at most, a bathroom which consists of just a squat toilet and a large cement basin filled with water. There is a small dining area in the back which leads to the outside porch which is basically a kitchen. All they need is a 4 big pots and a wood fire.

Race against the sun
To me waking up early might mean waking up an hour or 2 after the sun comes up. However if one were to do that in Cambodia, it would be considered very late. Cambodians wake up considerably early, and I don’t know how they manage to do it. The goal is simply to be awake and get ready to work BEFORE the sun comes up. This means 5 am in the morning, everyday. Waking up that early everyday really hurt, and I seriously found it as useless why we had to since we were only visiting. Plus, folks in the city don’t wake up that early anyway, so why bother with us?

The mighty Mekong
Everybody in SE Asia knows about the mighty Mekong River that flows through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. A lot of rural communities’ lives revolve around the Mekong with its vast resources and my mother’s hometown was no exception. When asked to go walk to the river from the house I said yes, and then my mother came along. There were about 8 of us, and it was a weird situation. My mother grew up with this view and hasn’t seen it in 20 years. I have never seen the view, and everybody else was probably sick of it. We crossed through the tobacco fields, and about 10 minutes we were there. The mighty Mekong. I was ready to jump in, but the drop was more like a cliff. What a really cool place to have a farm.

Howard Zinn is exciting, not
I bought a 700 pager, “The People’s History of the United States” expecting that on my downtime I could finish the book in a month. While it was exciting to read in such an out of the world location, soon it became a chore. Here everybody is just relaxing and laughing the day away, and I was sitting scratching my head overanalyzing American history. I didn’t get to even halfway, but at least I tried. Maybe reading is only exciting when everybody else is reading. Or is exciting the wrong word to use.

A little late for this tea party
Because Howard Zinn wasn’t doing me any justice (pretty ironic), I kept going on moto trips around the area to take pictures and pass the time. My favorite trip landed me a very friendly palm wine drinking session. It was a Friday (as if anybody counts the days here) and late in the afternoon and there were about 12 young guys sitting on a very small table drinking some substance out of a barrel that looked like it used to hold spackle. So I join in and ask what’s going on,

“We’re drinking palm wine!!!”

My god they sound like a bunch of pirates.

“Come sit!! Come sit!!”

Ignoring the fact that I might regret coming out here, I take a seat. I survey the situation and everybody is drunk. Nobody is the least bit coherent except for me and my cousin who drove here on a bike. They hand me a cup which looks pretty disgusting as if somebody snotted in it and I was expected to join in and help them finish the rest of this barrel. Oh boy.

“I’ll just take 1”

“Ok 1 is fine, drink.”

4 drinks later, I have come to the conclusion that this fresh and raw palm wine is horrendous. Plus it was as hot as motor oil. Then somebody brings in some fresh meat to eat.

“What is this?”

“Snake!!! Let’s eat!!!”

“Whoo!!!”

So I ate the snake. Not bad, looked like fish, but tasted like chicken. A lot more bones than I expected though.

After about 20 minutes and 5 drinks they refilled the barrel. I knew my time was up as it looked like it was one of those never ending barrel afternoons and I didn’t want to get back home drunk. I politely excused myself, still sober and was on my way. I thanked them for the good time, and they said I should join them after dinner because they would still be there (yeah right).

Back at the house, no one could believe that I could take 5 drinks of palm wine and still be walking straight. Well I guess this is a bad time to explain them about my Absinthe incident.

Wat fell into the Mekong
The next day, my mother took me to the new family wat, because the last one that she donated money to build…. fell into the Mekong during a monsoon season. Now wats (temples) are interesting places to go, and everybody seems to go to the same ones to admire the architecture. I find it very interesting to go to a temple in the middle of nowhere, because you are one of few people to admire the artwork. This one was a simply stunning gem, that very few people get to enjoy. Around the area, I got a lesson in boat racing. The temple held 2 racing boats that would be used during the annual Bon Um Tok water festival in November. Every community has a boat, and every community races. After learning every community races, I have to make it an effort to come see the Bon Um Tok races once in my life.

Other sights in Kompong Cham
There were several schools in the area, where most people go to school, and then don’t continue their education to go work on the farm. For the time that they are in school the kids look like they have a blast everyday and the memories of them riding their bike and goofing off on the streets will probably be something they will remember for the rest of their lives. Considering how happy the schoolchildren are, I would think that a Peace Corps program here would be very beneficial, and worthwhile for both parties considered.

A sunrise cruise, before sunrise
My mother and I did not want to bear another dusty hot van ride back to main road for a trip to Siem Reap, so we decided to go on a faster route through the Mekong river and land at the provincial capital of Kompong Cham. We woke up and left at 3am to wait in line for the boat that picks up passengers to dock at the capital at 6am. It was a night of no moon, and the sky was the clearest I have ever seen. I could not explain why the sky was so much clearer here than in other parts of the world I have been. Anyway, we docked, the boat was playing Bruce Lee’s “Enter the Dragon” in Khmer, and afterwards I climbed on top of the covered boat to watch the sunrise over the Mekong. Because the sky was so clear, there were no dramatic clouds surrounding the sunrise, but at least the thought counted.

Cheapest guesthouse in town
When we docked at the capital, I was surprised how 10 members, family or not, decided to stop work and join us for our proposed 5 days in Siem Reap. How they can decide to just stop work is beyond me. I became annoyed and I think my mother too, because they came knowing that we could afford to host them, but with any big group it becomes hard to manage. This was very evident when we reached our guesthouse that only had 1 bedroom, and the rest of them had to sleep on the floor outside in the hallway. We were placed in this guesthouse because it was ridiculously cheap, no charge at all, however there was a catch that I didn’t notice till the next day.

Tourist trap
I went into this silly tourist trap place called the Cambodian Cultural Village. I guess it’s kind of cool, but looking back it feels overproduced and more made for families and little kids. I was happy I only got to go in for 500 riel. It does have nice performances and you could learn a lot about the diversity of Cambodian history, if you can ignore the onslaught of Chinese tourists.

The Temples of Angkor, simple the greatest attraction in SE Asia
The town of Siem Reap has exploded in a tourism boom concerning the number of tourists coming in to explore Cambodia for the first time and dropping huge bank to come see the biggest attraction in Cambodia, the Temples of Angkor.

In short, Angkor, is the site of several capitals of the Khmer Empire, which in the past was the heart of the empire. The location today stands 30 something temples which serve as architectural masterpieces of the Khmer Civilization and as some of the most imposing monuments in the world. The most important being Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world.

After the wake of the Khmer Rouge, tourism was on a stand still considering the amount of landmines left over from the war. I remember watching a video my father brought home when he went there in 1994 and he was the only one in the complex (nowadays there are thousands and thousands a day). The late 90s saw a surge in growth, both in preservation efforts and the local hospitality efforts in town. Clear of landmines, clear of peace, the Temples of Angkor is a major, major player in the international travel map.

The next day we did the temples of Angkor at a ridiculously fast pace. I am reminded again as to how hard it can be to manage a van full of Cambodian tourists, but I really am in no position to complain. We began the day at Sra Srang, over to Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo and the walled city of Angkor Thom all before lunch. Angkow Wat and Phnom Bakheng to end the day. I know it sounds like a lot and it is. That morning’s rush could have easily filled 1 day in a relaxed pace. The rural Cambodians don’t really value history or are maybe blasé that about the grandeur of these and it really upset me how the ones who were hosting me were just rushing me from one temple to the next. I was able to see the temples enough to take enough pictures, however I didn’t learn anything about them, which is what I came there to do.

Ta Prohm, the “Tomb Raider” temple

Ta Prohm is a very popular temple as the complex has been engulfed by nature, and archaeologists have chosen to keep it that way except for a few crippling trees. What we have now is monster trees jutting off the ground fighting for space with structures in place. I can only imagine what this place would have looked like had I been the 1st person to have come across in centuries. This temple was featured in the movie, “Tomb Raider” starring Angelina Jolie, who by the way is a recognized Cambodian citizen, adopted a Cambodian child, and owns property in Battambang. The temple looks just as good as it does on the screen, and is in my opinion the most photogenic of all the temples. There’s definitely some beauty about nature and stone creating a beautiful chaos.

Personal photographer?

After finishing up the Bayon temple (a temple that has 54 towers with 4 cold smile faces pointing NSEW, kind of creepy if you’re walking around) a photographer who had been following us took an awesome standard portrait worthy of on the wall fame. When we broke for lunch, the photographer joined us too. I began to wonder how much we were paying this guy to follow us around while he takes high quality shots on his SLR. The standard fare is you pay a bit extra when you go to pick them up at the processing booth to payoff the photographer, but this guy in particular was more like a personal concierge driving me around anywhere I ask him to. Given the time I had at lunch, I ask my mother how much we agreed to hire a photographer. Apparently, we didn’t hire him for the day, we hired him for the entire duration of our stay. And the free guesthouse that we were staying at, was his. I guess he charges a higher commission to let folks stay at his house while he shoots a half dozen rolls of them in the following days (you have to think profit in terms of pennies on the dollar). But he was so subtle I just didn’t notice that he was following us from the beginning. I felt kind of spoiled and a bit like royalty at that moment, knowing that his guy would do anything I asked him to. Fortunately for the rest of the trip, I made him take shots of me from the ground so he doesn’t have to climb as much.

The world is tiny
I met many many travelers on this day of visiting the temples. The biggest group of Westerners comes from Australia, the Chinese were by the boatload maybe because of Chinese New Year, and Japanese and Koreans make up the rest of Asia. I met a guy from Argentina, who recommended I visit Buenos Aires one day (already on my agenda), a sunburned couple from Norway, many travelers from France, and a guy from Austria. Other people I ran into but didn’t meet came from Germany, lots of dirtbikers from England, folks from other European nations, India, and I think Canada. For that 1 day the world just shrank to a size small, and I was humbled to be around the most serious and adventurous travelers in the world. Although there was one nation that I wasn’t surprised to have met anybody until well into my 4th week. Brushing shoulders with thousands of tourists that day, I did not meet an American or pass by anybody that resembled one. I can always tell Americans and Europeans apart. Europeans like to wear silly hats, attach everything to their body, and were always behind in fashion. If they were overdressed however, then perhaps they were French.

Big Momma, Angkor Wat, herself

Angkor Wat, the principal temple of all of Angkor, billed as “the mother of all temples”, “the 8th wonder of the world” is the largest religious building in the world and is a shrine to the Hindu god Vishnu. This is the pride and joy of the nation and marks the highest point of civilization of the Khmer empire. Very few sights on earth can match this tingle down your spine, or the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is a remarkably unique time to visit Angkor Wat, as it is finally getting all the recognition it deserves and I am privileged to visit such a site that has been widely ignored by my generation.

1st thing I notice is how I totally missed Angkor Wat the many times we drove by. When it finally came time to visit “Big Momma”, I was floored to find out that this huge body of water we kept driving by was actually Angkor Wat’s moat. It makes medieval castle moats look like cake. Judging by how wide the moat was, it was obvious how big the structure would be inside.

Of course there was the obvious plethora of Chinese and Korean tourists that made our stop at Angkor Wat a less than peaceful one. It felt like everybody was walking in single file, backing up, and then moving again, slightly sad that those days of solitude will never be had again. We got past the gate after I admired some bas reliefs (you could spend a whole day studying the 9 major bas reliefs) and stared at the goal ahead of us.

Climbing to the gods is no easy task
Hundreds of tourists, no matter how bad of shape they are still insist on climbing to the top. It is not as easy as it looks. The stairs to the top are obnoxiously steep, and supposedly get steeper the higher you grow up. The average person has to climb these steps with some assistance using their hands, however I find myself hopping through them with ease. I read somewhere that they built these steps to symbolize that climbing to the gods was not meant to be easy, and that the position of you climbing with your hands is meant to symbolize that you’re bowing to the gods.

Once you get up, it’s a pretty good view, and it’s the only way to get to the central tower. I perused around, admiring the architecture and taking lots of snapshots. Many tourists after climbing to the top decide to take an extended break to cleanse their spirits. I mainly tried to soak it all up as much as possible.

Apparently so many Chinese tourists were falling off the steps that they had to install a safety rail to accommodate the deadly climb to the bottom. A little upset that they had this steel bar was out of place in a stone temple, but I guess it looks a lot better than some blood on the ground.

My god it’s Disneyland

If I thought I left the Chinese tourists over at Angkor Wat, I should have stayed the hell away from Phnom Bakheng. It is an even worser climb to the top at about 150 meters with no steps involved, and a few including my mom, decided not to finish the climb. This hilltop temple is impressive simply because it offers the best sunset view of Angkor. However, good luck finding a spot to sit. Saying that it is rather tourist infested is an understatement. It is more like every tourist who decided to go to Angkor that day just had to climb the obnoxious steps to join a circus (as if they couldn’t torture their bodies enough). Anyway, if the view isn’t entertaining, sometimes there will be somebody, anybody trying to entertain the crowd. In this instance, a German girl walked around balancing a water bottle on her head, but was trumped, by a dancing old Chinese man who was humming the Chinese New Year on a kazoo. While I hated the fact that I had to share this view with my fellow travelers, this wave of happiness and friendship between travelers on a hill in remote Cambodia is something I will never forget.

Less than stellar
The next day, was slightly disappointing because I knew I had already seen the major Angkor attractions. I was aiming to hit all the temples, some stretch as far as the Thai border (and some have been reposed by Thailand, and some by Laos) but there weren’t feasible from my location. I relented and agreed to see the remaining sites at Angkor at a slower relaxed pace. There wasn’t much more to see, and everybody just sulked at what was less. We were seriously sore from the day before (except for me) and I made it obvious that if we were to have done the temples in the 3 days like I proposed than nobody would be in serious pain. They didn’t listen. Again, I was upset and I felt my time at Angkor was compromised. At the end of the night, we sat on straw mats facing Angkor Wat in time for sunset. I stared back knowing that one day I will be back and see the temples in the relaxed and spiritual way as they should be.

My god it’s my birthday!
We decided to leave to go back home at 3am the next day. A couple hours of driving in the dark, and then finally arrive back in Phnom Penh. Our share taxi that drove us from Kompong Cham managed to fit 4 passengers in the front row (it was a Toyota Camry for gods sake!). It was noontime when I got to shower and unpack from my monumental journey to the countryside and Angkor. I looked in the mirror in the bathroom (because this one has light) and realized that I haven’t seen my face in a week. I strangely looked odd, and quickly came to the conclusion that I haven’t been following the days of the week. I then realized it was noon and well into, my 23rd birthday. I told my mom and she also found it astonishing. They rushed me a cake for lunch and invited the kids over to spray silly string and practice singing the birthday song in English. It was a very low key and cute type of birthday, definitely in light of all the drunk escapades I have had in the past 5 or 6 years.

You’re Russian me! I thought you were Cambodian
Directly after lunch, I was told to pack my bags for a 2 day to Kompong Chhnang to leave immediately. I gather the goods, brave a hot taxi ride in which my cousin Bunthok and me discuss the more intellectual way to visit Angkor and arrive at a guesthouse at our destination. My cousin Bunthok took me out here because he was visiting the area for work for the next 2 days. He does work for a deaf development program and he was visiting the area for recruiting. I was basically just tagging along, as he had 3 other co-workers, 1 expatriate worker from Australia, and 2 deaf Cambodian teenagers who work as researchers. They went to work later that evening, and I finally had some time alone to borrow the guesthouse bike and ride around the town.

Peace and solitude in an urban mess
I took the bike out and rode to the riverside. I enjoyed just taking the time to relax and enjoy solitude for once in an area that looked remarkably that it should have been in Vietnam (I found out later that a lot of Vietnam emigrants live in this river area, hence it looks different). Sitting down, knowing that I was a stranger in a new land gave me a relaxing feeling. I guess it’s something not many people get to go through, walking around in a new city alone where you know nobody. Some people might be scared of it, but I enjoy walking around on my own pace, not sticking out from the crowd (ie, not the only minority in a supermarket), and knowing that I won’t run into somebody who finds it weird that I am just sitting on a park bench doing nothing. It gives me time to think without talking, and I strangely still feel social even though I’m ignoring everybody. Maybe it’s the traveler side of me who finds comfort in new surroundings, or maybe I enjoy the company of people even if they’re minding their own business.

New town, new people, new week
After I showered, we went out to dinner where I finally had good restaurant quality Khmer food (all other eating out had been cheap market stall food). They gave a toast for my birthday, and I observed the group communicating to each other in sign language. I also finally had a full conversation in English for once with the Australian expat. She has been for 5 years, loves it, and can only imagine what I am going through. I wish I was able to communicate more with the deaf teenagers, but there only lied my only communication barrer, no English, or Khmer. I went to bed that night watching the Discovery Channel, loving every second of it, and fell asleep content. I was in a new town, with a new crowd, and the beginning of a new week of adventures.

TO BE CONTINUED

Photo Links

• My mother's hometown in Kompong Cham province, Cambodia
• Cambodian Cultural Village
• Temples Surrounding Angkor
• Ta Prohm, the "Tomb Raider" temple
• Bayon and the Central Angkor area
• Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Cambodia Travelogue - Week 1

I have been meaning to write this down for quite a while but my energy level gets to me. My 1st week back I was still resting, but after the 2nd week, my energy level is back and I feel settled back into life at home. I still conclude though, that myself and others, no visitor leaves Cambodia will ever forget it. I could write these entries 5 weeks from now and the memory will still be fresh in my mind. It was that one of a kind experience. I will be rewriting and annotating notes from my travelogue and now I get to reference them with pictures. They will be separated in 1 week or so increments. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed recalling them.

Note: There will be many times where I assume you know a bit about Cambodian history. I will be touching upon the brutal years of the Khmer Rouge regime and the autogenocide as if it is assumed knowledge. I will also write about the temples of Angkor assuming that you are aware that it is an architectural masterpiece, one of the wonders of the world, a world heritage site, and one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world. I am mentioning this because, since I am 100 percent Khmer, I can be pretty blasé about these things. In short, I am writing this in the perspective not as a tourist, but as somebody returning to a land he’s never known. After all, not everybody gets to skip through the diplomat line. However, do your own research!

Week 1
The 1st week in Cambodia had me staying at my cousin Bunthok’s house in Phnom Penh. His house is on 156th st where his wife runs a salon. I flew RT on Singapore Airlines for only $1100. I left on a Tuesday afternoon and didn’t arrive till Thursday Cambodia time. Right off the airport I was greeted with dozens of dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles. We had a feast right when got back home and I tried my hardest to blend back as if I never left. However, my efforts at broken Khmer combined with living a Western life proved to be uneffective. I was also trying desperately to fight off the major jet lag I had accrued. There were moments of excitement, culture shock, frustration and plain “ I am in another world” type of stuff. I still got to see a lot on my 1st week and it kept me busy to ignore that I was feeling like the world was spinning.

Highlights and Observations

Fly anymore east and I’m already heading back home
New England is GMT – 5 hours, while Cambodia is GMT + 7 hours…. which means I am pretty much on the other side of the world. I go anymore east and it is as if I am heading back home. I didn’t have any major problems in country except for feeling dizzy now and then. However, on the second leg of the flight to Singapore, we left around noon German time, and for the about the first 3 hours of the flight, I started to act a bit weird. Started feeling hot even though it was supposedly cold, I was sleepy, yet I was scared to sleep since every time I dozed off, I fell into a nightmare of some sort. Worst of all, I couldn’t keep still, I started getting very anxious like I was on speed or something. Somehow a little coffee woke me up, while also letting me manage to ward off the nightmares and hot sweats. I’m not exactly sure how this worked, but I heard that flying east is more taxing on the body than flying west. I think I agree.

Cleanliness of airport in Singapore and free amenities
Changi International is usually voted one of the best airports in the world, and from what I saw, it’s an airport that has more free amenities than some hotel rooms. 24 hour lounges, digital tv, free internet, there was even this little place called “The Oasis” where you can rent out a massage chair and sit and watch ESPN (of course, there are also the non massage leather lounge chairs too). The most impressive is the open air movie theater they have in the middle of the airport called the "Skyplex". Plus, if you’re in Singapore to connect to another flight, and have time, why not take a free tour of the city.

First breath of Cambodian air, only described as hard
After getting off the airplane at Siem Reap and smelling fresh Cambodian air for the first time, I had this weird feeling that was probably more mental than anything. It was a normal hot early morning day, and Cambodia smelled like there was a forest fire burning. Then I had this mental scene of all the victims from the Cambodian auto genocide screaming for help in a fire, with their voices screaming. Of course, a fire didn’t happen, but I probably would have had that image no matter what Cambodia smells like. There are some who might say, once you’ve smelt one 3rd world country, you’ve smelt them all. They only way I can describe it is, it smells hard.

Immigration officer, corruption turns into payoff
Corruption is abundant in a lot of 3rd world countries, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle corruption it here considering I speak the language and stuff, but I think Cambodians view as something different. At the immigration desk, my family knew the immigration officer, and instead of him barking orders from a window, he left his desk, rushed our papers, ignored the foreigners in line and got our baggage out while we stood around to talk to family members. My mother slipped him $10 in his pocket for his hard work, which didn’t even cover the cost of a visa, as I think he took care of it himself. I guess, we were just rewarding him for doing a finer job, hence turning the system upside so he can be paid off, instead of him to corrupt.

Met family for the first time
I met about 10 or 12 family members, who even though I have trouble speaking correctly, looked like the happiest people I have seen so far. It was such confusion for me leaving the airport, dozens of people, getting used to the 3rd world, keeping an eye out for baggage, sleepy, dizzy, overwhelmed by family… really stressing for a moment.

The lanes are only painted as a suggestion
Traffic and the way locals drive in Phnom Penh is beyond me. Virtually everybody drives a motorcycle to get around, and that leads for some very interesting situations. Motos will drive wherever and whenever regardless of lane traffic or if the traffic light is green. Some will drive in the left lane if it is open, or ignoring red lights because it is possible. It’s pretty common to see a moto drive up on the left lane to take a left turn, and continue to drive into oncoming traffic until turning up on the correct lane again. One thing is for certain is that, everybody drives at the same pace, so as long as nobody speeds, things keep moving as motos can weave in and out of every situation.

I think my legs are going to bleed
Something that isn’t very new to me, but I am not very fond of, is the traditional way of eating a family meal. Meals are eaten on the floor, always on a straw mat. While this may be interesting to some foreigners, I am pretty sick of it. My legs aren’t used to it, and while I might last long on a wooden or bamboo floor, sitting on the floor of a city apartment makes me feel like my legs will bleed. So, although I am a Cambodian, I have to excuse myself and leave the table before my head bursts. Another thing I am not used to yet, is the bathroom, which is just 2 holes on the floor, one for showering, and one for pissing and you know. I’ve used a squat toilet before, but movements that require a sink… are a little bit harder.

The modernization of Phnom Penh

I came into Phnom Penh expecting a really small city where you can walk around in half an hour and there is one congregational spot. However, I don’t think there is such thing as a small city in Southeast Asia. While, technically it is small, Phnom Penh feels big when you thing the city houses 3 major rivers including the mighty Mekong. Considering it is in Southeast Asia, you can find a lot of the world’s goods here. Clothing, electronics, whether real or fake can be found for cheap and every time I was back in Phnom Penh, I was felt like I was back in touch with the world. Even fast food restuarants helped blend in the atmosphere.

Up Wat Phnom, where animals are treated respectfully
On my first day in Cambodia, at Phnom Penh, I went off on a trip to Wat Phnom, a temple on top of the only hill in the city. On this visit, I was fighting my jetlag but was excited to finally be in Cambodia. I started talking in Khmer, buying souvenirs and talking with the locals. Just 2 days ago I was trying to adjust to a thick Boston accent and now I was having no problem getting by in my native country. I also started to realize that for the rest of the trip, anybody who wasn’t family, was to treat me with respect. I liked that I can come here and feel important.

But best of all, Wat Phnom was filled with monkeys! People come by to pray, and leave a spiritual offering to cats and monkeys. It was finally good to be at a place where animals are worshipped.

English is already the second language
I was expecting that since Cambodia was ruled by France for a brief period of time, that French would be a language that I would pickup since I could read Latin letters instead of Khmer script. Well, those days are long over and anybody who’s been there knows that English is the next language next to Khmer. Every sign, government or private, in Phnom Penh, seems to be in English. There are even several newspapers written entirely in English. So much for the French.

On a developing side, teaching English is huge. Richer folks in the city send their kids off to English schools starting at Kindergarten. A presence here by the Peace Corps would be amazing and an opportunity for many English teachers who can’t realize their worth in Africa.

US currency and the liquidity of the riel
US dollars is Cambodian money. I repeat, US dollars is Cambodian money. Folks, don’t ever worry about exchanging your money once you get here. Everybody prefers the US dollar for bigger payments, and don’t ever think you will get ripped off on the exchange. I was well aware of this currency before I came here, but was not expecting ANZ Royal bank to dispense currency in US dollars only.

Strucken by poverty
Beggars is always a problem for visitors to the developing world. The situation I was confronted with was, how do I deal with begging in a country where practicing Buddhists always give to the needy? I was confronted with this problem when I headed up to Phnom Oudong, where 200+ steps were largely overshadowed by the dozens of dozens of beggars that crowd around every 6 steps. Here I am, in such great health that I could run up these stairs, yet I am humbled to walk slowly out of respect for those that haven’t eaten in days. I had not changed enough money to give to everybody, but the group I was in already had stacks of bills ready. Day 1, I was excited to be in Cambodia, Day 2, I am given a lesson on how to correctly give to the needy. However, the street children were very nice, and for only 500 riels, a young boy with a paper fan will cool you off, buy you snacks, and watch over your shoes as you enter into temples. What’s sad is that he does this probably over 50 times a day after school. And 500 riels, is only 12.5 cents.

At another time, on the drive back from Phnom Tamao, along the dirt road that connects you back to the main road, there is about 1 beggar every 50 meters. While you are driving by at 30km/h you throw out dollar bills at all the beggars hoping they have enough energy to get up and fine that bill that flew in the wind.

S-21 prison
One of my goals in visiting Cambodia was to learn more about the brutal years of Khmer Rouge rule over Cambodia. For this goal, I was willing to see (and stomach) sites and attractions that were downright depressing. On the second day, I asked to go to the Tuol Sleng museum.

The Tuol Sleng museum was formerly a high school which was converted to the S-21 prison by the Khmer Rouge regime. The prison was used to interrogate and torture their victims during the years of the Khmer Rouge genocide. It was important to go to this site first, because victims of the S-21 prison were later sent to the Killing fields of Choeng Ek to be executed.

A walk through the prison is a very somber experience. It is located in suburban Phnom Penh, and it is formerly a high school, and it still sits to this day. Tourists and locals come to visit the prison for peace and are undisturbed as they browse through prison cells that contain bed frames of those victims as they were tortured including any blood that remained, photo exhibits of the extermination, the skulls of the victims, and the various methods of torture that was imposed on its victims. A visit to this prison is not for the squeamish and had I not been with friends, I would have had a hard time.

Interesting story about this place. I went to this museum with my mother, knowing that it would more horrifying for her than it would be for me. The whole trip, she didn’t say a word. 3 weeks later, she told me a remarkable story. Once when she was in Phnom Penh captured during the civil war, she asked her commander if she could go for a walk. Her commander let her go, but told her to definitely not climb any trees around S-21 prison for fear that they and him will shoot her down for encroaching on Khmer Rouge property. As my mother was walking, she passed by a tree bearing a large fruit that was very accessible for her to reach. She said to herself, well it’s not that high up, I’ll go grab it and run. Ignoring her commander’s orders, she climbed the tree in an attempt to grab the fruit. However, her perceptions of height were easily fooled, when she looked around to find that she was indeed in good view of the S-21 prison. Luckily there were no guards in any distance to find her, but she said she was so high up she could draw a layout. Scared, my mother frantically ran down the tree. She never got her fruit.

An easy way to save money
I soon found that after the S-21 prison, I had the option of getting into museums and sites without paying a dime. How? By looking like a local. Cambodian locals get discounted or free admission to sites such as Angkor Wat, The National Museum, & the Royal Palace. Places like the S-21 prison and the Killing fields, are kept so peaceful, that nobody bothers the Cambodian locals, and I get to walk in for free.

Cambodians like to picnic

On a Sunday, I got to head to Phnom Tamao wildlife sanctuary just outside of Phnom Penh. It is a typical zoo safari of rescued animals. Everything is typical except for a small fee you can get a private of an elephant dancing. But, one thing that caught my attention is how popular picnicking is among Cambodians. Cambodians spend their weekend picnicking around various places, wats, zoos, lakefront areas, and this way of lifestyle was to be the norm throughout the length of my stay. For a small fee you pay for a raised open hut covered with reed mats. You then pay the family who is hosting you for your meal. Prices are a la carte for grilled fish, chicken, fresh seafood and all you can eat rice. And of course, every area has a hammock for napping, and by 1:30, usually everybody is asleep.

Siesta, siesta
On the topic of napping, the afternoon siesta is a big thing in a lot of countries and Cambodia is no exception. What was different was how mandatory a nap was. Most people will tell you that eating lunch and dinner makes them drowsy and that’s why they usually go light on breakfast. Since I am full blooded Cambodian, it helped explain my body’s weird sleeping habits.

Royal Palace & The Silver Pagoda / National Museum
The Royal Palace is a fine tourist attraction, most of it is off limits to visitors, however guests are allowed into the Silver Pagoda to view the Emerald Buddha and even more impressive, the life sized golden Buddha adorned 9000 diamonds (no photography allowed though). It was a good relief to recover from the sobering experience had at the S-21 prison from the day earlier. Within the pagoda itself, you are stepping on over 5000 silver tiles, while browsing through the riches of the Khmer empire. This was a celebration of the arts and for once I was enjoying the wealth and pride that comes with being Cambodian.

Among the grounds of the Silver Pagoda sits a to-scale model of Angkor Wat, with huge goldfish swimming in the moat. I was awestruck at how huge the complex could be, with myself imagining running through the complex. It was a preview of things to come and what a good preview it was.

Rock Entertainment Centre
I was asked if I wanted to sample some of the nightlife in Phnom Penh. I thought it was a good idea to go back to hanging with westerners and live a western lifestyle. But I was taken to a Khmer club called Rock Entertainment Center. I was expecting it to be some hole in the wall, but what I got was a totally opposite experience. Valet parking, dozens of door greeters, every party has a private table, and the damn club itself is the size of a high school hockey rink.

While the drink menu was big, I grunted to myself as to how I could read a menu in the dark atmosphere. Out of nowhere, a flashlight beamed from a servant behind me, and he stood there with the flashpoint pointed while I thumbed through the menu. From then, the night was all set, I had a bitch to take care of me. While the flashlight dude took and ran orders, the in house beer girls made sure I always had cold ice and beer in my glass. Every time I was running halfway, she’d come by and pour it back to full and then blend back into the darkness. I sometimes would drink it to half on purpose to see how fast she worked. She was always on the ball.

The club itself looked like it came out of Korea or something. Mind blowing sound and laser system. Live rock or pop bands, and decorated red carpet goodness. This club is something to watch for and if it plays its cards right it could be entertaining some A-list celebrities soon.

A somewhat religious experience
On a random weekday I was taken to Wat Phnom Reap for a picnic and a temple visit. I got to ride a pony around the complex for a dollar, not bad but the ride was very stiff without a saddle. However a couple hours later, I found myself at some random temple that was being guarded by…. a wolverine.

Now, I wasn’t scared by the wolverine, he was tied up and just awoken from a nap. But there was no way I was going to touch him yet. However, a monk relented and wanted to show me that he doesn’t bite. The wolverine rolled around on the floor and started nibbling on the raw flesh of the monk’s arm. He then asked me to try it out. I figured hey, this is a crazy risk but not everybody gets to play with an adult wolverine so I stuck my hand out. The wolverine grasped me with all 4 of his claws and started gnawing at my hand. His teeth were sharp and he had a great grip, but he did not penetrate my skin. It took a minute for me to pull him off of me but no blood was drawn. Later I realized that I most likely would not have let the wolverine bite me had I not been offered by the monk. It was nothing short of a religious experience.

Bargaining at Psar Thmei
Psar Thmei means “New Market” or it should just be called the central market for its huge size and central location. Supposedly its large dome that resembles a ziggurat is one of the largest in the world. The market is packed with all goods, souvenirs, clothes, jewelry, and fresh food. It was here that I got a lesson in bargaining. Earlier in the week I bought a Lonely Planet book for around $5, which I thought was good deal until I realized it was a very good fake. Today I was buying a Khmer language book written by an Englishman. I was quoted a price of $4 which I thought was good. My cousin’s wife however insisted that it was still way too expensive. I insisted I was willing to pay $4 and walk, but we didn’t walk away until we got for $2, half the original price. It a lot of not interested acting to get there though.

Later on that night, I packed my bags to head off to my mother’s hometown in Kompong Cham province. The ride was real bumpy, dusty, and after traveling on a single lane road that was bordered by both sides with water, convinced that this place was in the middle of nowhere. I did not get there until the next day…

TO BE CONTINUED

Photo Links

• Animals in Cambodia
• Around Phnom Penh
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• The Royal Palace/Silver Pagoda & The National Museum

Traveling the world trying to sell money that could better be used as a napkin

Frickin’ small world

Let me tell you this story about the money I had left over from the Peace Corps. Now considering I lived in a rural area of Cape Verde during my stay, I accumulated a large (by 3rd world standards) sum of money. This was accomplished by moving into an established PC community and house, living with a roommate, being absolutely frugal on living in expenses, and my favorite, mooching off of the locals as much as possible. Right before my Christmas vacation in Sao Vicente and Santo Antao, I had more than $900 in my bank account. Pretty soon, we were looking at 3 zeroes, and I don’t ever usually have 3 zeroes in my lifetime. So, I spent my money at my Christmas vacation, blowing more than $300 for a really great time. After I decided to leave early, Peace Corps took the share of the remaining money that I haven’t used for the month of January which was around $350. I got some money to help me pay for expenses en route back to the states, and then I was off.

So that’s where the problem began. I was shipped back to the United States with $300 dollars of useless Cape Verdean Escudos. Only I wasn’t aware of it at the time. I should have known, when I was hanging out in Lisbon, Portugal, that I should have exchanged all my Cape Verdean Escudos to Euros. I only exchanged enough because of the horrible commission. Clearly once I got home, the 25 Euros I had remaining was a lot easier to exchange compared to $220 in Cape Verdean Escudos.

First, Citizens Bank wouldn’t take it. Then Bank of America wouldn’t take it. Then I called all the airports in my area and even they wouldn’t take it. American Express travel, no luck, other agencies, no luck. Basically Cape Verdean money was useless in this side of the world.

Setting the money aside, I started to get humorous and play a game with this useless currency. Since I would be traveling to the other side of the world and back in the next few months, I would try my luck exchanging my currency in these places. And it goes like this.

Boston, MA – called Logan airport over the phone and their agency doesn’t accept them. Even though Logan airport offers the only direct flight to Cape Verde in the country.

New York, NY – the capital of the world, but doesn’t recognize this currency from those islands off the coast of Africa.

Frankfurt, Germany – Hey why not. There are German tourists all over Santo Antao. However, no luck.

Singapore – best airport in the world still couldn’t fix the worst currency I was carrying.

Bangkok, Thailand – Sucky, sucky, dollah, dollah. Nope, no luck here.

Cambodia – Hey, I was trying to start a black market for currency. Unfortunately, this currency isn’t even worth wiping your ass with. They still prefer their hand.

What the frick was I supposed to do now. I traveled with this money through 4 continents in a matter of 2 months and NOBODY WANTS IT. So, eventually I ended up home. Still stuck with the thought that I could eventually be $220 richer. It was time to stop being creative and start getting logical. Clearly, the best option I could have done was drive around Brockton Mass with a speakerphone yelling “Ami n ten txeu dinero! (I have lots of money!). But I’m not that crazy as of yet. Out of some weird coincidence, I found myself thumbing through my Cape Verde travel guide and found all the stateside contacts listed. Miraculously I found a travel agency listed that was in East Providence. My backyard. I gave them a call, and they said they would gladly accept my currency since there are many tourists wanting to go to Cape Verde in that area.

Yes. Finally. So I hopped on my car and drove down to Lil’ Portugal and exchanged some money at a low commission and I was finally rich. All that work and the answer I was looking for was right around the corner.

Moral of the story? The world is frickin small. Sometimes, all you have to do is look around the corner. But you tell that to me, and I tell you right back, sometimes the trip is so much better than the destination.

I'm Back!

For all those wondering, I am back from Cambodia. In fact I have been back since last Tuesday, but have been keeping myself low key while I have been resting up. While I was expecting to come back home in a fit of ambition and happiness from my awesome trip from Cambodia, instead I have been hit with a major case of the backhome blues. Together with fighting a major case of jetlag, stress over moving on in life, and the depression of the reality that my traveling lifestyle might soon come to an end. I took over 700 pictures of Cambodia that I still haven't labelled or uploaded to Flickr, but just looking at them gets me in a sad mood. It doesn't really help either that the weather is taking a toll on my body, and my productivity. On another note, my trip to Cambodia was a sort of homecoming. There were amazing moments of serenity, adventure, tests of patience, and heartbreak all rolled up in my one short month. It was a chance to learn again, about my country, my family, and myself . I will never look at Cambodia, its people and even me the same way again. Cambodia's charm has taken over me, and I know one day I have to answer its call again, as it did this time.

Expect all photos to be uploaded soon. In addition I have pages and pages of my travelogue from Cambodia to be edited and posted. Don't worry, most of it has already been written and I'm not writing it in the saddened state that I am in right now. In a way, good to be back, but wish I was still somewhere out there.