Crazy about Cambodia

Hi everyone,
Been a while since I last wrote, so sorry if this ends up being a bit of a long one, but the updates about Cambodia are worth it! The synopsis is that if you can ever travel to this beautiful kingdom, with its amazing ancient history and its recent historical tragedies - you should! Cambodia is a magical place, and its people and history are enchanting.

So after leaving Vietnam behind, we arrived at Siem Reap airport (pronounced seeum reeup) at 9pm in the evening, and the heat hit us like a wall. Cambodia is basically a jungle zone, so the humidity is incredible. Even our driver commented how hot it was! Siem Reap is a small town, which has been plucked from obscurity because of the ancient Khmer temples which are dotted all around it. The most famous is of course Angkor Wat, but there are so many more. We spent four nights in Siem Reap, and aside from our temple excursions, we enjoyed some great downtime by the pool, and just soaked up the town atmosphere. You have to get going early to see thetemple  sites, because temple gazing at 40 degrees celcius is not fun. So we had a few early starts...one of our most memorable moments was arriving at Ta Prohm at 5:30am, and walking through the almost-dark jungle to get to the ruin. All we could hear was the jungle sounds coming alive as the sky went pink and we had one of the world's great sights to ourselves. Amazing. Angkor Wat was also phenomenal, but the experience was less magical - just more tourists and so vast that you can't really take it all in. But you have to see the size and detail of these amazing temples (of which really very little is known) to fully appreciate their grandeur.

One of the other highlights of our time in Siem Reap was going to hear Dr Richner play the cello and talk about his life-changing medical work for the kids of Cambodia. We had heard about his paediatric hospitals (5 dotted around the country) from other travellers, and he plays his cello twice a week to create awareness and pull some donations from the tourists. Today, his hospitals cover 85% of all the healthcare needs of Cambodian children, and are 90% funded by private donations. That gives you a sense of how poor the government provided health care is. The reason for this is two fold - firstly the Khmer Rouge obliterated the infrastructure and murdered most of the Cambodian doctors, so since 1979, the country has really had to start from zero. Also, as Dr Richner says, the policies and practices prescribed by the WHO and other western bodies just dont make sense for a really poor country like Cambodia, and the kids are suffering for it. Its really worth looking up more info on the Dr and his work - we were truly touched.

The Cambodian people are also fascinating. Mainly orginating from the Khmer people (who came from India) they are beautiful looking, and very friendly. Although Siem Reap throngs with tourists, we felt less harassed there, and more able to be open and friendly with the locals. The kids are also really cute...round faces, dark eyes and clearly doted on by parents and extended family. We also had some great Khmer food...cuisine in its own right.

So after Siem Reap, we caught a boat to Phnom Penh, where we spent 2 nights. The capital is really pretty, with wide roads, paved on either sides with lots of trees and greenery. Clearly the French colonial influence meant that the architecture and city lay-out were all aesthetically pleasing. There are very few high-rises, and most of the buildings are painted a shade of yellow. The Royal Palace is the heart of the city and creates a magnifcent backdrop. On our first night, we strolled around and along the river. In the evenings people can join outdoor aerobics classes, and we loved watching them shaking it to the latest Cambodian pop music.

The next day we headed straight for Tuol Sleng Prison, which is now the genocide museum. The Khmer Rouge were meticulous about record keeping, so there are literally thousands of pictures of people who passed through the prison, en route to the Killing fields. Of the 20 000 people who entered the prison, only 7 survived. We met one of those survivors at the prison - hard to know what to say to a person who has been through that kind of trauma. The devastation and absolute barbary that the Khmer Rouge regime unleashed on the population of Cambodia is hard to describe, and to think that is was so recent, 1975 - 1979. You cant help feeling that the museum in some ways doesnt do justice to the history. So disturbing but really worth seeing.

More sight seeing around Phnom Penh (Royal Palace, National museum) brought us to the end of our 2 days there, and 4 days ago we caught a bus down to the coast, to the sleepy town of Kep, which is where I am writing this from. Kep used to be the holiday retreat town for the French generals, so on the hillside overlooking the sea are the most beautiful villas, which the Khmer Rouge torched. Today, there are a few hotels and resorts, but mainly its a local's place with day trippers and family weekenders from the surrounds. So we've spent the last 4 days lying at the pool, chilling on the beach, eating the most delicious crab and just soaking up this tropical paradise. Its been a really awesome way to enjoy up our last few days of SE Asia before we head for Australia.

Hard to put into words what the last 6 weeks have done for my understanding and mental model of what Asia is all about. Its been a beautiful mix of learning, experiencing and being suprised by it all - so glad we came. Am sure we'll be back at some point. Have loved it all.

Will check in again from down under! :)

xxxx
Noogs