You can't really come to Cambodia without coming face to face with the reality of man's inhumanity to man. You could try to come & just see temples & monks; if you just spend a couple of days at Angkor Wat maybe it would even be possible to escape without a glimpse of the horrors this country went through just a short time ago. But that would be doing yourself, and the millions of people that died either from US bombs or at the hands of the Zkhmer Rouge, a disservice. I admittedly haven't visited any of the holocaust memorials or museums in either my own country or my 2nd home (Germany), and maybe I should. But that happened a generation befor I was born, and the devastation here happened entirely in my lifetime, while I was a happy-go-lucky teenager & young adult, apparently fairly oblivious to it all. I think that makes it feel more ominous, & makes me feel more shame for not paying attention.
If you spend any time at all in this country, you will be forced to see the damage, or hear the stories. Every local you meet inevitably mentions it; not because they're proud or whining, but because it's an unavoidable part of each individual's story. Ask them where they grew up, they may say an orphanage because their parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Ask if they have a big family, the answer may be, "no, all dead." Walking to dinner, the beggar you pass and try not to look in the eye has no legs, because they lost them to a landmine.
So we went to the Tuol Sleng museum, a former primary school that the Khmer Rouge turned into their main center of torture, known as S21. The 1st building is fairly tame; dorm style rooms filled with boards full of photos of the inmates (just their arrival mugshots, nothing scary). Though the volume of photos was sobering, and the number of little children sickening, it was a soft start. In the next building, though, you see original cells built from wood or bricks, and more photos of the dead and tortured, these not sparing your breakfast or the victims' dignity or suffering. It was brutally hot that morning, so I could barely breathe as I walked from 1 room to the next, feeling sick of looking, guilty for wanting to stop, guiltier still for having been worried about prom dresses and football games while it was happening. And not least, angry & frustrated by the knowledge that much of the power in modern Cambodia is held by men with Khmer Rouge connections & history. Even Hun Sen, the current prime minister, was part of it. It's a scenario all too typical in the developing world - the most horrific butchers are tossed out and replaced by their henchmen who "only followed orders," left to rule unopposed. The international community tolerates them because they're externally non-threatening, have no real resources, and aren't spreading any undesirable theology. The populace tolerates them because they're at least the "devil you know," & because opposition can get you killed.
We used the heat as an excuse to not travel on to see the "killing fields," but it really had more to do with being maxed out on disgust.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
3M-squared in Sihanoukville
After Kampot we headed to Sihanoukville, or Sinville as the backpacker crowd calls it. But don't let that suggest it is to be confused with Las Vegas / Sin City, as they couldn't be more different.
Sihanoukville is a beach town, the new Phuket I guess (the latter being a beach town in Thailand that was dirt cheap bedore it was "discovered." Sihanoukville has definitely been discovered, and is teeming with "farangs," mostly Aussies and some Europeans. It is still pretty cheap. The 3 of us ate at the nicest restaurants in town, dinner with drinks and dessert (ya gotta have drinks & dessert) for about $20. We had a pretty swanky hotel room for $43. More basic rooms w/o air conditioning can be had for $10, but it's too darn hot & humid for me to do that.
Sihanoukville is most beautiful at sunset, when the fading light is no longer strong enough to harshly point out the lines on the beggar's face, the disappontment in her eyes when you say no, or the dirty tshirt her baby is wearing. It's harder to make out the piles of garbage or the shabbiness of even the smartest hotels. And of course the sun paints the ubiquitous poofy clouds infinite shades of pink & periwinkle. If the mosquitoes don't carry you off, or infect you with dengue fever or malaria, you're all set for a lovely evening.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
3Ms most memorable Moments
3M for Monica, Mike & Maria!
Greetings from Kampot, in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Our 4th day in country, and we've managed to avoid drowning in a monsoon. Well we came close 1 night in Kep. It had nearly stopped raining, slowed to a mere light sprinkle, so we thought it would be nice to walk to dinner. Just about the time we reached the road the sky opened up. TA first it came almost straight into our faces, resulting in a feeling like we were walking into a shower, our backs remaining dry. That lasted for maybe 10 seconds, after which we were completely drenched through and through. The little box of napkins on the table in the restaurant was not up to the task. They're more like Kleenex, really. Just make a mess if they get wet. So we drip-dried while ordering cold beers and grilled kampot pepper crab. Kampot is famous fornits pepper, perhaps the best in the whole world (at least according to locals). You get your seafood sauteed in the green peppercorns before theyre dried. They have to be eaten within a few days of picking so you know they're fresh! And they are absolute little flavor explosions! They sort of pop when you bite them, releasing a pepper flavor that is intense but not too hot.
So we first spent 2 days in Kep, directly on the coast, which used to be the playground of the rich and famous during the 60s. Of course that was everything most hated by the Khmer Rouge, so they destroyed the place. There are bombed out hulks of what used to be opulent villas hidden amongst the vegetation everywhere. It's worth a visit if you get a nice place with a pool and just chill. You can take nice walks along the coast and stuff yourself with those amazing green pepper crabs (the 3 of us stuffed ourselves for $20), but there's not much else to do.
It's great spending time with Maria, who, though she modestly criticizes her language skills speaks great Khmer. I'm so proud of how well she's adjusted to the lifestyle, and how mature she is in her perspective. For readers who aren't aware, Maria is our niece, who is serving here in the Peace Corps. Peace Corps workers are volunteers. They are given housing and a stipend of $4/day. We met some of her colleagues yesterday, equally committed and earnest young women.
And now we're in Kampot, where Maria lives. It's a sleepy, rundown French-colonial town. Almost all the buildings are blackened with mildew, giving the impression of a photographic effect that would be called "charcoal."
On such wages they quickly learn the right price for all goods and services and learn how to make sure they're not overcharged. Still the shopkeepers love them because they treat them with respect and are providing needed services.
I have so much respect for these young people who give up so much to do good and have this incredible experience. I was never so brave. As always I am finding that it's not the sites that make a vacation amazing, but the experiences and the people we meet.
Will add pics later.
Greetings from Kampot, in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Our 4th day in country, and we've managed to avoid drowning in a monsoon. Well we came close 1 night in Kep. It had nearly stopped raining, slowed to a mere light sprinkle, so we thought it would be nice to walk to dinner. Just about the time we reached the road the sky opened up. TA first it came almost straight into our faces, resulting in a feeling like we were walking into a shower, our backs remaining dry. That lasted for maybe 10 seconds, after which we were completely drenched through and through. The little box of napkins on the table in the restaurant was not up to the task. They're more like Kleenex, really. Just make a mess if they get wet. So we drip-dried while ordering cold beers and grilled kampot pepper crab. Kampot is famous fornits pepper, perhaps the best in the whole world (at least according to locals). You get your seafood sauteed in the green peppercorns before theyre dried. They have to be eaten within a few days of picking so you know they're fresh! And they are absolute little flavor explosions! They sort of pop when you bite them, releasing a pepper flavor that is intense but not too hot.
So we first spent 2 days in Kep, directly on the coast, which used to be the playground of the rich and famous during the 60s. Of course that was everything most hated by the Khmer Rouge, so they destroyed the place. There are bombed out hulks of what used to be opulent villas hidden amongst the vegetation everywhere. It's worth a visit if you get a nice place with a pool and just chill. You can take nice walks along the coast and stuff yourself with those amazing green pepper crabs (the 3 of us stuffed ourselves for $20), but there's not much else to do.
It's great spending time with Maria, who, though she modestly criticizes her language skills speaks great Khmer. I'm so proud of how well she's adjusted to the lifestyle, and how mature she is in her perspective. For readers who aren't aware, Maria is our niece, who is serving here in the Peace Corps. Peace Corps workers are volunteers. They are given housing and a stipend of $4/day. We met some of her colleagues yesterday, equally committed and earnest young women.
On such wages they quickly learn the right price for all goods and services and learn how to make sure they're not overcharged. Still the shopkeepers love them because they treat them with respect and are providing needed services.
I have so much respect for these young people who give up so much to do good and have this incredible experience. I was never so brave. As always I am finding that it's not the sites that make a vacation amazing, but the experiences and the people we meet.
Will add pics later.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
The next big adventure
As we prepare to embark on another exciting journey, Mike & I decided we need to dust off the travel blog to give our friends & family a non-Facebook way to follow our adventure.This time we're off to Cambodia, to visit our niece Maria. We last saw her in July of 2011, as she stopped in San Francisco en route to join the Peace Corps in Cambodia. This photo's from our dinner together. We went to a great middle-eastern restaurant, knowing that she'd soon be missing the immense variety that is unique to the American culinary landscape. Of course Cambodia is "not all rainbows & unicorns," but is doing her part to make a difference, teaching English & a little of the American spirit to kids not that much younger than she.
We're terribly proud of her, & excited to have a tour guide in such a fabulous place who is local & speaks the language (which is Khmer, in case you're wondering)!
We'll have a couple of weeks with Maria, mostly visiting the south coast where she lives. Then her mom Teresa will join us, so we'll have the opportunity to see more of Phnom Penh & Siem Reap, home of Angkor Wat & other temple ruins.We leave on Tuesday & have completed almost all the pre-trip rituals - passports are current, shots updated, passport photos for visas, digging through boxes to find gear we haven't touched in a long time.
More to come from the road!
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