Temple Hopping (special edition with bigger pictures!)

I have found much to love about Cambodia, but I have to admit that Angkor was the main reason why I chose to visit this country in the first place. The idea of roaming through huge ancient temples was immensely appealing, and I had really been looking forward to this part of the tour.

Watching the sun rise over the Angkor Wat spires is supposed to be magical, and so our group trudged over to the temple grounds at 4:30 in the morning to catch the view. Unfortunately, the dramatic scene was spoiled by cloudy weather, but nevertheless, watching the darkness slowly give way to the beautiful and impressive silhouette was something I'm glad I didn't miss.

Once it got brighter outside, we were able to roam around the vast interior. There was something to see on every wall, every ceiling, every doorway... the huge amount of workmanship was amazing to see in person.

The Angkor region however, is much larger than just the enormous Angkor Wat. About 70 different temples are located within Angkor, and we had the opportunity to visit a few more. The first was called Angkor Ta Prohm Temple, or as the guide put it, "one of the locations from the Tomb Raider movie!". I loved this temple because nature decided to insinuate herself into the very structure of the building; large tree roots wound around the ruins until restorers couldn't remove the trees without damaging building structure as well. The effect was beautiful and impressive.

An admittedly awful picture of me (hey, I got up at
4am!), but shows how huge these tree roots are.

The other temple I visited was Angkor Bayon Temple, known for its large collection of smiling faces on the temple facade. This temple was maze-like and easy to get lost in. I climbed up fallen stones to reach different rooms and corridors. Frankly, this reminded me a lot of a video game, and I felt the wild urge to leap mad distances across platforms. I kind of wish I had the chance to explore this temple without a group/guide and time restrictions; there was so much to see and I really felt like I had entered another world and another time.

Some of the younger members of the group stayed to watch the sunset as well, but alas, I am an old fogey and returned to the hotel for a much needed rest and shower. It was an amazing visit to Angkor (how many superlatives could I fit into one post?? Everything has been amazing or wonderful or impressive!), and I can't help but feel incredibly lucky.

Food in Cambodia

Mmm. Cambodian food. It kind of makes sense, but since Cambodia is situated in between several other Asian countries, their cuisine reflects a multitude and mix of flavors borrowed from these neighbors. It has been a lot of fun to try a few local dishes, which ended up tasting like a friendly cousin to many dishes I've had before.

Like Vietnam, Cambodians often have noodles for breakfast. The default is an egg noodle as opposed to a rice noodle though, and the broth is slightly fishy and garlicky tasting. This version was from a hotel breakfast. The noodles were suitably springy, although I think I prefer rice noodles. It came with chicken, which was disappointingly catered to Westerners... boneless white meat. Blah.

The most famous of Cambodian dishes is probably Amok. This can be cooked with chicken, beef, fish, or any other type of protein. Traditionally, this is a coconut-based stew that is served in a banana leaf. Each establishment cooks it a little differently though, so I'm sure there are thousands of slight variations. At our hotel in Sihanoukville, it was flavored with some kaffir lime leaves as well, and was not spicy at all. I decided to try the fish version, which was perfectly cooked and tender, and soaked up all the delicious coconut-y flavors.

In Phnom Penh, we had lunch at a local shopping mall. One entire floor was dedicated as food court space, and I walked around like a kid in a candy store, trying to decide what to get. It seemed like most noodles were served with broth (as opposed to stir-fried noodles), and deep-fried items (fish balls, shrimp, beef balls) were popular.

I finally decided to try a rice dish (noodle soups are yummy but so hot!). Marinated pork and an egg is cut up and served on top of rice. I thought it tasted a lot like Taiwanese food, with the sweet/salty soy-based marinade. It also reminded me a tiny bit of char-siu (Chinese roast pork). Either way, it was delicious and I gobbled the whole thing in about 10 minutes.

Then last night, we had a dinner that was specially arranged by G Adventures. Here's the description from our itinerary:

During your stay, you will enjoy a local Khmer dinner with your group, at a nearby village. Supported by G Adventures, this particular meal is kindly prepared and served by our local partners – Philar and New Hope for Cambodian Children. Philar has set up school teaching English to Cambodian children while New Hope for Cambodian Children - NHCC is the local charity organization that provides a comprehensive healthcare and education for vulnerable children and their families. The meal here has been voted the best meal in Cambodia by most of our passengers...and even better, the money for your meal is going directly back to supporting these local grass roots projects.

At dinnertime, we took a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride out to a quiet residential neighborhood. The village had a very different feel compared to where we were staying; much poorer, with many houses that had tin roofs. However, we were greeted warmly by our hosts, and we soon settled down in a comfortable area.

Plates and endless plates of food began to come out of the tiny kitchen. The itinerary was not kidding; this was truly the best meal I've had in Cambodia so far. There were noodles with pork, little packets of chicken amok, big bowls of vegetable curry, stir-fried chicken with ginger, a spicy-sour soup, and fresh salad greens from the garden. Plates were replenished as soon as they were emptied, and we were all subject to food coma before this meal was over. Best of all, this tasted like a truly home-cooked meal. Here's a (badly lit) picture of one of the many plates I put together to eat.

I wasn't sure what to expect about Cambodian food before my visit. I am glad to say that I have been pleasantly surprised at the freshness and gentle use of spices in this cuisine. I will definitely be looking to see if there are any Cambodian restaurants in New York!

Angkor Wat in the early morning

I'll post in more detail later, but just wanted to share one picture right now. We woke up this morning at 4am to head over to the Angkor Wat temple to see the sunrise. It was a beautiful sight even though the day was cloudy, as the darkness slowly gave way to shadows... until you could see the magnificent spires reaching into the sky.

Super tired from the early morning wake-up, but no rest for the weary! We're headed in a half hour to roam around more temples and ruins!

Heart of Darkness

Serious entry today. 

I've been writing a lot about the fun parts of this tour; the pretty beaches, the cheap food and beer... and indeed this trip has been a lot of fun. In addition to this though, we have been taking the time to revisit some of the less pleasant history that is associated with Southeast Asia. While difficult at times, this is a part of my trip that I will stay with me for a long long time and I wanted to dedicate some thoughts to it today. Both Vietnam and Cambodia has been through a lot of bloodshed and pain this past half century or so. I can't help but contrast and compare how each country has fought to survive through the difficult times, and where they are today. 

Everything I know about the Vietnam War came from the U.S. public school system. It was quite simple, actually. Communism = bad, Americans = freedom. And upon arriving in Vietnam, I found that the opposite is preached. The Vietnamese government has implemented a sort of haughty pride about the war; I guess it's appropriate, since they basically won and all. But there's nothing subtle in the way they try to flaunt their propaganda to the masses. 

The message is that Vietnam as a country has been enslaved and subjugated for years, from the evil French colonialists to the heartless Americans. The current government is credited with freeing the people from the tyranny of the aforementioned American devils. Ho Chi Minh is the father and hero to all. We visited the Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City, which was a sample of where the Vietcong ambushed and trapped American troops. 

We had to sit and watch a propaganda 'documentary'
prior to entering the Cu Chi Tunnels

Homemade weapons and traps are demonstrated by local workers. Murals of American soldiers being caught in these traps of death are proudly displayed. Segments of the underground tunnels are available for exploring... you too, can feel what it's like to be a brave brother in the Vietcong!

I left Vietnam firmly believing that the U.S. should never have gotten involved in the Vietnam War. They were ill-equipped to deal with the surroundings. They had no way to differentiate between the regular population and the Vietcong. It was a mess. 

But then I visited the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields today in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia. In the mid-1970s, Cambodia went through their version of Hitler (to make the comparison simple): a guy named Pol Pot who led the Khmer Rouge Regime. He cleared the cities of Cambodia and forced residents into the countryside to work as farmers. He killed intellectuals and the wealthy, and destroyed books and libraries and places of worship. He eventually executed thousands and thousands of civilians, accusing them of being spies. Estimates round out the fatality number to be close to 2 million people, or about a third of the total population.

Both the museum and the fields were brutally emotional in different ways. The museum is located at the former grounds of where many prisoners were held and tortured and killed. These were mainly people who the Khmer Rouge regime wanted confessions from. There is no sugarcoating it; photographs of starved and beaten prisoners were displayed on the walls. Prison cells remain, tiny cubicles that were 3x6 feet big, some with old bloodstains still present. Instruments of torture are displayed, with images depicting how they were used. The final estimate of deaths at this one compound? Twenty thousand.

In contrast to the concrete cells and barbed wire of the museum, the Killing Fields exuded a weird sense of tranquility instead. I like to imagine that this provides some form of peace to the dead, but in reality I don't think they rest easy.

Located about 10 miles from Phnom Penh, the Killing Fields are exactly what they seem to be. Truckloads of Cambodians were transported to this place, executed, and then dumped into mass graves. There are an estimated 300 of these killing fields located throughout Cambodia. While most of the bodies and bones have been removed, indentations in the grass indicate where the graves used to be. The audio guide explained each point of interest in the most macabre of ways.

- Tread lightly, for bones are still uncovered as rainstorms pass by.

- Here is the Killing Tree next to the mass grave containing mostly women and children. The tree is named so because bits of hair and blood and brains have been found on it; indications are that the Khmer Rouge soldiers used it to bash in babies' heads before tossing them into the grave.

- Here is a Sugar Palm Tree. It provides shade and sugar, but its stalks can be filed to a sharp edge and were used to slit the throats of prisoners, thus negating the need for expensive bullets.

This went on and on, each fact more horrible than the last. 

Remains are displayed and honored
in a memorial building

The U.S. did nothing while this genocide went on. Did we enter the wrong war? Could we have done something? I don't think that ultimately there is a correct answer for this. But the closing statements from my audio guide probably sums it up the best. While the events in Cambodia are heartbreaking, it is not the only instance of senseless genocide in the world. It has happened before, and it will happen again. Sites like these are certainly don't fit within the standard of a 'fun' vacation, but it is important to see and feel these places anyway. 

We have to remember. We have to learn from it.

Hauling Pavement

Wow; by a rough google maps guess, we've covered about 300 miles by bus over the past 2 days. Let's rewind and get caught up!

After a day in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we started on our journey towards Cambodia and headed to the border town of Chau Doc in the Meekong Delta. Despite the murky color of the river, this region is actually rich with wildlife and is famous for its rice growing (it produces half of Vietnam's total rice output!). After settling into our simple rooms, some of us took a boat tour around the river to see some local sights.

Chau Doc is surrounded by the river and dotted with various fishing communities all around. Because of the flooding in the area at certain times of the year, most of the dwellings are either built to float, or are mounted in stilts. Many of the abodes contain a small fishing farm inside; a cage lines the underwater area of the house, and fish are placed there until they are large enough to send to market.

Fish splashing around as they are fed

Once again, this area was obviously poor, and the people lived in very simple surroundings. I saw children bathing in the river, while adults rowed boats around to deliver their day's fare to the markets. All of it highlights the fact that I lead a very luxurious life.

The next morning, we prepared to say goodbye to Vietnam. We were taking a 45 minute bus ride to cross the Vietnam/Cambodia border. Prior to that, my breakfast: a banh mi sandwich filled with meat and pate, pickled veggies and cilantro. It's a baby version of what I usually have in New York (it's a 6-incher or so), but it cost only 50 cents USD.

For the price, I could have 4 of these!

Found a new snack! Lychee flavored Sugus!

Once we arrived at the border, we were required to leave the bus and cross on foot. I was a little wary about the situation and so there are no pictures, but the whole process was interesting. The officials were overall on the friendly side (I suppose that they are happy to have money-spending tourists in their country), and the visas were easy to obtain. Within an hour or so, we were all back into a van heading towards the beach town of Sihanoukville. The ride to Sihanoukville was long and bumpy, but it was totally worth it once this view opened up in front of us.

This may be paradise!

The hotel is beautiful, with large rooms and comfortable bathrooms. I am going to sit back and relax for the rest of the day!

Got a great night's sleep!

And now for some gratuitous pretty beachy pictures.