12/05/04: Cambodia - Angkor Temples

Hello All!

We made it to Cambodia and have been relaxing here for the last week. Amazing, amazing place and really wonderful people as well.

The first thing that really strikes you here (especially in comparison to the parts of Thailand we visited so far) is the poverty. As I've learned in the past week, Cambodia has been at civil war for 30 years. Starting with the secret US bombing during the Vietnam War to the Khmer Rouge killing fields (estimated that 1-2 Million people were killed out of a population of 7 Million) and finally Vietnamese liberation/occupation...so a lot of the infrastructure and "first worldness" that you might expect has really only had the last 7 years to develop. What strikes me most, however, is the spirit of the people is definitely towards making a better life and leaving the past for what it is.

I spent four days (first with Julian and then with Deanna after she returned) exploring the temples. Truly magnificent. The hard thing to capture in pictures is the absolute scope of these temples. When I am able to upload pics (I fear it may be never given the connection speeds here), or even watching video - Tomb Raider with the Angkor Wat/TaProhm backgrounds - you just can't capture how big everything is. My favorite things were:

a. Ta Prohm - a ruined temple that has not been restored. There are kapoc trees intertwined with the brick of the temples and it's simply amazing.
b. Watching Julian try to negotiate very narrow steps and duck under 5 foot doorways. Sorry buddy...it was funny.

Continuing on the theme of Julian, due to his standby ticket and United Airlines regulations he had to "look nice" on the return trip, which meant buying dress shoes and non-jean pants. This led to much comedy as the average Cambodian is probably 5'4" and has a 29" waist and maybe wears a size 6-7 shoe. And the funniest thing about it is that our guide took us to the Cambodian market (not the tourist market). Pants turned out okay. Shoes seemed to be okay provided he wore them for no longer than 7 minutes at a time.

Siem Riep (the town near the temples) has actually been a really fun time. Julian and I had a good time around town for two nights and then we welcomed Deanna home with "welcome back" dinner and drinks. I remember the night ended with most of the patrons and all the waiting Cambodian cab, moto, and security guards out on the street dancing and laughing together. Black Eyed Peas seem to bring the whole world together. The next day we walked around the temples and re-met all our friends from the night before. People are still asking me (no lie) where my tall friend is...at the restaurants, bars, gas station, etc...

On the serious side, there's just so much that needs to be done here in Cambodia. I think Deanna is much more in-tune with the world than I am (yet) and thank god for that. At her suggestion, we went to a cello concert given twice weekly by a Swiss doctor who has dedicated his life to saving children in Cambodia. He has built three hospitals here in Cambodia and tirelessly raises funds in Switzerland and Cambodia to support the efforts. It's really sad, but almost all kids here have tuberculosis, so smaller medical problems can cause huge problems. Certain very common ailments here require immediate blood transfusions to treat shock - and over 50% of the local blood supply (Cambodians) have hepatitis. Very, very sad. We both donated blood yesterday (very clean process...don't worry) to help the cause.

The other great experience was going to a silk farm and watching how silk is made from growing the feed crops for the worms, colleting the silk from the cocoons, and then weaving. The school actually takes poor from around Cambodia, teaches them a skill, and then they go home with a trade. There are tons of programs like this out here.

A very cute Cambodian girl I met that is a waitress at the Red Piano (bar whose claim to fame is that Angelina Jolie frequented the place during filming of Tomb Raider) is a really great example of how hard life is here. Her parents both passed away, so instead of going to university, she left home to get a job and save up to go back to school someday. She sees her family only twice a year, and works 7 days a week doing laundry in the morning to make extra money, then coming to work from 1pm until midnight. And she thinks that she'll have to save for 2+ years before she has the money. I asked how much tuition was and her answer was $300/year. I felt incredibly ashamed when she asked me in turn how much my plane ticket alone cost ($4000).

Anyway...not to be a downer...being here I'm reminded every 3 minutes how lucky I am. Cambodia is a wonderful place and just feeling it's way towards the future. We're off to Battambang next in NW Cambodia and then most likely heading to Phnom Penh and then into Vietnam!