A History of Violence: From Tragedy to Triumph

Feb 3rd-7th

We took a ferry back to Sihanoukville and had arranged a bus to Phnom Penh. We arrived after dark, taking a tuk tuk to our hostel, the awesome 88 backpackers (88backpackers.com).

Despite checking into a 12-person dorm, the room was incredibly spacious and very well air-conditioned.

Sweet dreams.

The following day we decided to learn more about Cambodia's horrifying contemporary history and went to visit Tuol Sleng museum or Security Prison 21 (S-21).

A little background: on April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, had taken over Phnom Penh and implemented his extreme-Maoist policies among its inhabitants.

He proclaimed 'year zero' or the restarting of Cambodian society and civilization as the world knew it.

As part of the restructuring, the city of Phnom Penh was virtually liquidated, its inhabitants forced to leave the city, march into the countryside and work in the fields as slaves for 12-15 hours per day in agrarian cooperatives.

Any enlightened individual or intellectual, comprising anyone capable of speaking another language, read, or even who wore glasses were executed by the thousands.

Many of these intellectuals, considered enemies of the state, passed through the various security prisons, including S-21, being executed in the various killing fields throughout the country.

Tuol Sleng was a high school prior to 1975. It was renamed Security Prison 21 when taken over by the Khmer Rouge.

Today, it is a museum commemorating all the men, women and children held and tortured within those walls.

It has remained untouched since it was liberated by the Vietnamese in 1979, blood stains still painting the dirty walls and floors.

Much like other genocidal regimes, the Khmer Rouge meticulously documented and photographed all its 17,000 prisoners, often after a fresh round of brutal torture.

What makes it particularly haunting is that these thousands of prisoners' pictures line the walls of the museum, personifying the terror that occurred in this complex. Some of the prisoners were children, being implicated in a purge they were even too young to comprehend.

Josh and I took our time walking through the various rooms, corridors and cells; reading the numerous posters explaining methods of torture and absolute horror inflicted on these innocent people.

It was a sobering and emotionally draining afternoon, but I'm very glad that we went.

It is said that out of the 17,000 prisoners held at S-21, only 7 survived and only because the prison was liberated by the Vietnamese before they could be executed.

Believe it or not, but some of the rescued 7 men actually continue to work as tour guides at S-21, acting as ambassadors for peace and to help young Cambodians understand about their modern history.

The following day, we went to the killing fields of Choeung Ek, 15km out of central Phnom Penh. We were joined by Maria from Mexico; and Matt and Till from Germany.

The five of us rented a tuk tuk that brought us to the site.

The killing fields are where most of S-21's prisoners were brought and bludgeoned to death: for the Khmer Rouge, bullets were too expensive to waste, so they used farming tools, bamboo shoots and pretty much anything else they could get their murderous hands on, killing the prisoners often in the longest and most excruciating way possible.

The now peaceful field is littered with mass graves and Buddhist prayer beads, honoring the victims.

The most intense part of the audio-guided tour was when we were led to an oak tree and it was explained that it was against this tree that babies and infants were slammed until they died.

The final stop on the tour was to a memorial stupa containing over 8000 skulls of victims and remnants of their clothes.

Like the killing caves near Battambang, it is unfathomable to believe that this is but one mass execution site out of hundreds during the four-year period that Pol Pot reigned.

It is estimated that up to 3,000,000 people were executed or died of starvation during the Khmer Rouge age.

What is also unbelievable is that the Khmer Rouge were viewed as the legitimate leaders of Cambodia by the UN until 1993!

However, the most unreal aspect of it all is how despite all the carnage and suffering, Cambodians are the most kind, sincere and warm people I have ever met.

There was not one day where I was not greeted by an ear-to-ear smile or waved at from an elderly person or child.

Cambodians are the personification of the human spirit and I am truly in awe of their amazing perseverance and incredible ability to rise above the past, no matter how difficult it may be.

After 2 days of lump-in-the-throat, tear-jerking emotional turmoil, the five of us needed a break.

Matt and Josh went to shoot an M16 and AK-47 at the military base, while I worked on my blog.

Josh and I had also handed in our passports in order to get a visa for Laos to resume our tour of Asian communist regimes.

To break up the trip, we decided to spend a night in Kratie, located on the mighty Mekong River.

Kratie, which lies on one of the most beautiful sections of the Mekong in Cambodia, is also home to the highest concentrations of Irrawaddy, or freshwater dolphins, in Laos and Cambodia.
 

In fact, the tourist office guarantees you will see these bizarre looking creatures on every boat-cruise they organize.

This section of the Mekong was absolutely stunning and to see it as the sun was setting and the dolphins breaching for air was breathtaking. A fitting end to our three weeks in this magnificent country.

While Angkor Wat was incredible and the museums heart-wrenching, it is the people that truly make this an unforgettable place, and I hope that as the years go by, their prosperity improves so that they can impart their amazing spirit on many more of those who are suffering as they did only several decades ago.

Frequent Flyers and a Secret that Should not be Told

Jan 28th-Feb 2nd

Fortunately for us, the minibus ride between Kampot and Sihanoukville would only take 2 hours, but for the first time in South East Asia, the bus actually arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule!

Inconceivable.

The minibus dropped us off just a few meters from the central roundabout and it was just a short walk to our hostel, Panda Guesthouse (www.pandasihanoukville.com).

Sihanoukville, Cambodia's seaside resort haven, is a city like no other in Cambodia. As opposed to the usual flat, arid landscape encompassing most of the western and central portions of the country, Sihanoukville boasts kilometers of beautiful white-sand beaches.

Like most places in South East Asia, where there are beaches, there are backpackers and parties!

Our hostel, while not directly on the beach, was still only a 5-minute walk to Serendipity and Occheuteal beaches.

Once we settled in, we wandered down Occheuteal beach and stopped for some 50-cent draft beers. As we were relaxing, Willeke, a Dutch traveler we had met in Siem Reap wandered by. She joined us for a drink and would later join us for dinner.

After dinner, the flyer-kids were already out in full force: there are a number of bars on the beach that try to entice people to come to their bars by handing out flyers with various promotions or free drinks on them.

These incentives can range from getting a free drink for having a mustache (success!) or wearing a costume (something as simple as wearing a head band or bracelet).

Most places also give you a free shot before entering and a free beer at midnight, so all in all, with all these promotions and flyers you can get pretty drunk for next to nothing.

Josh and I usually split our time between JJ's Playground: a dirty bar with great music and a very strong smell of vomit; and Dolphin Shack, a bar with better music and a solid dance floor. Did I mention both had beer pong tables?

Needless to say that we would be at whichever bar had the best deals (aka free drinks) at whichever time.

After our first of many nights of partying, Willike accompanied me to Otres beach, a very relaxed (even by Cambodian standards) beach with next to no one pestering you to buy something.

After a blissful day there, we headed back to Serendipity for dinner and more flyer specials!

Following 3 nights of balls-to-the-wall partying, Josh and I decided to take it easy and head to Koh Rong island to relax and go scuba diving.

Unfortunately, on the eve of our departure, Josh got food poisoning and would have to spend another day in Sihanoukville.

I took a chartered tuk tuk to the pier and boarded a large boat destined to Koh Rong, the jumping off point for Cambodian diving in the Gulf of Thailand, and where I would be staying for 2 nights.

The boat took 2 hours and passed numerous islands along the way.

As soon as we arrived I knew that I would love it there: minimal development, very laid-back atmosphere, reggae music and no electricity; all the makings of a true island getaway.

I dropped my bags off at Paradise Bungalows and went back to the dive shop, Koh Rong Dive Center, for briefing before heading out on the sea.

I love diving: being on a boat and the feeling when you first jump into the tropical water just can't be beat.

It had been a month since I had last been diving in Thailand, but, while I don't want to outright say it sucked, the extremely low visibility, lack of fish due to the wonderful practice of dynamite fishing, and sparse coral made the dive sites a little lack-luster. I was still happy to have seen some crabs and stingrays though.

The rest of the day I just lounged around at one of the beach cafes and enjoyed my time in paradise.

The following day I would make my way to the secret beach on the other side of Koh Rong. To get there you need to traverse the jungle for close to an hour and climb down some pretty treacherous paths in order to reach it.

Once you exit the trees and behold this beach, even 4 hours through the jungle would have been worth it!

Perhaps it's the difficulty in getting there, or most backpackers are too lazy or hungover to walk there, but this diamond-in-the-rough of a beach is one incredible little secret.

The powder white sand stretches out for kilometers with not one, not even one shop, restaurant, stall or tout on it. There is virtually no garbage to be found and with a short walk you can have your own 500m stretch of ivory white sand and turquoise waters completely to yourself.

Unbelievable!

I spent several hours there until I felt like I was starting to burn and made the hike back to the inhabited side of the island.

Upon my return, Josh had already arrived and shared my point of view on the diving. I then spent quite some time gushing to him about the secret beach I had just returned from.

I had been fortunate enough to visit it while its pristine virgin sands remained intact. Sadly enough, there are apparently blueprints circulating on the internet of the future airport to be built on Koh Rong and the large-scale development projects that will surely follow shortly after.

While I do understand that Cambodians are extremely poor and are in dire need of income and employment generating projects; it's just sad that it comes at the expense of some of natures most beautiful places.

Paradise found. Paradise lost.

Kam-pot Smoking and Pepper Crab Munchies

Jan 25th-27th

Following a brief stopover in Phnom Penh, we finally arrived in Kampot well after dark.

We had reserved a room at Ganesha Guesthouse (www.ganesharesort.com): a French-owned place by a stoner and his wife, situated several kilometers outside of the city center, next to the Kampot river.

Upon leaving the bus, two mototaxi drivers assured us they knew where it was and loaded our big packs between their knees and started to speed down the main road, turning off onto a dirt path into the jungle.

I was pretty sure I had seen a sign saying Ganesha but I assumed they knew where they were going.

At one point they seemed pretty confused and asked for directions. We approached another sign saying Ganesha and started to follow it down an extremely narrow path with palm trees flanking both sides, no lighting, and seemingly no indication that Ganesha was anywhere close by.

At one point, the trail became so precarious that Josh had to get off his bike and walk next to the driver.

It was at this point that I told them about the other sign I had seen and that it would be a good move if we went back to where we started.

With the help of a local woman, we found the original sign and eventually found Ganesha hidden deep in the jungle.

They knew where it was my ass!

Kampot is a quaint riverside town with a laid-back feel with French heritage buildings and a beyond-beautiful countryside. It is also famed, and rightly so, for its out-of-this-world pepper.

Since most points of interest were outside of the city, and even Ganesha itself was a less than convenient distance from the center of town; we would rent scooters to make our lives easier.

Our first destination was Kep, a seaside town around 25km from Kampot.

Although it was situated on the Gulf of Thailand, it really didn't have much beach to speak of, but what it lacked in beach, it more than made up for in seafood.

Kep is famous in Cambodia for its crab. At the crab market, women merely throw their crab-nets off the pier and haul in tons of these clawed Crustaceans.

Josh and I had been recommended a restaurant right by the market and indulged in a huge plate of sublime pepper crab, infused with Kampot's deservedly famous and beyond delicious pepper.

From there we attempted to find one of Kampot's pepper plantations but ultimately couldn't find one. So instead, we just drove around aimlessly, taking random roads to our heart's desire.

At one point, a woman asked for a lift to a wat up on a hill. She had her baby with her and thankfully hopped on the back of Josh's motorbike.

Everything went smoothly until we reached a really steep portion with uneven, or more accurately, no paving and we kind-of lost control. We were near the wat anyways and mother and child were fine and just walked the last few meters up the hill.

Even after the lift, she still had the gull to ask us for money. We promptly drove away.

On our way back, we stopped at Phnom Sorsia and had a kid guide us through some caves, including one full of bats who hilariously shit in Josh's mouth as he looked up at them.

By this point, the sun was already starting to set and we headed back to Kampot.

The incredibly dusty roads (at least what was left of them) made the drive rather treacherous and slow moving; but the children waving, villagers smiling and the golden light of the setting sun illuminating the fields and distant mountains made the hairs on my forearms stand on end.

This is why I travel.

The next day we asked Ganesha's owners where we could find the pepper plantations and actually listened to their response for a change.

After a long ride on a loose-rock and sandy trail, we managed to find several plantations. No one was around to give us a tour so we wandered aimlessly for a few minutes before buying some pepper.

On our way out, Josh was attempting to turn while taking a drag from his cigarette and wiped out, cutting his hand open. He didn't have the best of luck in Kampot!

Our next stop was a hidden lake, which actually turned out to be quite large.

After gazing at the lake and Josh washing his wound, we decided to paddle Ganesha's canoe out on the Kampot river, which joined up to Prek Kampong river.

Within seconds, it became incredibly obvious that we were terrible paddlers. Every time we attempted to go straight, we ended up veering off to the side, bringing me face to face with sharp, pointed bamboo shoots.

Our original intention was to paddle all the way to a riverside guesthouse for a cold beer, but we were such feeble canoers that we just floated there and enjoyed the tranquility of the river.

To be honest, Kampot and Kep don't really have much to offer in terms of sights, but the tranquil vibe, beautiful countryside, great food and sincere people made this one of my favorite places in Cambodia.

Speechless at Angkor Wat

Jan 22nd-24th

The Khmer Empire, reigning from 802-1432 A.D., is at the heart of every Cambodian; and Angkor, the empire's opulent capital city, remains their most impressive and enduring legacy.

Angkor Wat, still the world's largest religious building despite being built in the 12th century by Suryavaram II, holds an incredible importance and sense of pride for Cambodians.

It is featured on their flag, their currency, has a beer named after it and was even spared destruction unlike many other religious temples during the murderous reign of the ultra-communist Khmer Rouge.

In fact, Pol Pot and his fellow homicidal maniacs named their party Angkar, as a nod to this magnificent place and its incredibly powerful empire.

Because Josh and I knew so little about these temples and the Khmer Empire, we decided to hire a guide along with a tuk tuk to take us from site to site.

We were met by Amad and our driver at 5am in order to be at Angkor Wat for sunrise: a rite of passage at these temples.

The ancient city was surprisingly far from Siem Reap and the air temperature felt like it was hovering above freezing as we approached the entrance gate.

On our boat trip from Battambang to Siem Reap, I somehow lost my voice and on the ride there and for the rest of the next few days, I squeaked and squawked my words trying to ask Amad questions, much to Josh's amusement.

We bought our 3-day passes and followed Amad through the darkness to the famous Wat.

Although his English was somewhat hard to understand, he described the imagery and symbolism of Angkor and how the Wat was originally a temple devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu.

As the sun began to rear its fiery head, the true grandeur and magnificence of this holy building became apparent.

The temple symbolizes Mount Meru, a sacred mountain to the Hindu faith, and its central tower rises 31m.

To add to its already formidable size, it is surrounded by a 1.5 by 1.3km moat that is 190m in width and was dug by hand!

What was also apparent as the sun rose in the sky, was just how many people were gathered around us. I'd have to estimate at least several thousand.

As the sunrise crowd began to leave, we had breakfast and took some photos with the wat in front of the photogenic reflecting pond and its water lilies.

The only disappointment is that the German team working on the restoration decided to drape half the facade in an ugly green tarp.

But hey, what can you do?

From there we toured the interior of Angkor Wat and marveled at the details of its sculptures and reliefs.

We stopped briefly at the southern gate of Angkor Thom, the last great capital of the Khmer Empire, and made our way to one of Angkor's most magnificent temples: Bayon.

Bayon was the state temple of the Khmer king Jayavarman VII. It has over 50 towers and most strikingly, is decorated with 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara, looking over every aspect of this temple from the high perches of each tower.

The only thing more numerous than the sculpted smirking faces, was the number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean tour groups, who were oh-so-courteous and orderly around the temples.

I'm only kidding, they were their usual rude, pushy and irritatingly-loud selves.

A short walk took us to Baphoun, which was formerly in a terrible state of disrepair until an incredibly dedicated group of archeologists painstakingly rebuilt it, piece by millions of pieces.

After Baphoun, we passed a large statue of Buddha and briefly explored the Terrace of the Elephants: a beautifully sculpted viewing-stand used for public ceremonies.

Our final stop of the day was Ta Prohm, known to most tourists as the Tomb Raider temple because of its inclusion in the movie starring Angelina Jolie and her enhanced chest in the role of the beyond-busty Lara Croft.

One can easily see why this temple was used for the film because the temple was left in its discovered state, complete with moss, tree roots and vines growing on the walls for centuries, seemingly consuming the temple ever-so-slowly.

This temple was incredibly popular with tour groups, and to find an undisturbed corner of it rather difficult.

After our tour, we thanked Amad for his service and returned to our hostel, HI Siem Reap (site).

We lounged around for the rest of the day, briefly checking out Siem Reap's market and restaurant district centered on 'the alley'.

That evening we went to one of the many Pub Street restaurants offering 50-cent draft beer.

Once there, we started playing some drinking games with an Australian couple and ended up dancing on picnic tables at the aptly named bar Angkor What? Our final hazy destination was Hip Hop club before stumbling back to Hi Siem Reap.

Josh didn't feel like going to temples for 2 days in a row, so I hired a tuk tuk and went exploring by myself in the afternoon.

My first stop was Preah Khan, a temple dedicated to Buddha, Bhrama, Shiva an Vishnu.

This is one of the largest complexes at Angkor and was once possibly used as a Buddhist university.

It, like Ta Prohm, was also in a charming ruinous state, with overgrown trees and vines galore.

I then went to Preah Neak Poan, which like Bayon and Preah Khan, was built by Jayarvarman VII.

It comprises a small central temple surrounded by four small pools. The site was blocked by a gate so I didn't stay too long.

The next three temples I visited were Ta Som, East Mebon and Pre Rup.

Each of these temples were impressive and unique, but what made them particularly great was the fact that since everyone else was visiting the heavy-hitters, I was almost completely alone at these once-sacred buildings.

It was one of those special moments walking around these imposing structures, wondering what life might have been like when this city of temples was full of life.

It is said that as many as one million people lived in Angkor at the empire's peak.

My final stop of the day was Phnom Bakheng, a modest temple built on the region's highest point.

It is most famous for its sunset views over Angkor Wat but I would wait to watch that the following day with Josh.

As I walked down, hundreds of people were making the slow climb up to watch the sunset.

To avoid the crowds on my third day and Josh's second, we headed out in the afternoon, starting at Preah Khan because I enjoyed it so much.

After a brief exploration of Ta Keo, we went back to Ta Prohm (aka Tomb Raider temple) to admire it with hopefully smaller crowds, but it proved to be so popular that that was not the case.

From there we went to the surprisingly large Banteay Kdel and admired this less-visited gem, before revisiting Angkor Wat, which now not only had less visitors, but also better lighting, pleasing my ever-present photo-snobbery.

As the golden hour was upon us, we made our way to Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset.

Much like the sunrise, the sheer amount of people there made it a little less-than-special, but who am I to wish to deny others this great experience.

After spending 3 days exploring the Khmer Empire's incredible temples and timeless monuments, it is really easy to see why Angkor makes it on the best-of lists of everything written about Cambodia and South East Asia as a whole.

With its historical significance, beautiful craftsmanship, artistry and enduring legacy on the Cambodian peoples' psyche, it will surely be on my best-of list as well.