Sunday, January 25, 2015

Love & Life in Cambodia.

I set out for a week long relaxing and meaningful experience to Cambodia with a pit stop in fast-paced Hong Kong. I enjoyed my night in Hong Kong, had a tasty meal and some shopping. Needless to say I was happy I had less than 24 hours in that hectic city.
Cambodia was warm and beautiful upon my arrival. I was so ecstatic to finally be in a place I'd heard so much about, even if I was traveling alone. I was picked up by a tuk-tuk driver that coordinates with my hostel, Siem Reap Hostel. It was a foreign hot spot for sure, great location, dozens of tour options, friendly staff, game rooms, movies, yoga classes, bar & restaurant, and even a pool.
I grabbed a few brochures and went out for a walk to take in more of the fascinating city of Siem Reap. After just a few blocks I ran right into a shoppers dream. What I'd call huts went on and one and deeper and deeper. Every few steps you'd see a new shop and more ways to get there. Now the woman selling at these 'huts' will continually hustle with you so you have to bring your a- game and a stern look. I decided right there that Christmas would be coming from Cambodia this year & bought presents for family members. I also bought quite a few things for myself and my students.
Back at the hostel I booked a few morning tours and met one of my hostel mates. She had lived in Korea for the past 3 years and was finally making her way back home to the states. We had an early dinner together and gabbed on and on about Korea, living overseas, and how things will be living back in the U.S. of A.
Just before the sunset I went on an ATV Quad tour. You get your own ATV and you drive out into the country. Dirt roads, half naked kids waving enthusiastically, the occasional cattle and herder, green fields as far as the eye could see, an enormous sky with clouds stretching across the sunset. I was running on a high of everything I'd experienced in just a few hours.  Plus I was getting a little wild on those bumpy roads. >_< 
ATV Sunset in the countryside of Siem Reap.
A few kids stopping to talk to ATV guide.
Early Tuesday morning, 4:30 A.M. to be exact, I took a tuk-tuk to Ankor Wat to see the sunrise. Even ten minutes later I wouldn't have had the amazing front row corner spot that I managed to snag. I also picked an excellent morning to go. December has the best weather for traveling in Cambodia, but still clouds filled the sky most days. I, among a couple hundred of others, took countless photos between the first glimpse of light on ward. After about 45 minutes I decided to get a few other views during the prime sunrise time.
As many people there were for the sunrise, the rest of the place was pretty empty. It was a perfect place to travel alone to. Going at my own pace and noticing a lot more. I could stop for a photo or two or just post up and relax in front of a beautiful view. On my way out there was a horse laying in the grass and I also spotted a monkey climbing across the top of the structures.
I had the same tuk-tuk driver all day to take me around to other sites. There are more temples in Ankor Wat than any one person could get to in multiple days, so the tours are for the most popular spots. My driver was resting in his hammock when I found him, I grabbed a spicy mystery meat on a large bun for breakfast, and we headed to The Bayon. (My personal favorite.) After walking through the temple I went around and ran into some children who were excitedly playing and pawning over the money they were given by foreigners. $50 in Cambodia is $0.12.5 cents in the U.S. Cambodia was the first Asian country that normally accepts American dollars everywhere. I also saw an elephant whose eyes saddened me, it looked so empty-minded and numb. Broke my heart.  
Cambodian children :-)

Enjoying The Bayon
The last site I went to was Ta Prohm, also known as Tomb Raider, for having Angelina Jolie film the Hollywood flick at that site. This one was a little over rated for me as far as the temple. It was crawling with monks and the structures were in crumbles. There were men working on fixing up the temple, which to me takes away from the fact they are centuries old. What I did like about Ta Prohm were the trees and the roots that covered everything. I bought some postcards, recieved a blessed braclet from a gentle old woman inside the templer, and on my tuk-tuk ride home I enjoyed a fresh cut pineapple sold by a local. 
Roots covering Ta Prohm. 
Monk City, B*
After a much needed nap I had dinner in one of the dozens of choices around Pub Street. I had banana pancakes and pumpkin curry while three men from Belgium enlightened me on their travels in Thailand and Cambodia. I checked out a bike from my hostel and rode a little further out. I had really wanted to find a place called Artisan's Ankor. I found it, but it ended up being high end art for purchase. So a quick peek and I continued on. I actually video chatted a friend from the market which proved to be entertaining. 
I had another early morning and an unfortunate sickness coming on so I decided to stay in for the night. A couple $.50 cent beers later I was convinced to sign up for a pool tournament, where I actually made it past the first round. I was meeting great people, as you always will when you're traveling around Asia. Played a few rounds of Foosball and headed to bed. 
Stopping for a rice and bean breakfast.
Made by these locals in a wood burning bamboo stem.  
Not feeling so great on Wednesday morning, I pushed through to make it to my 7:30 wake up call to Tonle Sap Lake. It is a large fresh water river but more commonly called a lake and it is vital to the people of Cambodia. The flow of the river changes twice and year, and during the dry season (November to May) it drains down to a much smaller river in Phnom Penh. 
During the rainy season the water comes up the the front porch of these houses on stilts. 
Starting the floating village tour. 
Cambodian children paddling home from school. :)

I had a wonderful native tour guide who spoke pretty good English.  Along with eight others, we walked through the villages that are 6 months under water and 6 months not. There were tons of children and families working and snacking on bits of food. The houses were very long and high up on stilts for the rainy season. We took a calm motor boat ride out through the floating villages and into the middle of the lake. The most interesting part for me was hearing that it was mostly Vietnamese families living in the area. I also loved seeing the school children with their backpacks jumping into a boat, paddling away with the backpacks in hand. The Vietnamese come to live and work in Cambodia because it's much cheaper living. They move with the rise and fall of the river. After having lunch, I took a 5 hour mini van ride down to the capitol, Phnom Penh. 
Cambodian mother and daughter. Hammocks were very popular among locals.
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Fish market. 
Fried bananas. 
In Phnom Penh, I joined up with the same fascinating person I had met once before in South Korea. We had some handmade noodles and pastries while planning out our take on the busily bustling city. Our first stop was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Pol Pots secret prison were 1-2 million of Cambodians and thousands of foreigners were tortured, starved, and killed from 1975-1979, during his reign of terror.
There were four main buildings, each containing something different, all very deeply moving. Click here to learn what WiKi has to say.
One of the many methods of torture used and still on display at the museum. 

Unbearably small prison cells in Building C where men, women, and children were kept. 
After visiting the museum in the city of Phnom Penh, you can take a short, (but insanely traffic jammed)15 minute drive southwest to the outskirts of the city where Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is located.
Truly one of the the saddest, and heart-retching experiences I've ever had. 
When you get there you may choose from over a dozen languages to listen to the tour. There are stopping points for testimonials and descriptions of what you are seeing and what happened where you stood.
The second to last stop had me in tears. It was the sound of music which was used
to drown out the sounds of screams. With the included sound of the tools used to massacre.   
The final stop was the Buddhist Stupa 200 feet or 62 meters high, filled with
the over 5,000 skulls and bones of those discovered.
It's a place that is still hard for me to think about. I can't imagine this happening in a world less than 40 years ago. Yes, brutal things still happen in this world, but this was horrendous to feel the place, see and hear it. 
After that upsetting experience we headed back into the city to grab some grub and visit the Royal Palace.
It was a busy day! 


The detail around the Royal Palace was perfection!
Silver Pagoda
Still searching for the type of bird this is, but they use this bird to
decorate the Buddhist Stupa for the Genocide Center. 
We made our way out of the city to Battambang.
Marc, his Blue Buddy, and I making our way North around the West side of Tonle Sap Lake
.

We did run out of gas once, but this happens to be another stop when this
young boy is filling up Blue Buddy. 
No filters and it was really this colorful.
We stopped for a break and some tasty food in this market.
Somewhere in Cambodia.
We made it to Battambang just in time for the sun to set and see the Bat Cave. 
Upon dusk, thousands of bats leave this mountain cave,
also known as the killing cave of Phnom Samphou.
  
We were there for over 30 minutes watching
the never ending stream of bats flow out and through the sky.
Fried breakfast. Deli-sh!
Leaving Battambang ~ On the road to Siem Reap.

Seemed perfect. Met in Korea, reunited in Cambodia. 


Last night,  I had to experience Pub Street at it's finest hour. 
 Thanks for reading! xo ~K