[Fifth Country]
My passport now officially has three stamps in it: Guatemala, Taiwan, and Cambodia - in that order. I have also been to Canada and of course I live in the States so Cambodia is my fifth country to ever set foot on. I know - I'm such a globetrotter.
In order to renew our visas my team and I had to leave Taiwan. We chose to visit the country of Cambodia, a next-door neighbor of Thailand. We left our island around noon and spent three hours contemplating the clouds and how the ocean looks exactly the same as the sky when you're at that elevation - and some of us slept. :D
To get into Cambodia you have to pay $20 American dollars - they don't even accept their own currency to get into the country! Then you go through immigration and finally customs (which consisted of putting a slip of paper, saying you weren't bringing anything illegal into the country, in a box) and then voila! The heat and humidity hit you.
The first day we took a taxi to our hotel where we dropped off our luggage. Then we walked down the street to the Cambodian Royal Palace. The many buildings on the grounds utilize the traditional Cambodian/Thailand style of architecture and decor.
On the wall around the actual palace was a mural depicting the history of the Khmer people. Humans, monkeys, and demons were used to represent the different warring factions that make up this people's diverse history. At one point Europeans made their entrance and were differentiated from the natives by mustaches and distinct clothing styles.
At one point as I was shooting in one of the smaller buildings, a man entered, slipped off his shoes, and began making obeisance to the many idols and figurines inside. I had never realized, before I left the States, that so much of the world is still bound by literal idolatry.
The next day we hired a tuk tuk to take us to the 'Russian Market' for some good, old fashioned haggling. We stopped by the cafe across the street owned by a friend of a friend of Daniel's. He agreed to eat lunch with us at the market an hour later and give us some pointers about sightseeing.
Clothes, electronics, DVDs, books, food, idols, games, jewelry (Cambodian and American, real and rip-offs) can be found in the little cubbyholes that make up the market. The first day I mainly just priced my intended purchases. I wanted to avoid getting bad deals as much as possible.
Lunch was filled with new sights and smells. The iced coffee was amazing! Beggars tried to elicit pity, especially when it was time to pay the bill. The parents would make their kids beg without clothes to be more effective.
That afternoon we shopped a bit more, visited the cafe again for drinks, had dinner at a Thai restaurant, and then went back to our hotel for some swimming.
The traffic in Cambodia is crazy. If everything is stopped in your lane, just drive into oncoming traffic! If you want to go to the place across the street, whip a quick U-turn right here. If you want to cross the street - start walking! It was pretty much like that.
There were two options for us as far as transportation: taxi or tuk tuk. Taxis were too expensive, so tuk tuk it was. A tuk tuk is a moped with a small, covered trailer with seats hitched to the back. Somehow we managed to squeeze all six of us into one - and off we would go! Half of us would sit facing forward and the rest facing backward. Those facing backward were able to watch in suspense as traffic would sometimes pass you going the opposite way on both sides. Facing forward was almost more nerve wracking because you could only watch helplessly as the tuk tuk driver drove recklessly through the crowds of mopeds, cars, and other tuk tuks.
On Saturday us girls got up early and went to Phnom Wat for an elephant ride! This was definitely the most anticipated part of the trip for me. We rode on the street that borders the grounds of the wat. So now I can say, "I have ridden an elephant in Cambodia!"
We visited a museum commemorating the Cambodian genocide by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. It was very difficult for me to watch the documentary and then see the very rooms and photographs of the people who had been so brutally tortured and killed there. To walk in their steps, to close my eyes as I went down a flight of stairs to see what it would be like to go down blindfolded, to imagine the screams and the merciless men provoking them, was almost more than I could handle. And to do all of this in a school, a school that reminded me so much of the schools where I teach in Taiwan! Finally I gave up. I went outside and sat down on a bench. My stomach was in knots and my eyes revolted at the sun's happy glow. 'How dare it shine like that!' I thought. 'Thousands of people died here!' As if the sun should somehow pay it's respects to the place, by refusing to give it's light.
Next we visited "The Killing Fields" where the people who were tortured were finally killed. The place is full of pits that were used as mass graves. It was a peaceful and yet a horrible place. I am glad that I visited these two places. Even though it was so graphic, it was good for me. I felt that I learned a lot through it. I realized to a greater degree just how evil man can be without God and that those torturers were human just like me. The total depravity of mankind is a stark and harsh thing.
[sidenote: On our way in, Corrie and I both procured a real, Cambodian, glass bottle of Coca-Cola!]
Lunch was fairly in order by this time followed by another jaunt at the Russian Market. Then we were off to the Mekong River for a boat ride. Our vessel was rather - exciting? The timbers were shivering, let's just put it that way. We had the 20 or so foot deal all to ourselves. We sat up on the poop to take pictures and enjoy our sunset on the water. Our tuk-tuk driver introduced us to an awesome restaurant specializing in Khmer food. The hotel pool occupied us girls for the rest of the evening.
Next stop: USA
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