Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia, referred to by the locals as the Kingdom of Wonder. I love this kingdom.
View from the plane.
October is the end of their rainy season. There was recent flash flooding in other part of Cambodia but not near Siem Reap where we are staying. High water levels have still presented a few challenges for us.
Thaera picked us up from the airport. He paid his friend at the hotel $5 to do so in hopes of getting us to hire him as a tour guide. We asked him about hiring a tour guide. Two seconds later we were reading his flyer with suggested tours. We were sold on his personality, so he is our guide for the next four days. He laughs whenever we laugh, which of course makes us laugh more.
Theara. His name means "I cry." He was born in 1979 when the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot were ruling the country and trying to turn everyone into a peasant. They killed as many educated Cambodians as they could. During the almost 4 years they were in power, the Khmer Rouge killed 3 million people. He cried all the time because he was always hungry, hence his name. The Khmer Rouge made his family leave their village and go work in the rice fields. They only gave them rice porridge to eat. Five of his family members were killed while they were in power. This included his uncle who was killed because he was a teacher and his brother who died from an untreated infection (they killed all the doctors too). At the end of Pol Pot's rule, they returned to the house they had to abandon and had nothing. His parents now farm tobacco, one of the more profitable crops but one which requires a relatively high startup cost.
We dropped our bags at the hotel, then went to a local restaurant for some lunch. $2 later, we were stuffed from handmade noodles and veggies in a tasty Khmer sauce, and pumpkin and sticky rice with coconut steamed in banana leaves. We were ready to see Cambodia.
A Khmer lunch. They soak the peppers in rice water to make them last longer and make the noodles everyday because they spoil.
First stop was the floating village of Kompong Luong. We decided to save Angkor Wat for tomorrow. The floating village (one of three near Siem Reap) is typically a 50 km drive to a boat, which takes you to the village. It was a great chance to see outside of town.
A street vendor selling corn and snails from the wagon.
A fancy new hotel.
The market where the locals shop.
The crematorium. They bury or cremate their dead. They believe after you die, your spirit stays around for 7 days. On the 7th day they have a funeral, then another funeral 7 days after that, and a third 30 days later. One of the three reasons their houses are on stilts is because they believe the living should always be above the dead. The other two are to provide more space for their livestock and to stay dry.
A local house surrounded by water, a regular occurrence during the rainy season.
An ox for plowing the rice fields. After three days of having their livestock in the water, they move them inland to prevent disease.
Wilbur the pig, just chillin.
The high water level meant we couldn't reach the boat dock. But an ox-drawn carriage came to our rescue. $3 and we were on our way.
Kids were swimming and playing in the water.
Our boat ride to the village. A local villager and her son hopped a ride home with us. A piece of gum and a pen made him a happy boy.
The landscape-- lots of water from the Mekong, random palm trees, and morning glory plants. Morning glory grows well in the water or dry land, so it suits the land here well. They eat it, feed it to their pigs and use it to catch fish in their fish traps.
A home in Kompong Luong.
The local commune, where the villagers go to settle disputes, kind of like a town courthouse. The most ornate building in town. I wonder if they are hiring.....
There was a large lake at the end of the village. Monks from another town came for a swim. You can't miss them in their orange robes.
Back via boat and ox-drawn wagon to the car. Then off to the Buddhist temple of Ta Prohm, built from 1186, where they filmed parts of the movies Tomb Raiders and Two Brothers. 5,000 elephants were used to build the temple and help transport the stone 50km. A half a million people built the temple over a 55 year period. Jayavarman VII built the temple after he killed his brother when his brother wouldn't make him king. He left Siem Reap and came here to build this temple, thinking everyone would follow him, but no one did. The workers worked for free and sustained themselves on the land while building it. The workers built it for their people, not Jayavarman. The Thai people eventually destroyed the temple to prevent the Cambodias from becoming prosperous. They tied ropes to the keystones and used elephants to break the stones loose. Destroying it seemed to be almost a big a feat as building it. Parts of Angkor Wat was repaired, but this temple wasn't.
A cow returning from the pasture behind the temple. The going price is at least $200. Pigs fetch from $50 up to $200 for an 80 kg pig.
The entrance. It was pouring rain and getting dark, so the pictures don't do it justice.
Inside the temple.
The library. No books were kept here, they used it as a room for teaching.
Inside an area of the temple that is still intact. They had windows guards on all the windows.
The temple had four ponds inside its walls, one for each of the elements: fire, air, earth and water. We exited this inside area, up some rocks, then traversed some rocks that had fallen into the earth pond, at night, in the pouring rain to get out. My umbrella suddenly popped open and we all had heart attacks. I was on the look out for snakes. I'm told they don't have any, but I was still on the look out. Our guide fell in, but luckily we didn't get hurt. It was an adventure. It seems visiting at night in the pouring rain is not ideal, but we did have the whole temple to ourselves, a rarity I'm sure. I was loving the flashlight app on my iPhone. F on preparedness, A on adventure.
It was an hour drive back to Siem Reap. Dinner then bed for Angkor Wat tomorrow.
A feast with a villain in there somewhere. I caught a bit of a stomach bug, but not enough to keep me inside (I don't think so anyway....)
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Location:Siem Reap, Cambodia
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