Cambodia

Cambodia was one country there was unanimous enthusiasm to visit, mainly because of what we had read and heard about Angkor Wat. However, the darker side of Cambodia, the four years of killing and devastation under the Khmer Rouge, is also an essential part of any visit to the country.  Because of some logistical issues between our Vietnamese visas expiring and when we could get a cheap flight to Malaysia, we ended up with 8 nights to spend in Cambodia. We decided to head first to the capital, Phnom Penh, then stop off in Battambang before ending off in Siem Reap.

We had been warned by our Russian/Mongolian friend that Phnom Penh had a reputation for pickpockets, and that thieves on motorbikes snatched cellphones from people on the street. Our bus driver warned us of the same thing as we stepped off the bus in the city centre. This should be nothing new to us South Africans but somehow after the blissful safety of pretty much everywhere we have been thus far, we were a little anxious walking through the streets of this new, unfamiliar place. The six hundred metres to our hotel was not a long way, and easily within our bag-wheeling range, but doing it in humid 38 degrees is quite a different story. Senses of humour were ebbing when we reached the Pacific Hotel. Fortunately this next booking.com gamble turned out to be a really good choice, with big, comfortable rooms and an amazing breakfast buffet (WHAT? Muesli! And yoghurt! And toast! – no ways!!!). 

I had been a bit unsure about exposing the kids to the horrors of the Cambodian genocide. However, we decided that our kids are pretty good at self-regulating and are usually very keen to process things together with us, so we decided that a visit to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was an important way to spend our single day in the capital. 

What does one say about such a place? It is one of those places that exposes the absolute worst of human nature – what atrocious things human beings can do to one another when the circumstances of a misguided social experiment allow them to. It feels uncomfortable and disturbing. We felt the same way at the Rwandan Genocide Museum, and I imagine a visit to Auschwitz would be the same.  The tranquil green gardens filled with mango and frangipani trees is such a jarring contrast to the horrors that took place inside the delipidated former classrooms of the notorious prison. Yes, it was horrific, but also educational at the same time, reminding us how precious our (relatively) peaceful society is and how things like this should never, ever be allowed to happen again. It is astounding that a group of people (led by Pol Pot, but I don’t think it can all be pinned on him), can wreak so much havoc in such a small space of time, the scars of which are still evident in Cambodia. Trying to reverse human development by sending a whole population out of cities into the fields to try and create a mythical peasant utopia is just such a bad idea, and then realizing that the only way to achieve this is through violence and fear creates a whole society of paranoia and betrayal.  Any ideal that says the ends justify smashing babies’ heads in can never be a just cause - it just plain evil.  

After the sobering morning outing, we were not up for tourist sightseeing, not that there is that much to do in Phnom Penh anyway. In the evening we employed the services of a delightful tuk tuk driver (the first of so many Cambodians to display their famous warmth and generosity) to go to the Mekong riverside for supper. It felt like a full circle, having eaten next to the great Mekong in Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos, outside Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, and now in Cambodia. We ended up in an over-priced tourist bar overlooking the river, eating incredibly spicy papaya salad and noodles and drinking Angkor beer as the sun set.  Our cheerful driver then took us back to the hotel, turning around and beaming at Daniel with what can only be described as sheer love, whenever he had the chance to stop at an intersection.    

The next stop on our itinerary was Battambang, the third-largest city in Cambodia, located in the northwest of the country on the way to Siem Reap. We didn’t know much about the place before we got there, only that it was a bit more chilled out and rural than Phnom Penh. We thought it would be a good place to relax for three days. With four weeks left of our trip we were starting to count the few pennies left at the bottom of our travel wallet to make sure that we could make it all the way to Bali. To save some ever-devaluing Rands I picked a(nother) real budget option in Battambang. At R170 a night for the four of us we knew it was a gamble, but hey, they were even throwing in a free tuk tuk ride from the bus station. 

We held our breath as we bumped over the construction rubble and headed down a side alley.  We were encouraged by the organised briefing at reception, and overjoyed when we were shown our large room with a private bathroom and air conditioning – what a win! What we didn’t know until we switched the lights off that evening, and then inadvertently hit some other switches in the dark, that the room was also fitted with two different sets of disco lights! Immediate dance party before bed!

Out enthusiastic tuk tuk driver, Ping, had sold us on a tour around sights of Battambang the next day. First on the itinerary was the bamboo train. The reviews were mixed – but we absolutely loved it! The bamboo train was invented after the Khmer Rouge closed all the factories and killed all the railway engineers, effectively collapsing the rail system in Cambodia. The resourceful locals then sourced some train axles, topped them with a bamboo platform and fitted a motorbike engine, connected to one axle with a fanbelt and, voila! – an effective means of transport. The trains are now operated solely for tourists, but it’s such a hillbilly, disorganized affair that it feels totally authentic. You rock up at this little clearing next to the railway line and pay your money to the lady who evidently runs the show. Some teenagers then go and fetch the axles and platform, plonk it on the tracks and you get on. A pull of some string on the engine and away you go! 25km/hr is not fast, but when you are 30cm above the tracks with no railings or support, it feels pretty daring.   You chug along for 20 minutes before stopping next to some makeshift refreshment and souvenir stands where some desperate people are trying to make a living. Mrs Graham obliged by purchasing some ‘packer’ pants before the platform was turned around for the journey back to the start. The most hilarious part was when we met another bamboo train coming in the opposite direction. Both have to stop, then one train gets dismantled, the other passes then the train gets put back together and carries on.  It was only after the ride was over that Ping told us that in fact, the rail line is still active and we were lucky to be off the tracks because in 20 minutes the daily train to Phnom Penh was about to come past! It is probably a good thing they hadn’t told us this before. 

The next stop was the ‘Killing Cave’. Given Cambodia’s history, we suspected what this place was about, but kinda hoped it wasn’t. But it was. We uncharacteristically opted for a bakkie to take us up the steep climb to the cave entrance, succumbing to the oppressive heat. At the top, overlooking peaceful rice paddies and a spreading rural village, Ping gave us a graphic account of how the spot was used by the Khmer Rouge. People were marched up the hill and imprisoned either in an old Buddhist temple or in a dark water reservoir before being killed and thrown down a deep shaft into a cave – men, women, children, everyone. He walked us to the separate shafts – the one for babies, the one for pregnant women, the one for adults – and gave graphic descriptions of what was done to each group before they were flung down into the cave. A combination of saving on bullets, secrecy, and warped human nature meant that the mercy of being shot was reserved for few, and brutal methods of torture and killing with rocks, bamboo canes and other nearby objects were the norm. The cave was recently excavated and the remains of thousands of people were exhumed, some of which are preserved in a glass case inside the cave as a grim reminder. 

We reflected on the dreadfulness of the place as we looked out from a viewpoint over the contradictory beauty of the landscape. Such a beautiful place, with beautiful people – how could that happen?

The final stop on the tour was to witness the daily emigration of half a million Asian wrinkle-lipped bats from Bat Cave. We sat on plastic chairs in the road eating giant rice cakes and sipping Cambodia beers while the sun set and we waited for the head bat’s alarm clock to go off. There was a bit of movement at the mouth of the cave, then tens of bats flying in increasing circles inside the cave, then suddenly the stream began. The kids commented that it was like a sideways waterfall of bats pouring out of the cave into the dusk. They swirled in waves, as if blown about by a nonexistent wind, dispersing across the countryside into the night. We watched for about 45 minutes and the stream didn’t let up for a second. We left the impressive spectacle behind as Ping ferried us back home. The bats are an important part of Cambodia’s ecosystem, eating their body weight in problematic plant hopper bugs that destroy rice crops. Apparently the nighttime work of the 6,5 million bats across the country prevent starvation of 22 000 Cambodians every year. It’s very cool to see how their bat colonies are revered and protected.

Ping had given us the name of his ‘brother’ in Siem Reap who could take us around in his tuk tuk. We connected with Sokra and organised a sunset tour to one of the Angkor temples overlooking the town. Unfortunately kids under 12 weren’t allowed to climb up to the top to appreciate the view, so Nix went up to absorb the outlook while the kids and I enjoyed discovering some natural wonders – an iridescent beetle carcass, a long ant procession, a bright orange dragon fly and a giant snail. We caught a glimpse of Angkor Wat through the trees, whetting our appetites for the next day, before we descended the hill back along the dense jungle path with the cacophony of cicadas throbbing in our ears. At the bottom of the hill we were met by the sounds of the Cambodian war amputee band, playing local tunes on traditional instruments – that included a kind of percussion harp that was hit with small drumsticks. 

Sokra dropped us off at the best fruit shake stand in town and pointed us in the direction of a local riverside food market for dinner. Siem Reap has a lovely feel – wide, leafy streets, an easy mix of locals and tourists, and enough infrastructure to make things work. On our way home we passed a supermarket – something we hadn’t seen for a long time. The kids were so excited “I didn’t know how nice supermarkets are! Everything is so neat. There are so many things to choose from – look at all this! I think supermarkets are my new hobby.” This from kids who often groan when it’s time to go to the shops at home! We had to leave before we spent all our money on yoghurt and breakfast cereal.

Angkor Wat means a lot to Cambodians, and for good reason. The 163-hectare complex of aver 1000 temples, palaces and other structures represents the former might and wealth that the Khmer Empire was able to achieve between 900 and 1400 AD. At the time it was probably the largest settlement on earth. The success of Angkor Wat was founded on astounding hydraulic engineering, with an 8km x 1km reservoir and complex system of canals that could sustain a large urban population through dry seasons and droughts. In addition, the architecture and the artwork in the temples is truly impressive. It was only a series of extraordinary droughts and floods and subsequent attacks from the Ayutthaya Kingdom in Thailand that led to the downfall of the kingdom and the abandoning of the site. The Cambodians are clearly proud of the place, and they seemed to be inspired by the greatness that their ancestors were able to achieve.    

We had made the kids another ‘Bingo’ sheet of interesting things to see at the three temples we were planning to see at Angkor Wat. They had to search for each of the images in the temples and tick them off – a successful means of getting them to engage and stave off temple fatigue. We started our explorations at the centrepiece of the complex – the Angkor Wat temple itself. Fortunately we were early and it wasn’t too hot yet. After crossing the moat on a cool floating temporary bridge, we were surprised by the spaciousness and calm of the grounds. Entering the temple we were met by a massive statue of Vishnu, the founding deity of the original Hindu emperor. Pity that the later Buddhist emperors ignored the god of preservation and let the irrigation systems fail due to lack of maintenance… Vishnu definitely doesn’t get enough airtime.  The solid stone architecture and bas reliefs on the inner temple were impressive, but once again the kids weren’t allowed to climb up to the third level, which led to some unhappiness. 

The second stop was the Bayon temple in Angkor Thom, which is famous for the 54 massive smiling stone heads that look out from the temple spires. We loved winding our way in and out of the narrow passageways of this slightly more run-down site. Each passage we crossed had a central plinth directly underneath the spires, which had holes in them to let down a shaft of light on the equinoxes – very cool.  The Baphuon temple next door was a bit of a disappointment because the ‘No kids under 12’ rule applied and we couldn’t go up. We got to see the giant reclining Buddha at the back of the temple and were entertained by a mom and baby monkey having a comical snooze on a set of bricks. 

Our third and final temple was Ta Phrom, made famous as the backdrop for a scene in the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie. The temple is set deep in the jungle and bears witness to the reclamation of abandoned buildings by nature. All over the temple, strangler figs have taken root and muscled their way into cracks, bursting the stone blocks and dripping down walls. We all agreed that this was by far the coolest temple of all, and we all giggled and gawked our way around this incredible place. 

Despite all the cool things to do in Siem Reap, and the hundreds of temples to explore, we needed a rest day, so spent our last day chillaxing at the pool, reading, doing some work and listening to audiobooks. Daniel got a bee in his bonnet about earning money to set up a commercial quail egg farming operation, so suddenly became Mr Helpful, making tea, buying lunch, lacing shoes, making beds and packing bags.  If only this could be sustained… 

As we tuk tukked our way to the airport, we reflected our short time in Cambodia. It is a country still coming to terms with its horrific past, but brimming with possibility. The people are some of the warmest and friendliest of all the countries we’ve visited. They seem resourceful and determined. Siem Reap is the jewel in Cambodia’s crown and we were only able to scratch the surface. It may see us again some time…