After 36+ hours of travel since leaving NYC Tuesday morning, we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our plane landed in the afternoon and by the time we made our way through the never ending queues of health forms, visas, and customs the sun was beginning to set so we made or way to a rooftop bar and took in the views of the city below while we figured out our next few days.
The primary purpose of beginning our adventure here was to visit Angkor Wat so the first morning we were in Cambodia we arose before dawn to watch the sunrise with hordes of fellow tourists. (Note: It's worth it. Hang out while the sky turns pink and then get a coffee from one of the many vendors nearby. By the time you are finished most people will have left and the sun will have by now appeared providing you with the picturesque view below.)
After milling about Angkor Wat, we made our way to the surrounding temples in the park imagining what they would have looked like newly constructed. The remains are beautiful in their own right with a mix of sandstone and the creeping in of various flora. Still they must have been quite the show as each successive Khmer king attempted to outdo one another.
This entrance into Cambodia was in stark contrast to the one from history books, the one centered around Pol Pot and the genocide he brought to Cambodia in the 1970s. The dichotomy of the two perspectives brought up all sorts of thoughts and feelings I did not anticipate feeling.
I have visited a number of similar locales where the memory of past events is still remains etched in the present. These places have a pervasive eeriness to them that one cannot shake. The mention of Auschwitz brings back scents of mold and decay and the quiet uneasiness of the visitors moving about a mostly barren landscape dotted with concrete buildings. Imprinted in my brain are the images of rooms filled with human hair and mismatched shoes. From time spent in Kigali, I am still haunted by the cries of a woman crumpled on the floor as she watched the same sequence of film from the Rwandan genocide over and over again.
I have no trouble in imaging what took place here in Cambodia. I get it. These images already invade my mefloquine-induced dreams without the added visuals. And I certainly don't want to make someone's memorial my tourist attraction. Upon arrival, I made it clear to my travel companions that I had no interest in going to the killing fields or subjecting myself to another genocide museum.
But perhaps I have been missing the point. Perhaps this feeling I have been avoiding is the very thing I should be experiencing. We are supposed to be made uncomfortable by these places. Our very core should shudder at the prospect of abject violence toward one another.
To write only of the genocide would be unfair as Cambodia has made great strides in the past couple of decades and there are only hints of what previously took place. Siem Reap is a bustling tourist destination with a plethora of places to stay, eat, and explore. Everywhere you look there is new construction for condos, hotels, and businesses. And everyone wants to tell you about the goings on here. Case in point:
- That is the change of Siem Reap. It's going to be the 2nd largest city. It opened to tourism in 1991. At that time 3 hotels but now 123 hotels. In 1991 very few visitors. Only adventurers. Because of fears of instability. Only dusty, dirty roads. Land is now very expensive. -- Ma Chhun
- Our government is concerned about the forests here. You see the trees here. They are finished. -- Chet
- To become a monk have to learn many prayer and skip dinner. Only breakfast and lunch. After become monk learn something good. Become good people. Like god. If I become a monk I cannot earn money. I cannot work. If you want to be good people. Not so hard. If not, very hard. Have to work. Everyday. Long time ago we did not have job. No factory no work. Only rice farm. 15 years ago. 40 years ago. We had no job so people apply to become a monk. But now many jobs so not so many monks. -- Vuthy
I did not spend nearly enough time in Cambodia, barely a week and only in three places, but despite my short visit, it has stayed with me. Thoughts continue to swirl about in my head about the contrast among the merging pasts and the constantly changing present. I guess that just means I'll have to go back.
notes:
- do not bother exchanging your money to riel. the us dollar is the de facto currency in the main tourist areas (siem reap, phnom penh, etc.)
- we hired a tuk tuk (20 USD) to get around the angkor archaeological park as the temples are pretty spread out. you could alternatively rent bicycles or perhaps join a tour. if you decide to rent bikes, start very early in the day as it gets so very hot.
- to enter the temples your knees and shoulders must be covered. this is enforced to varying degrees but plan to be covered up.
- bring lots of water with you. It is possible to purchase in the park but it costs at least twice as much. heat = dehydration = no fun.