Kicking the Bucketlist in Cambodia

Years ago I was sitting in a waiting room flipping through the pages of a magazine when I was captivated by the image of remote village of ancient ruins covered with a jungle-like landscape. That is when I discovered the beauty of Angkor Wat, a Unesco World Heritage Site in Cambodia dating back to the 12th century, originally constructed as Hindu temple. It remains the largest temple in the world. I just knew I had to go there someday. As the years passed by it became number 1 on my bucketlist and was easy to persuade my partner in crime that this was our next adventure. Eventually when I had enough money and vacation time, I started researching trip options and how to get to Siem Reap. Planes, swift boats, tuk-tuks, and trains carried us across the globe to our next adventure.

Our trip to SE Asia was astounding with so many beautiful moments. We got up at dawn to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. The sunrise was beautiful over the ruins as we sat near a reflecting pond with a million bugs and few hundred tourists. After we took our obligatory pics, we wanted into the city. It was huge. We spent the day exploring different corners of the city, climbing through vines, brick stairs, wandering down dusty roads, being accosted by impoverished little kids running game on tourists (yeah, we bought their postcards, of course).  It was hot and humid and there were way more people there than we were expecting. In the end, we probably could have used a few more days there with my camera. My favorite was Ta Prahm (Tomb raider temple), the site of the overgrown trees that I saw in a photo 10+ years prior. The trees were huge and appeared to swallow the ancient buildings with the greenish hue branches. Of course, I loved spotting the monkeys too! We had the option for a 1-3 day pass, but sadly the group we were with limited our stay to 1 day.  Had I to do it again, I would opt for the 3 day alone and stay for prime evening lighting.

In contrast to the magic of Angkor, was the darker side of Cambodia while visiting the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh, the site of mass graves left by the Khmer Rouge imposed genocide during Pol Pot's regime. It was a somber visit. In contrast to the beautiful architecture of Angkor, the Killing Fields were exactly that, large fields. There were a few sections marked off with bamboo shoots aligned in large rectangular squares. The shoots and ground were covered with colorful string bracelets and coin donations. Nearby was a clear box for collecting the clothing, teeth, and bone fragments that rose up through the ground.  As we walked along the path we spotted a collection of teeth and what appeared to be a shattered bone along with tattered pieces of red fabric seeping through the dirt. A nearby museum held stacks of bones and skulls from the victims. 

Our trip also led us to visit one of the concentration camps where the prisoners were held. From behind he mass of barbed wire we explored the large empty rooms with photos of the now deceased prisoners. We were lucky enough to meet one of the few living survivors of the camp along our journey and purchased a copy of his memoir.

The last major stop was visiting a nearby war museum and getting a tour conducted by an amputee and former member of the Khmer Rouge. He spoke to us about his family being killed before becoming a member himself and how we volunteered at the war museum now as a sort of penance. Tragic to see the cycle of trauma and what it does.

Before we left, we spent the evening in a local night bazaar. The absence of elderly people was noticeable, since few people over the age of 50 survived, as was the proliferation of Khmer related items. I purchased a few shirts to take home and try to support the local economy. As I reflected on all the cultural and historical pieces of information I just soaked in, I couldn't help but wonder how something like this tragedy could happen and how so much of my life as an American insulated us from it.  What would a culture be like with an educated class? Without elders? What lessons from history are we doomed to repeat because our memories are so short? 

As with many travels, this trip was not without its perils. I spend the last 2 days here hallucinating in a hotel room from fever and fatigue...but that is a story for another day.

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