Cambodia

If Singapore is like a Western city, and Thailand is a mix between the Caribbean and Disneyland, then Cambodia is nothing short of an adventure into an ancient and untainted land. Even though some aspects of the country seem more American than the other places we have visited -- for example: they use the US dollar and they drive on the right side of the road -- it is as far from home as I've ever felt.

Our bus from Bangkok reeked of the usual Thai tourist extortion, but we made it to the Cambodian border without losing our minds/wallets completely. After departing Thailand officially and entering the "no man's land" between the two kingdoms, we were given a preview to the desperate poverty of the Khmer nation. Hordes of small children, no older than five, walked through our group from person to person begging for food or money. After an American girl we had met gave one of the kids a bag of crackers, a little girl who must have just learned to walk a month before hobbled over and started pulling at a Canadian guy's pant leg with tears in her eyes and dirt on her face. He had just given some loose change to the boy with the crackers, so the little girl must have thought he was an easy target. He had nothing else to give her, and we started walking toward the immigration counter on the Cambodian side. She followed us for another few yards but then gave up and turned back into the crowd of people walking the same direction as we were. The last image in my mind of the Cambodian border is that little girl tripping over someone's foot and tumbling into the sea of people before I lost sight of her.

We hopped on another bus to continue our journey into the Cambodian heartland across 8 hours of unpaved roads. When I say unpaved I mean a crater-pocked moonscape of a dirt road. I'm pretty sure some of these potholes were bottomless, and although it was probably bumpier than riding a jackhammer, it was an incredibly scenic drive. The people we passed look like they hadn't changed their lifestyle for the past few hundred years. Families in the vast expanses of rice paddies harvesting their crops, renegade Brahman cows playing chicken in front of the bus, naked toddlers throwing rocks at each other, you get the picture... By the time we got to Siem Reap it was late and we were all exhausted. The American girl, Ashleigh, shared a room with us at the hotel where we were dropped off, and we bargained the room down to $2 each. We passed out - a full-day bus ride will drain every ounce of energy from your body and mind.

The next morning we woke up at 4 o'clock to catch sunrise at Angkor Wat (the biggest and arguably most famous ancient religious complex on the planet -- Tomb Raider was filmed here for those of you who don't know where I'm talking about). Continuing our bad luck streak with weather, it was cloudy and the sunrise wasn't too impressive. However, "not too impressive" is a relative statement when the soft morning light slowly unveils an enormous and magnificent temple that you've only seen in pictures. It was still fantastic.

I really can't begin to describe the overwhelming intricacy of the detail and the massive scale of the structures, so I won't -- look at my pictures of it. My camera died early on in the day so what I have is what I have.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MxMrshll/Asia2/photo#5097404702127704930

We had a great time riding around the ruins on our hired tuk tuk, and had seen everything our exhausted bodies were willing to see by around 1 pm, when we headed into town to find some food. We stumbled upon a traditional Khmer restaurant in the middle of the town and decided sample the local cuisine and beer. (Khmer is the adjective for the people, culture, and language of Cambodia if you were wondering.) It was surprisingly delicious, and it definitely rivaled the culinary behemoth of a neighbor that is Thailand. I had a dish called amok, which is a spicy curry with fresh water fish and vegetables.

After a good 4 hours of napping, the three of us met up with two Germans from the bus and headed into town to find dinner at a restaurant that we heard had crocodiles. It was a very nice place with a chill atmosphere, where we sat on pillows on the floor of a loft overlooking a live band to the right and a crocodile pit below us to the left. The beer was disgustingly cheap, and the food was once again terrific. We went for an after-dinner snack at a place called "Happy Pizza" and enjoyed another fine example of Cambodia's local cuisine. On our walk back to the hotel, we strolled through the very energetic town and stocked up on mangosteens and dragonfruit.

The next morning, Ashleigh, Brian, and I hopped on a bus to Phnom Penh - the capital. Luckily the road was paved, but it still took forever to get there. We checked into a hotel, bought our bus tickets to Vietnam for the next morning, and set off to explore this new and intriguing city. Walking down the wide, organized streets, it was obvious that the colonial French had done a lot for this city. It was immeasurably more logical and relaxed than Bangkok, and it had a very charming energy. We reached the riverfront, which is at the junction of the Tonle Sap River and the Mekong River, and headed toward the Grand Palace and Silver Pagoda to check out the main tourist must-see sights. On our way we ran into a few monks who were around our age and were more interested in our friend Ashley than a good, pious monk should be, but it was great to interact with them. There wasn't much substantial exchange, but they were curious about life back in the states, and they really wanted to know about our national museum...?

We continued on to the palaces and walked around the complex admiring the detailed and ornate architecture. The pagodas here and the grounds surrounding them were more tasteful and interesting that their counterparts in Bangkok, in my opinion at least. Out of nowhere it started to downpour and we huddled under a pagoda with a bunch of monks who were once again very interested in Ashley and tried to invite her back to their house. Is that kosher? Who knows...

When the rain stopped, we wandered out to the waterfront and watched the sunset against the golden roofs of the royal compound. What was great about being out there was the fact that most of the people around us were Cambodians enjoying their evening. This was probably the most famous place in the capital, and it was not mobbed by tourists! Amazing!

This was one of my favorite aspects of Cambodia -- it is the least touristy destination in the region. The roads are too rough, the people too poor, and the memory of the brutal reign of the Khmer Rouge still fresh in international collective memory. Because of this it is still unique, it is still untainted, and it is still raw. It is a true gem of a destination, and I really hope the road between Thailand and Siem Reap NEVER gets paved because once it does the world will discover this place, and it will be ruined forever. I'm truly lucky to have seen it before that happens - I give it five more years.

The next morning, we said goodbye to Ashleigh and hopped on another bus to Saigon.