Livin’ the Dream

Cambodia proved to be the most touching, sobering, fascinating country we’ve been to. Period. A more troubled past than anywhere else I can think of, a corrupt government still calling the shots, a poor and hungry population and yet the grandest temples in the world including Ankor Wat, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Civilians eager to put the horrible acts of the Khmer Rouge behind them and move forward, to embrace tourism which most probably is the only way the country will ever be able to get back on it’s feet. It’s a country filled with some of the friendliest people we’ve met and some of the prettiest countryside we’ve seen. Cambodia deserves better and more than any place we’ve ever been, deserves our help.

Traveling to Cambodia was both physically and mentally difficult coming from Ko Chang. Physically, the 20 hour excursion to and from Siem Reap was exhausting and flat out awful. The scam bus(es) robbed us of our ability to make our own decisions and remain independent. The 7 hour off roading expedition to/from the border in a beat up, broken bus was downright misery. The buses had no A/C, missing seats for passengers, broken windows, the dirt from the road soiled all clothing and gear and made out lungs, eyes, noses and ears sting. All in all, easily the craziest off-roading adventure of our lives. Mentally, coming from a lame volunteer program helping no one, we felt cheated knowing what our donation to T2T could have done in Cambodia. Taking all this into account, Cambodia was still worth it.

Siem Reap is the place where 95% of Cambodia’s tourism takes place. The town is centered around Bar Street and the market where one cant go 5 feet without being asked to buy a xerox copy of the newest Lonely Planet or to donate money to one of the unfortunate landmine victims. Siem Reap translated means ‘Siam defeated’, a reference to a time when Cambodia actually possesed the ability to fend off attack from one of its neighbors. Prices in Siem Reap are ridiculously expensive compared to the rest of Cambodia which makes the following amounts that we paid all the more chilling. Hotel room at very nice 2 story guest house, $20. Average upscale meal, $2-3. Tuk-tuk ride around town, < $1.  

 

 

Why has Cambodia had such an impact on us? The landmine victims stuggling to survive, the abundance of orphan children roaming the streets, the poverty of those not capitalizing in on tourism and the effect that has on the temples. Most of the damage to the remains of the Ankor Temples have been caused by looters and people breaking off elephants heads and symbols of the Hindu Gods to sell for a few hundred bucks on the black market since they are stolen from the original sandstone. Futhermore, learning how what in the States we might consider to be a tiny amount translates to so much in Cambodia it’s hard to fathom. For example, college education for one year at the public university which is quite good costs only $250. This made our volunteer work in Thailand further feel like a complete waste but we’ve recently learned that we will be transferring our donation from Travel 2 Teach to a Cambodian charity of our choice, yet to be determined. Very good news and a very respectible move on the part our Thai volunteer organization.

That said, the temples were amazing. Two full days of sight seeing have given us a profound appreciation of the Hindu religion and the Ankor people. A look at how many pictures we took clearly illustrate how captivated we were. And our visit to the landmine museum nearly brought us to tears. Arriving 20 minutes outside of town, our teenage tour guide/landmine victim taught us how each different type of landmine worked and how many people it was designed to kill. He told us the story of how his siblings were killed when he accidently stepped on one at the age of 8 and pointed to piles of hundreds, maybe thousands of disabled landmines strewn about. Pictures and facts surrounded us as we toured the make-shift tent/museum including the most troubling fact the United States still refuses to sign the anti-landmine treaty. It was yet another instince where we were embarased to be American.

 

 

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