We crashed out super early and woke up at the crack of dawn to catch our flight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. We were really "weirded out" that our ATM spit out US Dollars upon arrival. Everything is priced in US dollars and we aren't really even sure why the Riel is still used. The USD is preferred, but when you pay in dollars they give you change in Riel. Bogus! We walked probably 7 miles around town and it is by far the most humid city I've ever been to. We felt very interrogated by every store or taxi driver we walked past--"lady, you wan tuk tuk??" "hello? Tuk tuk lady?"---and it was hard to be friendly, but we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in one of the poorest countries in the world, and work is hard to come by.
Our friend, Ramon, was sitting in our hotel lobby early morning Friday waiting for us to awake to ask if he could take us around town for the day (just a little example of how persistant they are!) At first he quoted $158 (so specific!) and I said "no way!" to which he immediately came down to $25 each. His Tuk Tuk (think a golfcart attached to a motorbike) drove at about 10 MPR in the bike lane while other trucks and bikers honked their way past us.
Ramon took us in the little engine that could to S21, a high-school-turned-prison camp that was during the late 70's run by Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge regime. It was extremely horrific and surreal to be standing in a blood stained jail cell that once belonged to an innocent civilian who either died there or was taken to the killing field outside the city where their life was brutally ended. We walked through room after room of torture rooms, cells, and chambers dedicated solely to displaying photos of the inmates.
The photos were taken when each Cambodian entered the prison. They had a number attached to a placard that was hung around their neck, and most of their faces were expressionless. Some of them looked horrified, and others even had a little smirk on their face. It seemed as though most of them had not a clue what their future held. I studied these photos with detail and could almost relive the horror that took place within the walls I stood inside. It was shocking afterward to be driven to the killing field, and coming face to face with skulls belonging to people who's faces I had just seen in those images.
Ramon insisted on taking us to a shooting range before our stop at the killing field. We were driven down a sketchy rocky alley way and pulled into a gated area, where we were met by a man in military garb who shut the gate behind us. He showed us a list of different guns we could shoot....AK47s, tommy guns, shotguns, grenades, etc. I have to say, it wasn't our first time at a shooting range together, but it felt very wrong to be shooting rounds before going to a scene where a horrific mass crime took place-so we left AK47less without hesitation.
When we arrived to the killing field it was eerily silent except for the laughing and screaming coming from the playground next door.We walked around with our guided audio tour for the next couple of hours and walked through the horrific mass graves. Every time it rains, more human remains are revealed and excavated...it seems to be never ending. All over the ground were pieces of shredded clothing from prisoners that were slowly becoming unearthed. The tour ended with a 17 story stupa that housed skulls and bones that had been excavated over the years.
It was so tragic to see first-hand the evil doings of such a corrupt communist government, and it was especially strange because it didn't happen all that long ago. the Cambodian government was just starting to slowly be rebuilt and re-established when I was an infant, and is still slowly advancing to this day. War is awful, but a purposeless war against your own people is just unfathomable to me. I don't get how power can make people do such heinous things. Knowing that most of the people responsible are still alive and haven't even been tried yet is simply disheartening.
We moved on to Siem Riep yesterday and went temple trekking at sunrise this morning around Angkor Wat today. I had no idea what to expect as I self-admittedly didn't do much research before hand. To say the least, I was flabbergasted. I feel like I keep saying this but it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. We went to about 6-10 different temples, all of which were built around the 12th-15th century. The amount of detail in the bas reliefs and sculpture were incredible and I couldn't believe it was all carved into stone. For the period in which it was built, without the use of modern technology, I was stunned to learn that Angkor Wat only took about 40 years to build. Especially considering the scrawniness of the Cambodian people today, it's hard to imagine these tiny people having the strength to build such a wonder hundreds of years ago. The temples were created by Hindus, overtaken by Buddhists, and then seized by the Khmer at some point. We saw a lot of Hindu symbols that were changed to Buddhist symbols and then were either defaced or stolen by the evil Khmer.
It was cool too because Lauren and I were off at temples completely alone in the middle of the jungle, climbing up all sorts of stones and cliffs. In the US there is NO WAY this would fly. too many liabilities and a plethora of stupid idiots that would sue if they tripped over their stupid clumsy feet. I counted at least 45 different ways I could die and no one would ever know if I was alone. Open trenches, crumbly ceilings, steep ancient stairways (that we raced up to the top) where you would actually break your neck with one mis-step. Upon our super hot 10th temple or whatever it was, Lauren and I found ourselves at one point unknowingly zoning and staring off into the distance. I was thinking to myself, "wow, this is the most incredible thing I've ever seen but I'm so hot and ready to go home". It was like Lauren lived in my brain....after about two minutes of dead silence she turns to me and goes, "TEMPLED OUT!" I'm glad we were on the same page.
Cambodia has been very interesting with some comical interactions. Nobody really speaks english here, so our charades have improved by the ten fold. We went to a restaurant yesterday and I ordered a coffee. When they brought it out it was super strong so I asked for some milk. The server came back saying what I thought was "we only have breast milk". After turning that away out of disgust, Lauren was weirded out that I was so weirded out, and finally I came to realize he had said "we only have FRESH milk". Stuff like that happens quite often but it makes things more interesting.
Lauren was attacked by a little kid (probably 7 years or so) who grabbed her arm and told her he wouldn't let go until she bought him a meal. He took us into a 7-11 and put baby formula on the counter for her to buy. We saw a lot of young children carrying newborn babies in slings while their parents were off working. I was hit a couple weeks ago in Laos when we got off the boat. I had a big bag of snacks and was completely attacked by little boys who stole all of my shwag. I got so hungry later and was really missing my seaweed and chips but obviously they needed it more than I did. I can't stress how poor this country is...people BEG you every 4 feet for something, and negotiating is very easy. I bought a hand woven blanket from a woman who told me it was $30 and I pitched $15 and it was immediately sold to me. It's really sad to see the state of this country, and I am so grateful for the life I have back in the States. As confused and directionless as I may be now, I know that I have the support and love of many, and the foundation to do great things when I return.
Walking around in this country has made me very thankful for the things that I do have...and those things are very simple. Public toilets with actual seats that don't charge a fee for you squat over a hole with other people's piss all over the ground, running water, trash cans, being able to eat ice cubes/water without having to spew (in piss soaked public toilets), toilet paper and soap available in every restroom, A/C, bug free-ness, etc.
We are simply disgusted by the lack of sanitation here. I consider myself to be anything but a germ-a-phobe...maybe even a "dirt bag" as my dad calls me...
However, when a server comes up to your table and blows a snot rocket out the window while you're eating your soup that he just brought you, it may ruin your appetite (and the ambiance). It was a truck stop so I forgave him. We got a massage yesterday in a nice spa that was really cheap, and before we sat down I went to the bathroom. There was no running water or soap to wash my hands, which made my stomach a little turbulent knowing that our masseuses were likely rubbing poo lotion all over our faces and bodies.
There are absolutely no traffic laws here. As Lauren described it, "If you zone out and un focus your eyes, the cars and motorbikes kind of look like ants that don't know where they're going". We've seen families of 5 on a tiny motorbike-Dad driving, and two sons sandwiched between a mother carrying her newborn in a sling. We've seen people hauling large ladders, glass windows, mattresses, and bikes. Everyone owns a motorbike and you can go whatever way you want on the street...and pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.
I sound very negative in my descriptions but really everything (minus the snot and dirtiness) has been really incredible here. We feel very safe, so all you worriers can put your little panicky brains back where they belong. Plus, I have mace and some other learned jui-jitsu moves that I was taught before the trip. I never feel unsafe with the base kid, and these little scrawny asians have nothing on us.
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