I am a traveller of both time and space, to be where I have been

April 01, 2014

I am a traveller of both time and space, to be where I have been

. Cambodia .

I have been home for almost a month and haven't finished blogging. I also haven't had a chance to look over my photos from my trip (all 5,000 of them) or even truly reflect on this incredible life changing experience. So bear with me as I ever - so - slowly add to my blogging and throw up some more iPhone photos. Before you read on, just know that the pictures and blog to follow are graphic and heartbreaking, but this story is completely worthy of every emotion you will feel.

Sometimes expectations and instincts aren't right. For the most part I believe our instinct is there to be listened to, instincts are meant to be followed. However, rarely, but sometimes, instinct can blow out the flame of inspiration and shield open-mindedness. This was my experience arriving in Cambodia. I was absolutely excited to finally reach Cambodia, to the moon and back. Don't get me wrong. However, something inside of me, when seeing the city and all the tourists, got a vibe that felt like "I'm not going to like this", I thought... "I got lucky with 2 out of 3 and will cherish my memories of Laos and Vietnam".

I could not have been more wrong.

I loved Cambodia. I would love to go back to Cambodia and spend a month visiting small areas and exploring the villages. To me it was a fascinating country, and an amazing experience. So my gut feeling was wrong this time. But I'll let it off the hook.
The cities of Cambodia are pretty beaten paths by tourists but the culture is real and the problems are present and on display. Laos and Vietnam are neatly built and appealing to the eye as they hide away all the secrets and poverty far from any tourist visited landmarks. Cambodia is Cambodia. Garbage is garbage. The poor are poor. And the children will steal from you. Those statements probably seem like I'm giving Cambodia a bad rap. I am actually meaning the complete opposite. These are the things that made Cambodia realistic and that proved resilience. These are the things that make you feel alive when backpacking through a country. Cambodia has so much culture and history to offer which make a visit here truly incredible.

Another huge highlight was of course (double-triple underline for emphasis) having Sarah fly in from Australia for a week. Our time in Cambodia absolutely flew by together, which was the saddest thing. It is always that feeling of anticipation & excitement, of so soon being reunited with your sibling you haven't seen in so many months.
Finally bridging that 8,000 mile gap.

We ventured through 2 major Cambodian cities experiencing arts, music, delicious food, and devastating history. What an incredible country and culture to be able to overcome the horrific crimes of Pol Pot and the Kmer Rouge. The people of Cambodia stand tall and proud and keep their history ever present and in front of everyone who visits. The goal is to never forget what has happened in hopes that it will never happen again. This was another educational, culturally conscious and satisfying experience.

Pol Pot lead a country through heartbreak to their death. He forced millions of people to work in gruesome conditions and convicted people of crimes they did not commit in order to torture them. Maybe I should have added a warning before that sentence but I hope, despite it's sadness, it has gripped your attention enough to read through and view pictures, of the saddening yet awakening places we visited. While Cambodia fell victim to the Kmer Rouge, responsible for the Cambodian genocide, approximately 3 million people were killed across Cambodia. That's approximately 1 quarter of the entire population at that time. There was no discrimination to age or gender. Women, men, children and infants, no one was left out of the torture.

One of the places we visited was the Killing Fields of Phnom Penh. We visited only one. There are thought to be 20,000 mass grave sites, and 300 killing fields just like it across Cambodia. Some are memorials and some are untouchable or unvisitable as they are located deep in the jungles or surrounded by land mines. I won't get into the gut-wrenching, heart-breaking details but I will explain what it was like. The site we visited called Choeung Ek is close to Phnom Penh. We set out on a tuktuk on a dirt road under construction. Cars lined the streets. It was hot. The tuktuk driver motioned for us to get out and walk. The road had been torn up and wasn't safe for us in the tuktuk. (We stopped on the way to fire guns at a Cambodian gun-range. As one must do while in Cambodia.) Arriving at Choeung Ek we were presented with head sets. Each part of this small brown area, with dried grass and shrubs and a line of tall green trees, had a sign or number. Each number was a program on the headset and as you stood, and watched the ground, the voice would explain. Explain that the fabric you see, or the 'stick' you see are in fact bone and clothing. Every so often the ground shifts and more fabric and bone surface.

"As if the spirits that lie here will not stay still".

This is how the voice describes it. I believe him. We walk across the dead grass and dried dirt and continue reading signs. Listening. Watching. Trying to make sense of it all. It doesn't make sense. It will never make sense. So many lives lost. Sometimes when I visit places I wish all the tourists would go away. I wish I was the only one to enjoy the peace and scenery. At this place, I am glad everyone is here. I'm glad it is swarming with tourist bodies from all over the world. This memorial, these people, this part of history deserves respect, deserves acknowledgement, and people need the education.

The second devastating memorial we visited was S21. "S-21" now known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, stands for Security Prison - 21. Before S-21 came to be, this building was a school. A building where thoughts and dreams blossom and people learn and interact. When the Khmer Rouge was in power this school was transformed into a prison. In this same building over 20,000 people were killed. This was just one. There were more than 150 just like it. The prisoners were most often wrongly accused and brought in because of their political status. They were thought to be a threat and "crimes" were created that had not been enacted. Once imprisoned "they were repeatedly tortured and coerced into naming family members and close associates, who were in turn arrested, tortured, and killed". Visiting this building was incredibly sad and disturbing. Some of the beds and rooms have been preserved from these times. Photos on the walls show the people who once occupied these rooms.

I deliberately started this blog post with these things as they're the worst to read, the worst to experience and the best to learn from. Also, because now I can lighten the mood a bit with some fun, uplifting experiences we had. Cambodia's cities are tight nit streets that are lined with shops, restaurants, and a variety of different things from markets and arts to giant riverside palaces. About 30 tukuk drivers can be found napping midday in their tuktuks lining each street. Finding things isn't always easy on foot as the street numbers can jump from 237 to 60 on side by side streets and house or building numbers often do the same from 21, 37, 5, and 15 being next door to each other. There is absolutely no reasoning to this madness and I'm still unsure of how the system is even in the slightest bit successful. Let's just say my trusty use of google-maps failed me here. However, getting hopelessly lost can be a great treasure when you stumble upon something unexpected.

This often happens to me.

We found a great indoor market where we bought many, many clothing items for 1$ as we walked in as the market was closing for the evening. We originally stayed in a backpacker area that had pubs and restaurants lining the streets. Again, like in Laos, we followed the Friends-International foundation to the restaurants, gift shops, and fundraiser events of Cambodia. Friends, is the restaurant (one of two) which we visited in Phnom Penh. We had some of the most outstanding food I have eaten in all of Asia. This restaurant is right off of the main road but is completely quiet and the high fence is lined with vines and greenery. The dim lighting and polite staff make the atmosphere perfect. You almost feel like you're eating off in the jungle somewhere instead of in the middle of a bustling city. Of course our main reason for visiting was to support the amazing cause of this company, building safe strong futures for marginalized and street youth of Cambodia. This same agency held an event called "Amazing Acoustic Picnic" and in the most simple sum, it was exactly that. We extended our stay in Phnom Penh an extra day to visit this event. It was held as a fundraiser and work experience project for the former street youth in which Friends International works with. Acoustic singers and artists from around the world gathered to play music for an incredible turn out of expats living in the area. The youth either made crafts, food, or practiced their aesthetician trades for those who participated in the day (for a small fee of course). We were blown away by the talent and success of this days event.

Travelling on we took a bus to Siem Reap. Here we explored the city enjoying the vibrant offerings of "Pub Street". This is street is honestly named Pub Street and it is a very accurate name. This street (area), closed to vehicles, is lined with pubs, massage parlours, markets and night clubs. The beautiful city lights attract any passing tourists and cannot be missed. The food varies from European, Asian, and Western. Food from all over the world. 3$ foot massage and 2$ drinks can be found here. It is bustling with people day and night. We splurged here and rented a room in a hotel where all 5 of us girls could stay together. We had a pool and plenty of space. Unfortunately, the power was out for about 2 days of our stay. Cambodia isn't quick to fix this problem and no one seems to know what is going on.

Siem Reap is known for it's proximity to some incredible temples. Angkor National Museum gave us some information and education ahead of time but with so much history and so many religious figures it can be hard to keep up at times. Our first temple visited was the incredible Angkor Wat. We set out from our hotel at 4 am to make the trek, by tuktuk, to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. This was one of those places where it would be nice if there were no other tourists, but that was not the case, we were only a few in a sea of thousands of people standing in the dark waiting for the sun to peak from behind the temple. Seeing as Angkor Wat is very large, the largest religious monument, it took some time to walk around, and through, to see what it had to offer. Despite the many people grouped around the pond in the early hours, once people had dispersed there were times when we were alone admiring the fascinating works of art and history. Our next stop was Angkor Thom with it's beautiful sculpted faces into the high projections of stone that towered over the admiring travellers that were visiting the sites. Angkor Thom, many years ago, housed up to 150,000 people within it's walls before it was abandoned in the early 1600s. The last temple on our visit was Ta Prohm, known to many for it's appearance in the movie Tomb Raider. This tomb was an intricate network of narrow tunnels through a temple that in many spots had fallen to the ground. Large trees grew out of and through the stone walls. I think it's natural appearance, fallen many years ago, is what felt so unique. Though there was some present construction happening, the majority of this historical site appeared as I believe it would have so many years ago creating a sort of lasting beauty.

I believe Cambodia has so much to offer and I can't wait to spend more time here again one day..

Neat Artwork found in Phnom Penh while wandering around lost one day.

Street Side Food.

Young boy in the middle of traffic begging.

Killing Fields

Please skip the photos ahead if you feel it is necessary. They're not easy to see.

Peace?
A lost concept.

The music that played from the loud speaker, which we heard while walking through with our headsets could give anyone chills. The eerie sounds are heartbreaking.