So techinically it is Jason's turn but he is busy at the moment so I will get it started.
We woke up in Ratanikiri, praying for a day of sunshine and luckily we were so blessed because it was a beautiful day. Over breakfast, we talked with the owner of the lodge about the best way to go around the city and she recommended by motorbike. Quite nervously, we decided to rent an automatic bike and navigate the city on our own. With a small map, our helmets, and the key to the bike, we tentatively started our journey. Except we didn't know how to start the bike. Some nice man showed us how, so again we started down the street. But the bike stalled out. So we walked to the gas station, filled up, and started again. Finally, we had begun to drive. We rode along and followed the map all the way down to a beautiful waterfall, called Kachung Waterfall, about 6 km out of town. The road there was filled with beautiful houses on stilts and friendly children selling sweets. Fields were flooded with rubber trees, with small paths weaving between the groves. At the waterfall, Jason went swimming and I wandered around the rocky area, watching children fish and play. A wooden bridge hanging across the river gave us a view of the flowing water and the trees leaning towards one another, eclipsing the sun in the distance. We exited the waterfall area and headed on our bike to the next location, another waterfall called Cha Ong, in the north of town. This time we both got in and climbed underneath the waterfall for an intense power shower that almost blasted us off the rocks. At the waterfall, we accidentally discovered that my camera takes panoramic pictures, so 15 minutes and a ton of film later, we decided to head on our way for some much needed lunch.
We pulled the bike off for a quick stop at a beautiful temple located at the top of the hill. The temples are full of beautiful colorful paintings and all the monks are dressed in bright orange robes and carry vibrant yellow umbrellas. The paint and colors are incredibly intoxicating and full of charm.
A quick look at our map showed us an interesting sounding restaurant, called Cafe de la Nature, and according to our map, it was just up the road. We sped off, and turned a corner and could not find the restaurant. When we asked some people (who did not speak very good English) they told us to go further down the road. We continued down the road for about a half hour and realized that we had probably gone too far. We finally found someone who could semi speak English and asked him where it was. He kind of laughed at us and told us we were wayyyy too far down. We turned our bike around and started driving for about 10 minutes. All of a sudden, our bike was no longer moving. We had run out of gas. Jason and I just started laughing because we were in the middle of nowhere and quite far from any petrol station. Then, out of nowhere, a man stops on his bike, jumps off, pours us a water bottle of gas from his tank and speeds off without enough time to even say thank you. That type of kindness is not unique in Cambodia. The gas he gave us was enough to take us all the way to a station to fill up and to another restaurant for lunch. It was one of the best meals of our trip, complete with avocado and mixed fruit shakes. Fully refreshed, we geared up for the next part of our day, a trip to Yeak Loam Lake, a volcanic crater lake.
A quick ride later, we arrived at the lake for a late day swim. The dock was pretty crowded when we arrived, so we walked around the lake to an empty dock on the other side. The water was still and beautifully green and the perfect thing for the end of our day. We were sitting and relaxing when a group of young students came onto the dock, very excited to meet some young Americans. A few of them were pretty drunk, but one student spoke very good English. I sat and spoke with him while Jason entertained the drunk guys who spent most of their time marveling at his intense height.
The man I was speaking to was named San, and he was a student on the weekends, but worked during the week at an NGO, teaching English to his students. He was extremely friendly and invited us to come practice English with him and his students. Unfortunately, we were leaving town and were not going to be there on the right day. After a long talk in which San may or may not have proposed to me (his English wasn't perfect), he invited Jason and I to go with him to the market. We followed his car home on our motorbike and then followed him to the market. On our way there, he decided to detour and take us to the home of what we think is his girlfriend. Or at least the girl he plans on marrying once he has enough money for the wedding. It was an incredibly sweet gesture and an interesting glimpse into the gender relationships in the country.
On a side note, I was reading a book all about the sex trafficking trade in Asia, which really had me thinking a lot about all of this. The women are treated very differently and I won't get into logistics, but it was quite eyeopening for both of us, as I was constantly reading excerpts to Jason.
Anyway, San then took us to the night market for some fruits and late night dessert. After saying goodbye, we headed back to our Lodge and talked with some people. One of them was an American kid from California who was working for an NGO for the last three weeks but was preparing to head back home. We made plans to meet the next morning and went to bed.
We were awoken at 7 am by some construction being done in the room next to us, because no one sleeps in here and they could not understand how we could still be sleeping! They put us in another room for a nap, and I went right back to sleep. We woke up, ate breakfast, and headed with our American friend to the market. We bought a few needed items and a couple presents (Caroline, get ready) and walked around a bit. We stopped for coconut shakes (AMAZING) and who should show up, but our friend San! Apparently, someone had called him and told him we were there so he stopped by to hang out. Gotta love the people here. He drove us to lunch, we hung out, and went back home.
That night, Jason, Reed (our American) and I decided to try out a restaurant we had heard about, called Sal's restaurant, known for it's amazing Mexican and other food. We hitched a ride from a guy Reed knew and pulled up to a poorly lit house with a sign pointing to a restaurant out back. The only person there was a young 10 year old girl, who was quite excited to serve us food. She indicated that her mother was in town but that she would be back soon, but in the meantime, would we like something to drink? We ordered beers which she quickly brought to us and some french fries which she scurried off to make. Before she left, we asked to turn the lights on, but she said they were not working. Now let me explain. This restaurant is a little open air bungalow, the second story of which has a few tables and chairs and a bar. Surrounding the restaurant is a gorgeous forest, but as the sun dropped lower, it became less beautiful, and more...creepy. Very creepy. A fog began to roll in as the three of us began to debate about which scary movie this would be the best setting for. Apocalypse Now? Something with Zombies? We agreed on a tie and Jason headed to the bathroom. He ran back to share what beautiful things he had discovered. The bathroom had worms in the toilet and he was pretty sure he heard a rat in the kitchen with the little girl working in the dark. At this point, we were all terrified and had the paln to et the french fries and get the hell out of there when we saw a car drive up to the house. A woman got out, carrying her 2 year old son and came to greet us. She brought a big flashlight and explained that the power had gone out all over town and that she was sorry. She was so lovely and calmed us down quite a bit, so we decided to stay and order dinner. The menu was organized by the amount of time it would take to cook, and we ordered some vegetarian tacos and lasagna and expected to wait "quite a bit more time". It was well worth the wait. The tacos were divine, filled with fresh purple cabbage and delicious melty cheese, and the lasagna was oozing with flavor. We couldn't get enough. With our bellies full, we headed home to give in to our food comas and sleep.
We love you all!
Lila
Thursday, July 21, 2011
I know, we are so bad!!
Ok, sorry for the lack of blogs but we have not had internet and for some reason blogspot won't work on my phone's wifi, but we are finally somewhere with internet cafes so here we are with another string of updates!
The morning after our trek, we woke up to stormy weather. Instead of going to the waterfalls with Cham, we hung out and read for the morning. Yes, Jason has been reading like a fiend, which is new, but also very convenient, as I have been reading like it is my job. So we spent the morning reading and eating (which we have become very good at, as asian people eat 5-6 times a day) and then decided to head into town when the rain slowed. We hopped on a couple of motorbikes and got rides to market. We ate delicious burritos at a local restaurant that also served some really delicious tea. Jason wanted to know where to buy some, so we got directions and headed down the street. On our way, we bumped into Cham, who was taking the day off to hang out! We showed us around and took us to buy tea, fruit, snacks for traveling the next day, and candy to give to children. After we stocked up, Cham squished Jason and I on the back of his bike and drove us back to Nature Lodge, where we were staying. We said our goodbyes and relaxed in the common area for the night to get ready for our early bus the next morning.
After a nice rest in our beautiful, hillside bungalow, we woke up, had a hearty breakfast and boarded our mini bus to Ratanikiri, a northern province in Cambodia known for it's waterfalls and coffee production. We were not looking forward to a ride on a minibus, which is quite small and pretty tight of a squeeze. We had no idea what we were in for. The minibus is supposed to fit 12 people. We had 22 people riding in ours, but only if you count the guy riding on the outside of the bus, holding onto the mirror so he didn't fly off. We kept stopping and adding more people and at one point we had a woman sitting in the trunk so they had to tie it shut with a rope. It was a ridiculous few hours. We finally stopped at the halfway point, at a town called Kratie (pronounced Kra-chee). No one spoke English, and we were waiting for our next bus to leave but every time we asked when it was leaving, someone would say a different time. Finally, after waiting for 3 hours, we tried to communicate to someone that we were going to eat quickly and be right back. After a quick lunch, we walked back to our bus....that was no longer there.
I got ready to cry and Jason immediately ran into the office and started yelling the name of our location over and over again. Finally someone looked at us, took out a phone and motioned for us to go outside. All of a sudden two motorbikes zoomed up in front of us and told us to hop on. A little too trusting, we jumped right on and sped down the street, not really knowing where we were headed. Miraculously, out of nowhere, we saw our minibus sitting on the side of the road waiting for us! We gleefully boarded the bus full of people laughing at us and set off on our way for another few hours.
On the bus, I was sitting next to a Cambodian man who spoke pretty decent English. We began to talk about his life and I found out he works for a small NGO in Cambodia and was traveling to the Northeast to establish some more infrastructure to bring more order to the provinces. It was so interesting to meet people from all over the world who are working towards different humanitarian causes. We talked about how he met his wife and how he never finished his last year at University because he was sent to the countryside by the Khmer Rouge. I can't get over the impact that the war had on the country and how incredibly resilient the people are.
Our minibus drove us right to our hotel, a beautiful place called Tree Top Lodge. We got a beautiful room with a private bathroom for the whopping price of $7. We stuffed our faces with yet another amazing meal and PASSED OUT.
Miss you all so much and can't wait to see you in a little less than a month!
Lila
The morning after our trek, we woke up to stormy weather. Instead of going to the waterfalls with Cham, we hung out and read for the morning. Yes, Jason has been reading like a fiend, which is new, but also very convenient, as I have been reading like it is my job. So we spent the morning reading and eating (which we have become very good at, as asian people eat 5-6 times a day) and then decided to head into town when the rain slowed. We hopped on a couple of motorbikes and got rides to market. We ate delicious burritos at a local restaurant that also served some really delicious tea. Jason wanted to know where to buy some, so we got directions and headed down the street. On our way, we bumped into Cham, who was taking the day off to hang out! We showed us around and took us to buy tea, fruit, snacks for traveling the next day, and candy to give to children. After we stocked up, Cham squished Jason and I on the back of his bike and drove us back to Nature Lodge, where we were staying. We said our goodbyes and relaxed in the common area for the night to get ready for our early bus the next morning.
After a nice rest in our beautiful, hillside bungalow, we woke up, had a hearty breakfast and boarded our mini bus to Ratanikiri, a northern province in Cambodia known for it's waterfalls and coffee production. We were not looking forward to a ride on a minibus, which is quite small and pretty tight of a squeeze. We had no idea what we were in for. The minibus is supposed to fit 12 people. We had 22 people riding in ours, but only if you count the guy riding on the outside of the bus, holding onto the mirror so he didn't fly off. We kept stopping and adding more people and at one point we had a woman sitting in the trunk so they had to tie it shut with a rope. It was a ridiculous few hours. We finally stopped at the halfway point, at a town called Kratie (pronounced Kra-chee). No one spoke English, and we were waiting for our next bus to leave but every time we asked when it was leaving, someone would say a different time. Finally, after waiting for 3 hours, we tried to communicate to someone that we were going to eat quickly and be right back. After a quick lunch, we walked back to our bus....that was no longer there.
I got ready to cry and Jason immediately ran into the office and started yelling the name of our location over and over again. Finally someone looked at us, took out a phone and motioned for us to go outside. All of a sudden two motorbikes zoomed up in front of us and told us to hop on. A little too trusting, we jumped right on and sped down the street, not really knowing where we were headed. Miraculously, out of nowhere, we saw our minibus sitting on the side of the road waiting for us! We gleefully boarded the bus full of people laughing at us and set off on our way for another few hours.
On the bus, I was sitting next to a Cambodian man who spoke pretty decent English. We began to talk about his life and I found out he works for a small NGO in Cambodia and was traveling to the Northeast to establish some more infrastructure to bring more order to the provinces. It was so interesting to meet people from all over the world who are working towards different humanitarian causes. We talked about how he met his wife and how he never finished his last year at University because he was sent to the countryside by the Khmer Rouge. I can't get over the impact that the war had on the country and how incredibly resilient the people are.
Our minibus drove us right to our hotel, a beautiful place called Tree Top Lodge. We got a beautiful room with a private bathroom for the whopping price of $7. We stuffed our faces with yet another amazing meal and PASSED OUT.
Miss you all so much and can't wait to see you in a little less than a month!
Lila
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Mundulkiri (meaning: meeting of the hills)
So we got up bright an early and hopped on a bus to mundulkiri. We were told the ride would take 8 hours, which is 10 in cambodian bus time. The bus came late, stopped immediately for breakfast and than again for lunch 2 hours later. We thought we would end up on the bus for at least 11 hours. Surprisingly the trip went really quickly and we arrived in sen monoram in the beautiful sunshine of the afternoon.
We hopped on the back of a couple of motorbikes and made our way to the nature lodge, our hostel. The common area/bar/ front desk area looks like a huge tree house and we felt at home immediately. we checked into our $12 room which was beautiful, made a few friends, and went for a drink at a local bar (which was a bamboo hut with 2 tables and 75c beers). we called it an early night after having a nice conversation with an ex navy soldier, some czechs, and a brit... quite a crowd.
The next day we got up and decided to take it easy after spending almost an entire day on the bus. we slept late and woke up to walk to a coffee plantation. we sampled their delicious blend, walked around to pick fresh fruit, and got to play with a monkey they found that was 1 yr old. from their we hopped on a motorbike that took us to town so we could walk around the market. the smell of half rotten fish filled the air and it was definitely an experience as i had to bend halfway over most of the way as to not knock my head on the tarps over the walkways. We came back to our hostel for dinner and booked a 3 day trek with our new friend amanda that we met here. We went to bed early because we had to get up at leave the hostel at 9.
We got up, checked out, met our guide and got a ride in the back of a pickup to a pnong village (the pnong people, commonly called the minority, are similar to the native americans of the US. the only difference is that when the khmer people came to cambodia they didnt shove them into reservations but they let them live off the land. no land in the countryside is owned and the pnong can farm wherever they want). in the village our elephant and its mahoot (elephant guide) met us and we headed into the jungle... me, lila, amanda, cham (our english speaking guide), our elephant and the mahoot (who only spoke pnong... only cham could communicate with him). We hiked through the countryside which was mostly hills with scattered forest. we got drizzled on a few times but nothing serious and got to our camping spot around 4. the camping spot had huts to put hammocks in (to guard from rain) and was next to a beautiful waterfall we swam in. We swam, made some dinner, ate early and stayed up for a while talking with cham about all sorts of things... we all became close friends and we were really lucky to have such a great guide.
after dinner i was craving something sweet and we had some extra rice. first i made rice and sugar and everyone tried it... it was pretty mediocre.. i thought it tasted like rice pudding and asked if we had yogurt jokingly... we didnt but we did have sweetened condensed milk which i mixed with the rice. cham thought it was really gross and weird but after trying it admitted he loved it, along with the rest of us.
The next day we got up and started on the elephant because we were crossing deep water (side note: elephants never slip and fall... ever). we continued our trek in and out of jungle and hillsides. we stopped for lunch and as soon as we stopped eating it poured. really, it was pouring and we were totally soaked for about 2 hours of hiking. nothing miserable but the most rain we had to walk through since our trip started. we finally arrived at a village of 27 people (living in maybe 5 huts) and stayed with a wonderful family. the family had 9 children, from 9 months to 19, and farmed to make a living. It was probably the poorest household i have ever stayed in yet the family was extremely happy, hospitable, and wonderful to be with. lila, of course went straight for the babies and played with them all night. When we first got there one of the little girls grabbed lilas hand and guided, without talking, all around the village and showed us one of their gardens where they grew green onions. it was an interesting site, it was cut down and burned forest with veggies growing all over but they left most of the burnt trees there to rot as fertilizer. the family made their traditional food and fed us. it was delicious... if you like the taste of fish sauce which made me and lila and little queezy. after dinner we dad busted out some rice wine and we all sat in a circle drinking and trying to learn each others language. the rice wine was somewhere in the middle of wine and spirits and was plentiful. we had lots of extra potatoes and made french fries for the family, something they had never had before but the kids lovvvved them. lila learned how to say french fries in pnong "ta poom barang" and taught them how to say it in english and proceeded to sing songs with them about it all night. we went to bed after laughing and joking in our hammocks, and surely keeping the family awake for a bit. I woke up in the middle of the night sick from the rice wine and maybe the super spicy chiles i decided to eat with dinner... even though i didnt drink excessively, it just made me twist and turn all night... probably my first and last experience with that..
We got up today and walked about 2-3 miles in dense jungle before our guide said we should get on the elephant due to the fact we were walking through "the land of 1000 leeches" we hopped aboard and started off... immediately this is what we heard from our guide every 5 minutes, who was wearing shoes and high socks ..."oh, theres the first one... got it off" "oooh theres 2 on my feet, hold on..ok got em" "yep theres another"... to which we responded "how many have your counted on the ground?" and after 20 minutes the count was about 11. the elephant ride was fun until the forest roof started getting lower and lower. we spent the better part of the day ducking and diving and pushing away branches and vines, most of which dropped all sorts of bug varieties on our laps and faces... that was fun for the first 10 minutes... and just a challange after that. we made it to our lunch spot, waited like hungry wolves for our ramen and veggies to cook, downed it in about 2 seconds, and packed up for the last 2 hours of the hike. we were tired, exausted, and hungry because we had pretty much only had rice and white bread for the last couple of days... we made it back to the pnong village where we took our bags off the elephant and went into a mans house that offered us more rice wine. i politely declined by smiling, nodding "no" and rubbing my belly. maybe he understood me... who knows..
the truck picked us up and brought us back to nature lodge where we took the most amazing shower ever and chowed down on falafel, noodle soup, bananas, and an avocado sandwich.
me and lila booked cham for tomorrow and hes going to pick us up on his motorbike and take us to 'the sea of trees' and multiple waterfalls around the outside of town.
we just played pool and are looking forward to our much needed rest.
the adventure was absolutely amazing. challenging at times but always fun. we learned a great deal about the khmer people from our guide, and friend, cham, and are really looking forward to hanging out with him tomorrow.
oh yea, the first day lila and i both got leeches on our feet and i also got another one today. nothing too bad, we flicked them off immediately, but still gross nonetheless.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Phnom Penh
Heylo!
So we have spent the last few days in a city called Phnom Penh, which is actually pronounced Pnom Pen. It is a beautiful city with a very unique history.
For those who don't know...
In 1975, an organization called the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government of Cambo0dia. They were a communist organization who aimed to turn Cambodia into a classless, agrarian society. As soon as they took over, they evacuated all the large cities and forced people to move out into the country. The next three years were full of destruction, terror and heartbreak. To achieve their goals, they "eliminated" anyone who was a threat to their organization. This included anyone who had worked for the previous government or had received an education in the city. This even included people who wore glasses, something they considered a sign of intelligence. Soldiers controlled areas in the countryside where people were forced to work 12-14 hour days in the rice fields, with extremely limited food rations. Many died of starvation. Families were ripped apart, as some were sent to labor camps and many children were sent to train as child soldiers because of the innocence they possessed. Often, soldiers would arrive at people's homes with odd excuses about them needing assistance from a specific family member. When this happened, families knew it would be the last time they would see that person again. When this happened, it meant the family member was being sent to Tuol Sleng or the Killing Fields. Tuol Sleng was a primary school that had been converted to a prison. There, people suspected of being traitors were kept and tortured until finally being executed. Around 20,000 prisoners are estimated to have been taken there. While Tuol Sleng was the main prison, it was only one of many used for this purpose. The Killing Fields are giant fields that the government controlled that were used to dispose of those who were no longer needed. Soldiers, who were recruits from local communities, many times teenagers, would bring hundreds of people there a day, make them dig their own graves and then brutally murder them. To save money, they used tools and other handy items so they did not have to spend money on ammunition. After three years, the country was taken over by the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge was taken out of power. Refugees fled to many countries to try and rebuild their lives. Before all of this occurred, the population was at 7 million people. In three short years, the Khmer Rouge committed a genocide that killed at least 2 million people, but affected everyone in the entire country. This horrible tragedy continues, as those responsible have yet to be brought to justice for their crimes. It wasn't until 2009 that the trial really took off. In fact, those in charge of the Khmer Rouge were able to hold a seat in the United Nations for quite some time after the Vietnamese came in. Also, Pol Pot, the man named as the head of the party, passed away before ever being charged in court.
So, Phnom Penh is the center of all this conflict and houses the two sites I spoke of earlier. I was especially excited to see it, as I just finished reading a book called First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. It was the first hand account of a woman who was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge took over. I cried through the entire book and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new book to read. Jason just started it, so I'll let you know if he cries at all.
Anyway, after we arrived in Phnom Penh, we decided to take a day trip to see the two locations. We woke up in the morning and headed out with our two British girls and another person we picked up on the way. Our first stop was Toul Sleng. I thought I was prepared, but I was not even close. The prison had three buildings in it. The first building was full of large classrooms that were converted into torture chambers. When the prison was discovered after the fighting ended, 14 bodies were found in the rooms. Now, when you walk through them, the original beds are in them with a picture of the body they discovered and oftentimes, the original tool used on them. It was sickening and disturbing and really showed the depravity of the people who ran the Khmer Rouge. The second building was broken down into small brick and wood prison cells. They were numbered and had small windows so the guards could view the prisoners. Standing inside the cells, I realized that I have had closets larger than most of them. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to have been there and know that you are going to die for no reason whatsoever. The third building showed a movie on the top floor that I was able to catch the last ten minutes of. They interviewed people living in Cambodia who were forced to become soldiers in the prison. One man described how he had to murder people or else he would be killed for being a traitor. The third building also had room upon room full of pictures that the Khmer Rouge had taken of prisoners that had come through. Many of the pictures were of young children and their mothers. There were also original torture devices they had used on prisoners and interviews of different people who came through Tuol Sleng. Only 7 people ever made it through alive.
After Tuol Sleng, we were taken to the Killing Fields, where many of the bodies were disposed of. Walking around, we saw beautiful, lush foliage, a stark contrast from the death that surrounded the whole place. Previously an orchard, the fields are now a memorial to those killed during the Khmer Rouge Regime. A large stupa holds the skulls they have found in the fields. As we walked around, there were signs telling us about different areas. There was a mass grave that held over 450 bodies. Another mass grave was reserved for women and their children. Next to this grave was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. It was called the Killing Tree, named because it was the place that they smashed children's heads to dispose of them. Their logic in killing the children was to prevent them from ever taking revenge. When I saw the tree, I immediately broke into tears. Jason was ahead of me, but knowing how it would make me feel, waited until I got there before moving on. Even now, I cannot stop picturing it and the evil of those who stood next to it.
There was a glass box we passed by that was full of the bone fragments that had been collected. We found out that they are still being collected because the heavy rain causes them to be washed out of the ground. When we looked down at our feet, we could see bits of clothing and bone slightly peeking out of the ground. At that point, it hit me how recently this had occurred. This ended only 33 years ago, which means that anyone we meet in Cambodia who is that age or older has been through this horrible time. This created such a contrast from the loving, kind people and the beautiful temples and scenery that we have been surrounded by.
The incredible resilience of this country has completely blown me away. The ability to go through such tragedy and to emerge so positive has gotten me completely enamored with this place.
After we returned from our day trip, we went to a few markets, ate some delicious, ridiculously cheap food, and said goodbye to our British friends as they boarded an overnight bus to Thailand. We caught up on some much needed sleep and spent today running errands and preparing for tomorrow's journey. We ate at a delicious pho restaurant (a type of soup) and spoke to a young man who was graduating high school to attend university. We learned all about the differences in our education and a little bit about each others' lives. After that, we went to the local flower market, where Jason bought a coconut to drink and I of course held someone's naked baby. Tomorrow we leave for the Mondulkiri Province, an area in Eastern Cambodia known as the Wild East. We have no plans as of yet, but we are excited to be somewhere that is not touristy. We want to meet the locals there, the Pnong people, and possibly do a homestay. They also have treks into the local areas, led by the guesthouses.
Sorry we have been so slow to update but we hope this helps! We promise to be better and we love and miss you all so much. Please make sure all our family members get to read this,as some of the more "mature" ones may not use facebook.
Sincerely,
Lila
So we have spent the last few days in a city called Phnom Penh, which is actually pronounced Pnom Pen. It is a beautiful city with a very unique history.
For those who don't know...
In 1975, an organization called the Khmer Rouge overthrew the government of Cambo0dia. They were a communist organization who aimed to turn Cambodia into a classless, agrarian society. As soon as they took over, they evacuated all the large cities and forced people to move out into the country. The next three years were full of destruction, terror and heartbreak. To achieve their goals, they "eliminated" anyone who was a threat to their organization. This included anyone who had worked for the previous government or had received an education in the city. This even included people who wore glasses, something they considered a sign of intelligence. Soldiers controlled areas in the countryside where people were forced to work 12-14 hour days in the rice fields, with extremely limited food rations. Many died of starvation. Families were ripped apart, as some were sent to labor camps and many children were sent to train as child soldiers because of the innocence they possessed. Often, soldiers would arrive at people's homes with odd excuses about them needing assistance from a specific family member. When this happened, families knew it would be the last time they would see that person again. When this happened, it meant the family member was being sent to Tuol Sleng or the Killing Fields. Tuol Sleng was a primary school that had been converted to a prison. There, people suspected of being traitors were kept and tortured until finally being executed. Around 20,000 prisoners are estimated to have been taken there. While Tuol Sleng was the main prison, it was only one of many used for this purpose. The Killing Fields are giant fields that the government controlled that were used to dispose of those who were no longer needed. Soldiers, who were recruits from local communities, many times teenagers, would bring hundreds of people there a day, make them dig their own graves and then brutally murder them. To save money, they used tools and other handy items so they did not have to spend money on ammunition. After three years, the country was taken over by the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge was taken out of power. Refugees fled to many countries to try and rebuild their lives. Before all of this occurred, the population was at 7 million people. In three short years, the Khmer Rouge committed a genocide that killed at least 2 million people, but affected everyone in the entire country. This horrible tragedy continues, as those responsible have yet to be brought to justice for their crimes. It wasn't until 2009 that the trial really took off. In fact, those in charge of the Khmer Rouge were able to hold a seat in the United Nations for quite some time after the Vietnamese came in. Also, Pol Pot, the man named as the head of the party, passed away before ever being charged in court.
So, Phnom Penh is the center of all this conflict and houses the two sites I spoke of earlier. I was especially excited to see it, as I just finished reading a book called First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung. It was the first hand account of a woman who was 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge took over. I cried through the entire book and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new book to read. Jason just started it, so I'll let you know if he cries at all.
Anyway, after we arrived in Phnom Penh, we decided to take a day trip to see the two locations. We woke up in the morning and headed out with our two British girls and another person we picked up on the way. Our first stop was Toul Sleng. I thought I was prepared, but I was not even close. The prison had three buildings in it. The first building was full of large classrooms that were converted into torture chambers. When the prison was discovered after the fighting ended, 14 bodies were found in the rooms. Now, when you walk through them, the original beds are in them with a picture of the body they discovered and oftentimes, the original tool used on them. It was sickening and disturbing and really showed the depravity of the people who ran the Khmer Rouge. The second building was broken down into small brick and wood prison cells. They were numbered and had small windows so the guards could view the prisoners. Standing inside the cells, I realized that I have had closets larger than most of them. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to have been there and know that you are going to die for no reason whatsoever. The third building showed a movie on the top floor that I was able to catch the last ten minutes of. They interviewed people living in Cambodia who were forced to become soldiers in the prison. One man described how he had to murder people or else he would be killed for being a traitor. The third building also had room upon room full of pictures that the Khmer Rouge had taken of prisoners that had come through. Many of the pictures were of young children and their mothers. There were also original torture devices they had used on prisoners and interviews of different people who came through Tuol Sleng. Only 7 people ever made it through alive.
After Tuol Sleng, we were taken to the Killing Fields, where many of the bodies were disposed of. Walking around, we saw beautiful, lush foliage, a stark contrast from the death that surrounded the whole place. Previously an orchard, the fields are now a memorial to those killed during the Khmer Rouge Regime. A large stupa holds the skulls they have found in the fields. As we walked around, there were signs telling us about different areas. There was a mass grave that held over 450 bodies. Another mass grave was reserved for women and their children. Next to this grave was the most horrific thing I have ever seen. It was called the Killing Tree, named because it was the place that they smashed children's heads to dispose of them. Their logic in killing the children was to prevent them from ever taking revenge. When I saw the tree, I immediately broke into tears. Jason was ahead of me, but knowing how it would make me feel, waited until I got there before moving on. Even now, I cannot stop picturing it and the evil of those who stood next to it.
There was a glass box we passed by that was full of the bone fragments that had been collected. We found out that they are still being collected because the heavy rain causes them to be washed out of the ground. When we looked down at our feet, we could see bits of clothing and bone slightly peeking out of the ground. At that point, it hit me how recently this had occurred. This ended only 33 years ago, which means that anyone we meet in Cambodia who is that age or older has been through this horrible time. This created such a contrast from the loving, kind people and the beautiful temples and scenery that we have been surrounded by.
The incredible resilience of this country has completely blown me away. The ability to go through such tragedy and to emerge so positive has gotten me completely enamored with this place.
After we returned from our day trip, we went to a few markets, ate some delicious, ridiculously cheap food, and said goodbye to our British friends as they boarded an overnight bus to Thailand. We caught up on some much needed sleep and spent today running errands and preparing for tomorrow's journey. We ate at a delicious pho restaurant (a type of soup) and spoke to a young man who was graduating high school to attend university. We learned all about the differences in our education and a little bit about each others' lives. After that, we went to the local flower market, where Jason bought a coconut to drink and I of course held someone's naked baby. Tomorrow we leave for the Mondulkiri Province, an area in Eastern Cambodia known as the Wild East. We have no plans as of yet, but we are excited to be somewhere that is not touristy. We want to meet the locals there, the Pnong people, and possibly do a homestay. They also have treks into the local areas, led by the guesthouses.
Sorry we have been so slow to update but we hope this helps! We promise to be better and we love and miss you all so much. Please make sure all our family members get to read this,as some of the more "mature" ones may not use facebook.
Sincerely,
Lila
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Sihanoukville
So we arrived around 7am looking for a hostel. we got a tuk tuk driver to take us to the beach area of town we wanted to stay at. we asked for a specific hostel we had heard of but he said it was closed and he could take us to another cheap one (driver often say things are closed and try to take you elsewhere where they get commission from the business) we refused and went there anyways. when we saw it was actually closed and felt the driver was trying to rip us off we decided to just walk. we walked down the beach and found a guesthouse for $6 total per night for a queen bed, fan, and personal bathroom. We quickly put on our swimsuits and headed to the beach. little did we know but we spent the next 8ish hours on the touristy end of the beach (we only figured this out at the end of the day). by touristy i dont just mean lots of travellers, but also the people walking up and down the beach ruthlessly trying to sell you cheap junk.
"you buy bracelet, one dollar"- i must have heard this phrase over 100 times that day. every time i had to say no and have a small conversation sometimes when they ask 'why not' or 'i make deal for you'. pretty much the conversation or nap was interrupted at least every five minutes to deny bracelets, fake raybans, or foot massages by older women. it was quite the experience but once was enough and decided to take a boat trip to the islands the next day.
Lila however did enjoy some of their services. the khmer women use a technique called threading to get rid of body hair, its the same effect as waxing but they use thread. lila got her legs and brows done for the low price of $14 which would cost at least 4x as much in the states.
It was, however, the 4th of july, and being some of the only americans around, it was hard to find people to celebrate with. happy hour there starts at four but there are 50c beers all day. god bless america, cheap beer and fried food... we felt at home. we went out for a delicious dinner and splurged for $4 a person. when we started yelling god bless america at the bar, the british bar owner ran to the computer and blasted "America, F*** Yea!", the theme song from Team America World Police (a ridiculous movie, for those who dont know it) they offered us free tequila shots and we had a couple rounds with some brits, forcing them to celebrate with us!
We went to the next bar (a big backpacker hostel- monkey republic), played pool with some more brits, and headed down to the beach for the specials at the bars ( we had been given about 15 flyers on the beach for all the bar specials that night).. again no americans around, so we looked pretty silly yelling things about america, since nobody really cares about us... fun none the less, we celebrated and went home early due to our lack of sleep.
The next day we got up early and went to our boat trip ($12 per person including breakfast and lunch, snorkeling twice, and a visit to 3 islands. the weather was amaaaaazing and the sea was as smooth as glass. all the people running the trip kept commenting on how lucky we were for the weather. Once on the boat i realized it was the perfect cast for a movie where the boat wrecks and all of us have to survive on an island. there was us, the couple, our british friends, the blonde backpackers, 2 bros from australia, an ethnic couple, and an obnoxious overly white couple who i can only assume were from somewhere in the midwest. hollywood would have eaten it up. the boat ride was great, the beaches were wonderful, and the company was great as always. we relaxed on one beach where the water was crystal clear for about 3 hours. it was a great trip.
we got back and went to an italian restaurant running and special, $10 gets you 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. we proceeded to have the most delicious, cheesiest meal of our trip. lila had to leave early and went to bed because she got really sick from all the sun all day (the boat didnt bring enough water and our nalgenes ran our quickly). i finished dinner with the brits and went out to the bars for our last night in sihanoukville.
Something interesting about cambodia is that a lot of restaurants offer "happy" pizzas for a small surcharge... dont worry mom, dad, david, janine, grandma, and grandpa and whoever else told me not to do things of this sort in other countries, i have not taken part.. just pointing out that every time we get off our tuk tuk or walk by one, its not unusual to be offered the special tobacco. we asked if its legal and we were told its not, however, this herb has been used as a spice in khmer cuisine for a long time so its normal to the people here
we got up the next day (late because of our late wake up call) and rushed to catch our bus, barely able to grab cold cheese baguettes for breakfast. we took our "4 hr" (actually 6) busride to phnom penh, cambodias capital and arrived at okay guesthouse around 5pm. we negotiated and got a queen bed, aircon, and private bathroom for $10 per night
a story we forgot to tell from siem reap-
we went to a little shack restaurant for lunch one day near one of the smaller temples. we looked at the menu and the prices were around $4.50, about double what it should be. of course we asked for a discount and she said we could all eat for $2.50... not only this but she than brought out different laminated menus with completely different prices! all $2 cheaper than the first one she gave us. this is how a lot of cambodian businesses work (at least the ones running out of shacks or markets).. they give you a high price hoping you wont think anything of it considering its cheap anyways but you can usually bargain to about half the price!
were off to lunch but we cant wait to tell you about phnom penh and the awfully depressing tour around the city showing us all about the genocide the khmer rouge committed in the 70s
its so humid it feels like its raining and we wouldnt have it any other way...
with love from cambodia,
Jason
"you buy bracelet, one dollar"- i must have heard this phrase over 100 times that day. every time i had to say no and have a small conversation sometimes when they ask 'why not' or 'i make deal for you'. pretty much the conversation or nap was interrupted at least every five minutes to deny bracelets, fake raybans, or foot massages by older women. it was quite the experience but once was enough and decided to take a boat trip to the islands the next day.
Lila however did enjoy some of their services. the khmer women use a technique called threading to get rid of body hair, its the same effect as waxing but they use thread. lila got her legs and brows done for the low price of $14 which would cost at least 4x as much in the states.
It was, however, the 4th of july, and being some of the only americans around, it was hard to find people to celebrate with. happy hour there starts at four but there are 50c beers all day. god bless america, cheap beer and fried food... we felt at home. we went out for a delicious dinner and splurged for $4 a person. when we started yelling god bless america at the bar, the british bar owner ran to the computer and blasted "America, F*** Yea!", the theme song from Team America World Police (a ridiculous movie, for those who dont know it) they offered us free tequila shots and we had a couple rounds with some brits, forcing them to celebrate with us!
We went to the next bar (a big backpacker hostel- monkey republic), played pool with some more brits, and headed down to the beach for the specials at the bars ( we had been given about 15 flyers on the beach for all the bar specials that night).. again no americans around, so we looked pretty silly yelling things about america, since nobody really cares about us... fun none the less, we celebrated and went home early due to our lack of sleep.
The next day we got up early and went to our boat trip ($12 per person including breakfast and lunch, snorkeling twice, and a visit to 3 islands. the weather was amaaaaazing and the sea was as smooth as glass. all the people running the trip kept commenting on how lucky we were for the weather. Once on the boat i realized it was the perfect cast for a movie where the boat wrecks and all of us have to survive on an island. there was us, the couple, our british friends, the blonde backpackers, 2 bros from australia, an ethnic couple, and an obnoxious overly white couple who i can only assume were from somewhere in the midwest. hollywood would have eaten it up. the boat ride was great, the beaches were wonderful, and the company was great as always. we relaxed on one beach where the water was crystal clear for about 3 hours. it was a great trip.
we got back and went to an italian restaurant running and special, $10 gets you 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. we proceeded to have the most delicious, cheesiest meal of our trip. lila had to leave early and went to bed because she got really sick from all the sun all day (the boat didnt bring enough water and our nalgenes ran our quickly). i finished dinner with the brits and went out to the bars for our last night in sihanoukville.
Something interesting about cambodia is that a lot of restaurants offer "happy" pizzas for a small surcharge... dont worry mom, dad, david, janine, grandma, and grandpa and whoever else told me not to do things of this sort in other countries, i have not taken part.. just pointing out that every time we get off our tuk tuk or walk by one, its not unusual to be offered the special tobacco. we asked if its legal and we were told its not, however, this herb has been used as a spice in khmer cuisine for a long time so its normal to the people here
we got up the next day (late because of our late wake up call) and rushed to catch our bus, barely able to grab cold cheese baguettes for breakfast. we took our "4 hr" (actually 6) busride to phnom penh, cambodias capital and arrived at okay guesthouse around 5pm. we negotiated and got a queen bed, aircon, and private bathroom for $10 per night
a story we forgot to tell from siem reap-
we went to a little shack restaurant for lunch one day near one of the smaller temples. we looked at the menu and the prices were around $4.50, about double what it should be. of course we asked for a discount and she said we could all eat for $2.50... not only this but she than brought out different laminated menus with completely different prices! all $2 cheaper than the first one she gave us. this is how a lot of cambodian businesses work (at least the ones running out of shacks or markets).. they give you a high price hoping you wont think anything of it considering its cheap anyways but you can usually bargain to about half the price!
were off to lunch but we cant wait to tell you about phnom penh and the awfully depressing tour around the city showing us all about the genocide the khmer rouge committed in the 70s
its so humid it feels like its raining and we wouldnt have it any other way...
with love from cambodia,
Jason
Travel to Sihanoukville
SO,
We know we have been behind on blogs, so here are a bunch of updates on what has been going on.
We finished up our time in Siem Reap by going to see the mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. It was incredibly large and we kept marvelling at the fact that they were able to construct it without any modern equipment. After that, we visited Angkor Thom, but we were stopped halfway through because of the inauguration of the temples. We were a bit disappointed until we realized that we got to see the King of Cambodia! We have a bunch of creepy pictures of him (don't worry they are coming) and we decided it was pretty worth it. After that we were totally exhausted considering we had woken up to see the sunrise at the temples, so we decided to go to a local pool. We (me, jason and our british friends) went to this place owned by a British ex-pat who told us all about how he has been doing business in Cambodia for years but has had a lot of trouble because of border conflicts.
After spending the day there, we got ready to leave Siem Reap and take a sleeper bus to Sihanoukville, a beach town in the south. If you have never been on a sleeper bus, it is quite an experience. We were sleeping in these six foot beds/chairs, surrounded by weird people who were spitting, farting or talking on their phones for the entire 10 hour drive. At first, we were delirious, laughing about it all, but after a while, not so funny. Jason was twisted sideways trying to fit in the bed and I was just trying not to slide into the little crack where our feet were supposed to be. Also, the roads were more swiss cheese than anything else, covered in potholes. It was a late night rollercoaster that never ended. When we finally got to Sihanoukville, it was around 6 in the morning. We were exhausted, starving and ready for the beach.
Now I will pass it over to Jason.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Temples
The temples are unbelievable.
Yesterday we took a tuk tuk (motorbike with a 4 passenger cart on the back, open air, which cost us $10 total for the entire day) around to view some of the temples. We let our driver take us to the ones he liked the most. They are huge and incredibly ornate. at the front of every temple you are barraged by children trying to sell you postcards or some other cheap tourist gifts. We got a guide for a little bit in the first temple we went to, which was a fusion (hindu and buddhist) temple. there was an incredible amount of carvings or stone devices in the temple for fertility. also almost every wall was covered either in etching or a full out carving.
A lot of the heads have been stolen off the statues and sold to the black market but that doesnt happen anymore because they are all guarded 24/7 now. Its interesting to walk around such huge and powerful temples and wonder how a civilization so large could possibly collapse.
Everything here can be bargained down, from food to drinks and everything in between. The fruit is incredible and cheap and we tried fried banana chips yesterday and a decent size bag was only $.25
last night we went out with our british friends to pub street which is like a tiny bourbon street. they have these fish tanks where you put your feet in and the fish eat your dead skin... that was an interesting experience.
Theres pizza everywhere and we can only presume its because all of the westerners get really sick of pad thai and fried noodles really quickly.
There are babies everywhere and lila is in baby heaven every time we walk down the street. Everyone here is super friendly and people will always smile back or give you a friendly wave when you are riding down the street.
We're off to the temples again today in our tuk tuk!
from the land of fried food, dirty streets, and many smiles
Jason
f
Yesterday we took a tuk tuk (motorbike with a 4 passenger cart on the back, open air, which cost us $10 total for the entire day) around to view some of the temples. We let our driver take us to the ones he liked the most. They are huge and incredibly ornate. at the front of every temple you are barraged by children trying to sell you postcards or some other cheap tourist gifts. We got a guide for a little bit in the first temple we went to, which was a fusion (hindu and buddhist) temple. there was an incredible amount of carvings or stone devices in the temple for fertility. also almost every wall was covered either in etching or a full out carving.
A lot of the heads have been stolen off the statues and sold to the black market but that doesnt happen anymore because they are all guarded 24/7 now. Its interesting to walk around such huge and powerful temples and wonder how a civilization so large could possibly collapse.
Everything here can be bargained down, from food to drinks and everything in between. The fruit is incredible and cheap and we tried fried banana chips yesterday and a decent size bag was only $.25
last night we went out with our british friends to pub street which is like a tiny bourbon street. they have these fish tanks where you put your feet in and the fish eat your dead skin... that was an interesting experience.
Theres pizza everywhere and we can only presume its because all of the westerners get really sick of pad thai and fried noodles really quickly.
There are babies everywhere and lila is in baby heaven every time we walk down the street. Everyone here is super friendly and people will always smile back or give you a friendly wave when you are riding down the street.
We're off to the temples again today in our tuk tuk!
from the land of fried food, dirty streets, and many smiles
Jason
f
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