The Dichotomy of Cambodia, Part II: Stealing Our Hearts

Cambodia stole our hearts in two words: Angkor Wat. Wow! This temple is breathtaking. We awoke at 4:40am to visit this masterpiece built 1,000 years ago at sunrise (Photo Album).

We begged Yan, our trusty tuk tuk driver, to stop for coffee but he replied, "No time! After you see temple coffee ok!" The Japanese have invested quite a bit in Cambodian tourist attractions so we paid an astonishing $20 US for a day's pass to see the temples in the area. Crowds filed towards the entrance to enjoy the splendid view of the sun rising over Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. Andy and I cruised around to the west side away from the crowds and found a spot within the temple walls to ourselves. The day was quickly heating up. We giggled as we watched 11 monkeys rumble and tumble along the top of the wall, playing with one another in the early morning light. This place is massive!! The moat that surrounds the temple is so large it looks like a lake from the ground view. Check out the link above if you are interested in more of the history of this spectacular place.

After an hour or two of oohs and ahhs, we indulged in iced coffees and pancakes. For you coffee drinkers, the way they drink coffee in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam is unique: instead of adding milk or sugar, they add sweetened condensed milk (yes, like the Carnation brand in the States) to very strong brew made with grounds so fine they simply settle on the bottom of the cup or glass. At first, the coffee was waaaay too sweet for us as we prefer our coffee simply with milk or cream but we got used to it and grew to love it! They don't understand "no sugar" here. But I digress.

Next, we headed north in the dense Cambodian jungle to Angkor Thom and the temple of Bayon with its 216 gargantuan faces of Avalokiteshara, the Buddha of Compassion, staring back at us. But Ta Prohm was my favorite (pictured right) with tentacle-like roots that strangle the temple walls. It's a poetic cycle: humans conquering nature to create, then nature once again conquering humans to destroy.

Very pushy children and beggars constantly approached us to buy bracelets or t-shirts or simply give them money. They grabbed onto or shirt sleeves and all but got in the tuk tuk with Yan and us as we politely said "no" and drove away. Again, the dicotomy of Cambodia unmasks itself between the rich splendor and glory of Cambodia's past and the current state of the needy. But this is how they live. It's the only way they know.

Musicans occassionally play on the temple grounds adding an extra aural experience in addition to the crickets and birds. By now, even before noon we were dripping with sweat that is quintessential to the SE Asian experience in the hot & muggy weather. By noon, we were templed out! Lunch and a nap were calling our names.

The town of Siam Reap is quite charming with its French colonial and Chinese style architecture. Restaurants and bars line the Old Market in the French Quarter. Haven't heard of it? You will. I have a feeling this place is going to blow up as a major tourist attraction in the coming years.

The cab ride from Siem Reap to the Thailand border was an experience I'll never forget. We decided against taking a 6 hour bus ride and instead chose the 3 hour cab option. The 200 km of road between is unpaved and in mid construction and has been for about 20 years. There is a rumor that a certain airline has been paying off a certain government body to not seal the road so travelers such as Andy and I are forced into uncomfort instead of taking the very expensive flight. Anyway, we get going in the cab and our driver has one hand on the steering wheel and the other blaring the horn or his cell phone. Cars, bikes and motorbikes are coming at us from every which way as our driver has lead in his foot, sharply navigating between oncoming and passing traffic. Meanwhile, the road is bumpy and dusty as hell as Andy and I grab on to our "oh shit handles" with white knuckles. Suprisingly, we have seatbelts. Unsuprisingly, there is nothing to latch them into. So with the trusty carabiner we link our male belt pieces together with a hope and a prayer. What I will never understand is this: we honk and blare and pass others at lightning speed, then the driver slowly pulls over to jump out and take a whizz, yes right on the side of the dirt road with a lit cigarette in his other hand.

Finally, we make it to the border and a very friendly gentleman greets us and offers us a nice minibus option to Bangkok from the border for just $9 per person. After getting our departure and arrival stamps, we "wait just 15 minutes while the bus gets an oil change." Fine, so we wait. 45 minutes later a bus finally shows and what do you know, another 2 people happen to show up for a ride to Bangkok as well. Oil change my arse. It's raining hard now. So we load into the minibus that holds 12 people but wait, there are 14 of us! No problem, Andy and Stace will sit in the back of the minibus with an extra double carseat from another van just plopped down on the floor in back. A hope and a prayer yet again...

This pretty much sums up my individual experiences in Asia. Leading up to the event, I am nervous about the unknown. At the beginning of it, I am scared sh*tless. But by the second hour, relaxation and surrender sets in. Conquering fears = Asia!