Khmer, a Once Mighty Empire

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Our first introduction to Cambodia was not a pleasant one.  All of the guidebooks warned that the immigration officials were notoriously corrupt, and it was common for travelers to be overcharged for Visas at the border crossing.  Unfortunately, we became victims as well and had to pay $50 USD above the customary fees.  I tried everything including threatening to go to the authorities, which was met with a smirk from the immigration official now holding our passports.  That tactic was completely futile, as the police no doubt also got a piece of the action.

We spent the night in the town just over the border and left the next day by bus for Sihanoukville, a beachside community frequented by vacationing Cambodians and backpackers.  During our trek through Central America, we traveled thousands of miles by bus.  At the time, we thought we had experienced the worst roads and driving habits on the planet.  However, it became painfully clear within the first 30 minutes that we would look back on our bus travel in Latin America with fondness and a longing for the "good 'ol days".

The bus had seen its best days 20 years earlier.  The suspension system had long since been suspended and every pothole, of which there were too many to count, caused a bone-jarring jolt.  In addition, the driver constantly blew his horn for no apparent reason.  Most of the time, there was no traffic, no pedestrians or other travelers on the road.  Furthermore, it was not unique to our driver, as we observed the same ritual on all future bus rides as well.   But that was not the worst part of the excursion.

The bus had several televisions on board to provide entertainment during the journey.  We were looking forward to a movie, as it might help take our minds off the horribly bumpy roads and incessant horn blowing.  Eventually the ticket-taker popped in a video, and the entertainment began.

What followed should have been banned under the rules of the Geneva Convention as cruel and unusual punishment.  The Khmer people love their music videos, and we were about to experience the first of many to come.  As self-proclaimed seasoned travelers we pride ourselves on embracing other cultures, and accepting their idiosyncrasies regardless of how strange they may seem to our Western sensibilities.  However, everyone has limits and watching Khmer music videos for four hours is akin to someone scraping their fingernails across a chalkboard for the same period of time.  The high-pitched voices combined with storytelling antics, dancing and acrobatic hand-gestures would have been considered quaint if only we could have watched it for five minutes and left.  Unfortunately, we were held captive for four long hours until the bus finally reached its destination.

Sihanoukville was touted as a tropical paradise with wide unspoiled beaches.  It certainly had potential, but sadly the beaches were strewn with garbage and debris of all kinds.  Boards with rusty nails were scattered all over the beach, and open ditches flowed with who-knows-what into the sea.  Everyone except Westerners seemed oblivious to all of the stuff laying on the beaches and floating in the water.

The town did have two redeeming features - cheap accommodations and even cheaper meals.  We found a hotel perched on the side of a hill with a great view of the ocean.  It had approximately 10 one-room huts, each with its own bathroom.  At $10 USD per night per hut, we splurged and rented four for the three days we were there.  The lack of hot water was not an issue, as the cold showers were a welcome relief to the extremely high temperature and humidity.  In addition, all five of us were able to eat out every night for a total of $8 USD.  The food was excellent and plentiful.

Before leaving the area, we spent one night on a nearby island.  The tour included snorkeling, overnight accommodations in a dormitory, meals and transportation by way of a very slow boat to and from the island.  The beaches were not as spoiled as the mainland, but still had a fair amount of garbage along the shoreline.  Occupants of a small fishing village also called the island home and eked out a meager living from the sea that surrounded them.

After a three-hour boat ride, we arrived back on the mainland at around 5:00 p.m.  There was just enough time to eat dinner before hiring two tuk-tuks to carry our gear and us to the bus station.  The overnight bus ride to Siem Reap, home to the fabled Angkor Wat temple complex, consisted of nearly constant horn blowing, unbelievably rough roads, non-stop Khmer music videos and a group of obnoxious Frenchman that partied into the wee hours.  It was the bus ride from hell, which offered little sleep, comfort or rest.

The city of Siem Reap is a sprawling community catering to tourists, travelers and locals alike.  It is located approximately four miles from the main entrance to Angkor Wat.  It offers accommodations to fit any budget and has a wide selection of restaurants, shops and markets.  The French occupied Cambodia in the mid-1800s and their influence is evident even today in the architecture, cafes and bakeries.

Angkor Wat is a vast temple complex dating back more than 1,000 years.  There are many sub-complexes, each with their own unique architecture and history.  Many give the impression of being on the set of an Indiana Jones movie.  Angkor Wat encompasses more than 500 acres and the bas-reliefs depict a mixture of both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.  Eons of erosion combined with the theft of countless artifacts and the mindless destruction by the hated Khmer Rouge, have left the once mighty complex a shell of its former glory.  That said, it is still a must see for any serious world traveler or intrepid tourist.

It is impossible to walk even a few feet within the complexes without being accosted by an army of kids selling everything from books to t-shirts.  They have clever ways of engaging potential customers.  For example, if they discover someone is from the U.S., they will begin reciting every capital of every state, an impressive feat that few Americans could match.  Once engaged in conversation, they begin wearing down the customer's resistance through pure unadulterated persistence.  Most tourists will eventually buy something to get rid of pesky hawkers.  Not only do they leave with an unwanted trinket in hand, but are also tattooed with an big fat invisible bull's-eye on their forehead with the word sucker written across it.  Once they cave-in and purchase something, the visitors are fair game for the countless entrepreneurs they meet at the other temple locations.

Another must see near Siem Reap is the floating village where people live out their entire lives from birth to death on the water.  Everything floats including houses, restaurants, schools, basketball courts, gardens and even their livestock.  It is a world unlike any other and is home to nearly 6,000 residents.  They are a mixture of Cambodians and Vietnamese who live in a water world reminiscent of a futuristic sci-fi movie.

The next destination was Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.  There we learned about the horrors of war and the barbarity of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.  Nothing prepared us for what we were about to hear and see in the killing fields and at the notorious prison called S21.

And remember, "Travel is the ultimate education."

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