Cambodia; what a beautiful, strong, amazing country. First to be able to appreciate the Cambodian people to the extent that they should be appreciated, you have to know a little about the recent history. In April of 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge communist army, began the mass genocide of any Cambodian who lived in the cities, held jobs of intelligence (doctor, teacher, politician...), and those who questioned the Khmer rule. By mass murder, disease, exhaustion, and starvation, the Khmer Rouge claimed the lives of one forth of the Cambodian population and destroyed all of its cities. With this in mind, seeing how far Cambodia has come in and how much has been rebuilt in the last 40 years is quite amazing.
My first stop across the border was a small city called Siem Reap, the city closest to Angkor Wat, a gigantic and fascinating set of ruins. Originally Hindu, then Buddhist, these old temples (300 of them), are so intricate and beautiful in their structure and wall reliefs. A few people that I met on the bus and I traveled around for the whole day looking at each of these massive ruins. About 8 hours later, we were only able to get to 3 out of the 300 temples!
My next stop in Cambodia was Phnom Phen. On the bus ride from Siem Reap, I met a very nice Philipeano woman. When we arrived in Phnom Phen, it was very late and she was waiting for her ride (her business partner was already in the city and coming to pick her up). There were a lot of men in the area and it was quite dark and remote so I stayed and waited with her so that she was not alone. When her friend arrived, they were nice enough to bring me to my hotel.
Since I knew that I was coming into the city very late and it wwas quite big, I decided it would be smart to book a hotel ahead. However, since I decided too late, there were only fancy hotels avaliable. So, that night I splerged and spent a night in luxery for 25 US dollars. I even got to watch Glee and have a real shower!
The next day I found myself a hostel and since I was in a dorm room of 8, I also very quickly found a nice group of friends. We hung out, ate, partied, and all went to the killing fields and S-21 together (the two things that brought me to Phnom Phen in the first place).
The killing fields were very, very sad. This was just one of many killing fields that existed during the time of the Khmer Rouge. It was an area the the Khmer soldiers would bring people from the cities and kill them. Honestly some of the ways they would do this are so upsetting that I cannot even bring myself to write them in this blog. At this site you see hundreds of holes in the ground where thousands were burried....a really difficult and devistating place to experience, but very worth going to, to understand the complete devistation and tragety so many Cabodians had to go through and the weight that those who survived still have to carry with them. After that we went to S-21, a highschool in Phnom Phen that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge rule. This was also very difficult to see. The small cells, the lack of light, the torture devices....how can people be so horrible and inhumane....
A very sombering and difficult day ended my trip to Cambodia, but it really allowed me to appreciate the people of Cambodia, their spirit, their courage, and their strength. Although it has only been 40 years since the atrocities that destroyed the country, they are not only pushing on and rebuilding, but they are genuine and doing it all with smiles on their faces.
Overall, a very wonderful, fulfilling Cambodian experience!
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