Cambodia - 20th March to 2nd April 2008

Introduction

Johm riab sua to our 52 nd country, home of the Khmer Nation and to a landscape of cultivated rice paddies guarded by sugar palms intertwined with rainforest. Although the poverty is obvious, these friendly people seem to be recovering from their 3 decades of tragic civil war. This is hardly surprising considering their ancestral lineage.

Background and History

From the 1 st to the 6 th centuries, present day Cambodia was part of the Funan Kingdom and was greatly influenced by the trading Indian culture. A series of small kingdoms followed, collectively known as the Chenla Empire which once unified, gave rise to the mightiest empire in the history of South East Asia . This vast Khmer Angkor Empire of the 9 th to the 14 th centuries dominated the region and achieved amazing architectural and sculptural heights. Like all empires their neighbours steadily chipped away their territory and the Thai's and Vietnamese nearly squeezed Cambodia off the map if the French did not protect it from 1864 until independence in 1953. The 70's saw fighting engulf the country culminating with Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge murdering close to 3 million people with their radical Maoist philosophy – until Vietnam invaded in 1978. Peace accords and elections in the 90's afforded Cambodia a coalition government that today is a constitutional monarchy.

Our Experience

Obtaining a $25 visa at the border and clearing the vehicle with the carnet was a breeze and within an hour we left Poipet, travelling east for 150km to Siem Reap . The roads reminded us a bit of Africa as did the lifestyle, but the going was easy and by sunset we checked into Earthwalkers for the next 3 nights. A homely clean place with a pool and great food – the Khmer chicken curry and Amok (traditional coconut soup with chicken) comes highly recommended. The heat and humidity made wild camping rather unattractive and the a/c rooms a necessity – it was 45 degrees in the sun with about 90% humidity!

Dane's cold of a week had also escalated into a respiratory tract infection and he needed antibiotics, but he still was strong enough (as he says) to push on, so the next day we took a day trip south to Tonle Sap Lake . Village life along the 17km road had us in awe – fuel sold in fanta bottles, houses on stilts with kids playing or being rocked in hammocks set against a backdrop of rice paddies – it was as if we just started travelling again! At the edge of this lake whose size fluctuates five fold from dry to rainy season, is the floating village of Chong Khneas where we joined Vietnamese tourists for a boat trip around absolutely incredible sights. Rich in fish and shrimps, the lake supports families who literally live in floating homes, attend floating schools and even have restaurants with ‘contained' crocodiles! Although the setting was just made for going crazy with the camera, the poverty was heart wrenching. On our return to Tipperdee we found a broken off right side mirror, probably from inquisitive locals trying to peek into the van – which would make driving on the right (really the wrong!) side of the road quite a challenge as we do not have a rear view mirror!

Returning back to Siem Reap we explored a bit of the French colonial era town, tried and failed to eat the stringiest toughest of street grilled chickens and then headed for sunset views of Angkor Wat . This massive UNESCO designated complex is the heart and soul of the Khmer nation and source of pride – and rightly so! It is magnificent. Built between the 9 th and 13 th centuries hundreds of majestic temples of extraordinary creativity were built by a succession of Khmer devaraja (god-kings). We just managed to see the exterior of the main temple which was originally dedicated to Vishnu but served Buddhism since the 14 th century.

Another of those hurdles to over-landing then had to be attended to – Tipperdees bathroom was flooded as a hose came loose – strangely a common problem for us. Eventually sorted and Gary drenched by 9pm, a late dinner followed in between helping the kids with their diaries that they diligently started since we hit Singapore.

With the sun just rising we were back for divine inspiration at Angkor's Temples by 7am. First crossing the vast moat to the world's largest religious building (1km squared) with its soaring towers and extraordinary bas relief's of Apsaras and Hindu mythology, then onto the fortified royal city of Angkor Thom containing the bayon with amazing carvings and 216 gargantuan faces, then the terrace of elephants and the leper king. Nearly templed-out and in the heat we visited Preah Khan, a huge monastic Buddhist complex filled with photo opportunities. Drained, we had a long lunch stop in Tipperdee and in the late afternoon drove past some smaller temples before exploring the famous ‘Lara Croft' jungle monastic temple of Ta Prohm where trees were left to grow from towers and corridors. Finally for sunset views of the jungle we trekked up to the mountain temple of Phnom Bakheng , but the crowds and heat soon forced us back to Earthwalkers pool!

That evening we felt like royalty as a local gentleman, Mr Happy, who we met at the ruins, arranged a prime table at the Angkor Mondial Hotel for a mouth watering buffet of Khmer delights while enjoying a traditional Apsara dance – colourful with ornate costuming, taut posture, ached back and feet, hyper extended fingers and slow deliberate flowing movements. This uniquely Khmer classical art represents stories inspired by the Reamker (Cambodian version of the Ramayana) and the age of Angkor . The inviting pool had the kids back in the water the next day and by lunch time we eventually set off south east for our 300km journey to the capital, Phnom Penh .

Although the road was good, passing the villages along the way resulted in us arriving after dark and then the tough search for accommodation. Street life was hectic and the road works made navigating the big vehicle rather difficult but eventually we found the decent Mekong Hotel on the riverfront for $20 a night . First on the agenda was to dip into the Khmer curries and soups and that's where the action ended as the hostess – bars are really a man only affair!

Back to business the next day, we visited the Vietnamese embassy only to be told that we were not allowed to take our vehicle into the country due to government laws. So with Vietnam off our list we immersed ourselves in the city sights. While heading out to the killing fields of Choeung Ek, disaster struck. We missed the turn and the road had a metal overhang with a height reading of 5.9m but as we got closer, Tipperdee's 2.8m seemed a lot higher! Loose gravel on the road and insufficient braking resulted in us going through with a bang and shrieks of concern as bits were flying about in the van. We thought we had ripped the whole top off and that our trip had come to an abrupt end. With apprehension we stopped and checked out the damage – the sunroof was half ripped off and completely destroyed with the plastic roof lying somewhere in the road. On looking back we then learnt the ridiculous comedy that resulted in all this – the overhang has an adjustable boom that some roadside locals crank up when large vehicle pass and then lower it for no apparent reason again! They would lift and lower the boom for no payment the whole day!

Rather disturbed but happy that the rest of the roof was intact, we continued to the extermination camp where we soon so overwhelmed by what happened here that our little mishap paled into insignificance. The Khmer Rouge bludgeoned nearly 20 000 people, swinging babies' heads against trees and burying many alive. There are fragments of bone and teeth, bits of clothing strewed all over in between mass pit graves. Nearly 9000 skulls are arranged in a memorial stupa from bodies exhumed in 1980. Disgusting that 30 years after these atrocities many of the perpetrators are still free men!

The rest of the afternoon was to search for a place to close the big hole in our roof – we somehow ended up at a body repair shop where a Perspex sheet was siliconed over the gap and they also welded our side mirror's broken arm – a job well done by the Cambodians – Thanks! Relieved, we were on a roll and even managed to fill our gas cylinder after being unable to cook for the last week. Filling gas cylinders in countries can be a challenge as the cylinders and fittings differ but with hose clamps and pipes, they poured the liquid gas from a larger cylinder, cooling mine with huge ice-blocks and tested the pressure by squeezing the pipes! I had visions of explosions but it worked.

The next day we first visited the Royal Palace , the official residence of King Sihanouk, set in an oasis of calm – we were only able to visit some ceremonial buildings and the spectacular silver Pagoda with a life sized solid gold Buddha and smaller emerald Buddha set amidst hundreds of other Buddhas. The afternoon was for Tuol Sleng museum, a high school that was converted into S-21 and served as a torture centre, claiming around 100 victims a day. Those who survived being electrocuted, beaten, repeatedly raped and many other kinds of brutality and starvation were executed at the killing fields. After all this we needed an escape and settled in for 2 nights at the similarly priced L'Imprevu resort with a gorgeous pool.

On the 27 th March we headed south west again for 230km to the gulf of Thailand and Sihanoukville . Still undiscovered by package tourists we found our spot for 5 nights at Otres Beach – literally on the beach, right beside the chilled out beach bar, Karma . We were back to dipping into the clear still warm waters with offshore islands in the background and draught beer on tap! A big thanks to native Australian Stuart who not only allowed us to camp on his doorstep but his friendly company and great food (Tom Yum Soup, fresh green kampot pepper prawns and larb, a Lao dish with spicy mince, mint, lemon and ground rice) made this idyllic setting truly memorable.

On our 3 rd day here we had a happy reunion with Rein and Maaike and together we joined an inclusive dive charter to Koh Rung Island to snorkel. However poor visibility and a passing storm delayed our boat ride back and made the day rather disappointing. Not to mention that the females got sea-sick! We had all acquired Dane's virus by now and Jade needed antibiotics too as she had developed an ear infection.

On the 1 st April we were back on the road, this time due west through the Cardamom Mountains to Koh Kong , a border town with Thailand . With our knowledge of our water clarity and the high cost of a boat excursion we decided to chill with the TV at the comfortable Asean Hotel . At 8am the 2 car convoy left back east for a long 11 hour 540km trip via Phnom Penh and along the Mekong River to Kratie . Although tiring and testing with the poor standard of driving, rural Cambodia and the village life along this massive river made the day pass in a jiffy. Kratie's Riverside Hotel is typical of the French architecture of the town – until you step into the market with its frenetic cooking, fresh produce and hanging meat, typical of Asian life.

Our last meal in this country was fittingly in a French styled restaurant with a view of the market enjoying spicy chicken amok (with burgers for the kids). Another early start on our final day and we were back to the picturesque stilted houses alongside the Mekong with many women walking around in pyjamas (we found this very strange)! It was to be another long day but after a ½ hour we stopped to catch a glimpse of the endangered fresh water Irrawaddy dolphins just clipping the surface. Then the trip north to the quiet border crossing at Dom Kralor where we were through within an hour without paying the $1 stamp ‘baksheesh' on both sides!

Aw kohn to the lovely Khmers for a great 2 weeks and lia suhn hao-y to Cambodia !

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