Cambodia - Land of the Smile

hey there all...and happy october...can't believe september has come and gone and with it my 36th birthday!!!! i was in cambodia...siem reap to be specific....and it was great...more on that later...my overalll impression of cambodia is a positive one, but i am not sure i will go back...i will not go back to phomn penh for a vacation though, but i would return to siem reap and the ancient temples of angkor....BUT the people of cambodia are what makes the place....they are soooooooooo very friendly....and always ready with a smile....the kids killed me....they would run up to the road from where they were living and wave and shout out hello at the tuk-tuk i was in :) they were great...plus, the cambodians are always ready for a conversation...so many of them want to practice their english...i spoke more to cambodians than to other tourists....although in that aspect of my trip, i haven't really clicked with other tourists...plus, i have noticed there are very few, if any, north americans traveling from the states over here...its been weird....

cambodia is very 3rd world...you can tell this by looking at the houses people live in throughout the countryside...the higher up from the ground your house....the wealthier you are...not many high houses...also...it was interesting home many "nice" houses were just a facade....inside, no funiture...and people living on the floor on mats, with no electricity...although the wealthy houses i guess have their own generators in the countryside...that was what i was told...i was amazed at how many TVs were in the country...another sign of wealth...but it was explained to me that the government is very corrupt and the officials are the only ones with money....it is a monarchy, but i guess the king doesn't have much of a say in things....i glimpsed him in his motorcade twice while i was in phomn penh...i waved from the sidewalk with the girls from the hotel i was staying at...he waved back :)

but phomn penh is not the place for me...its very dirty and very crowded and very depressing...everywhere you look you see homeless families....there are people begging for money everywhere...lots of kids are selling books and newpapers...and then they run and give any money they make to the person they are working for...their commission is peanuts...BUT phomn penh was important for me to see....if only for the killing fields and tuol sleng - the school where the prisoners were kept...it felt similar to the concentration camp i witnessed in germany...and it was very moving to see it with my own eyes...it frightens me that this happened in my life time...and that people you see in cambodia who are my age are survivors...either they were prisoners or khmer rouge members...very scary....i think this why they are so quick to smile...they have survived hell and back....the royal palace and the silver pagoda (yes, it has an entire silver floor) were stunning and the national museum was definitely worth it...but i feel i have seen all i need to see in phomn penh as a tourist and will not need to go back....

as for sim reap...if you don't know...its where the ancient angkor temples are located...the most famous one known by people is angkor wat....and you have seen one of the other famous temples if you have watched tomb raider....seim reap was strange as well due to the fact that there are five star hotels and lots of tourist dollars in the area, but the people who live there see very little of it...the temples themselves are extraordinary....you walk up to some of them and they just tower above you and are huge and incredible looking....it took so long for these temples to be built and the carvings on the walls and the murals and the overall architecture just blows my mind....on my birthday i watched the sunrise at the famous angkor wat....and then went to my favorite temple of them all...banteay srei...this temple is carved from pink sandstone and is sooooooooo detailed...the entire temple is carved...no empty, ungilded spaces....just stunning....i then went to about five more temples and watched the sunset at the last :) and my day was topped off with a tasty indian meal in town....it was GREAT!!!! i have to say that i climbed all of the temple mountains and was quite pleased with that aspect of my trip....as once again it was really hot and humid....but it didn't stop me....and the steps are not really frindly to short people...it was wil :) but i guess you have to work to get to pray to the gods :)

there were two other really awesome parts of siem reap i would like to share....the mini angkor wat....this is an amazing replica carved by a man of angor wat, banteay srei and bayon temples....they are to scale and simply amazing in their own right.....most people don't even know this exists...plus the man wo did the carving is great...he speaks very little english (but can speak french) and is 69 years old....he is currently working on two more built to scale temples and is a great guy....it only costs a dollar so if you go, be sure to stop by and see his work....wowowowowowow....the other really good exhibit i liked was the butterfly garden...this is run by an english man who has been working on this project for about 15 years (ian)....he has only cambodian butterflies and actually has street kids go out and collect them...and then he pays them for them....the coconut ice cream there is to die for....it makes for a mellow hour or two and is really peaceful....i ended up staying and reading my book for about an hour....just heavenly :) also...one place i would recommend, not because it is heavenly, but because it is eye-opening, is the land mine museuem...it is run by a landmine victim...and houses about 25 children who have lost limbs due to landmines....i learned a lot about landmines...scary stuff...the usual victims these days are children...and the country is covered in them...not where tourists go...those areas have been cleaned...but it was just a very educational stop i made...very sad as well....

so overall, i would have to recommend cambodia as a place to spend a brief period of time in...definitely see the temples, a three day pass is enough, in sim reap and the killing fields and tuol sleng in phomn penh...but if you are freaked out about dirt and not being able to drink the water and not have been in a third world country, this might not be the place for you....although...it is the friendliest place i have been so far and the people really make it worth your time....at the moment i am bangkok, thailand nd have been here for three days :) i am enjoying my time so far and have gotten to see two of my past students here from the northwest school...more on thailand in another update....hope all is well with everyone....i am still working on the picture dilemna...and getting closer t a solution...so hopefully they will coming sooner rather than later :) and thanks to everyone who has been sending comments and e-mails :) you all rock my world :)