Cambodia

A bus stop favorite, fried tarantula

Nadine and I are back together here in Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam after 6 days apart. I was busy running around Cambodia while Nadine remained in our home away from home Thailand.

There were several reasons that I wanted to go to Cambodia. The first reason was the simple fact of Angkor Wat itself and all of the other temples. The second reason was learning about the horrible regime of the Khmer Rouge. The first reason was happy-go-lucky, and the second making you ponder why humans do what they do to each other.

Waking up at 4 a.m., Nadine and I caught a taxi with a talkative San Diegoan, as we made our way to the airport. And just like that, I was on a plane to Phnom Pehn, the capital of Cambodia. At the same time that I touched down and passed through Khmer immigration, Nadine was just returning back to the hostel. Great woman that Nadine accompanying me to the airport. My entire time of travelling in Cambodia included early rises and running around at a frantic pace.

Having the gift and approval of visiting Cambodia while my beautiful pregnant wife stayed back in Bangkok, I had to make the most of the limited time there. Outside the airport, a deluxe tuk-tuk carried me away to my guesthouse past poverty, smiling Cambodians, and dirty roads and sidewalks.

I dropped off my bags and hired another tuk-tuk driver for the day to carry me to all of the must-see sites of Phnom Pehn. Today was going to be a busy day of visiting the dark past of Cambodia.

Back during the very complicated Vietnam War, Vietnamese communist guerilla soldiers crossed the borders over into Cambodia and promoted Communism as they fled American bombs. The Vietanmese communists joined sympathetic Khmer communists which transformed into the group known as Khmer Rouge. Having conquered the capital of Phnom Pehn, the Khmer Rouge began to promote a society, errily familiar to what is happening in Burma, where the educated were considered to be "parasites," and needed extermination. Thus, over the next 5 years, the Khmer Rouge carried out the systematic imprisonment, torture, and extermination of educated folks. 2 million people died over this short amount of time. And of the most famous prisons was S-21, and that was my first stop.

S-21 Entrance

S-21 was a school turned into a prison housing thousands of prisoners by the Pol Pot regime. It was here in this centralized location that prisoners lived in horrible conditions and hopeless life. I walked around S-21 and past floors that still had blood stains on tiles from only 30 years ago.

The facts are horrible. 50 prisoners would sleep in a classroom with their ankles chained together. They weren't allowed to move, go to the restroom, or talk without permission or risk being beaten. Prisoners were required to write daily that they opposed the the country and its' regime, even if it wasn't true. Prisoners were beaten, guarded over, and tortured by guards, and sometimes the guards themselves were only 10 years old. Horrible things happened here. When prisoners were notified they were being relocated, they knew that they were going to be killed in the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, my next stop.

S-21 and the photos of prisoners who stayed and were murdered, including Westerners

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, 14 kilometers outside of Phnom Pehn, are reached by a dusty road. Reaching the fields, which are more like the size of a single field, are cratered with holes where prisoners were buried in mass. Prisoners would arrive by truck, be blindfolded, and be required to kneel down. It was at this point that they would either be shot or clubbed in the back of the neck to death. Khmer Rouge soldiers would then dump the bodies into mass unmarked graves.

One of many mass graves

It is amazing what humans are able to do to each other for the sake of power, wealth, or even over personal philosophy. Something like this forces me to sit back and examine what causes people to do these things to other humans, and want to fight to insure that it doesn't happen again. It still does though. But there is hope. We have to learn to treat each other as a gift of God and respect and lean on one another. After this, I was ready for something a little less grave and little lighter.

As I was leaving the Killing Fields, some workers noticed a snake dart into a pipe under a walkway. "Oh, it's a dangerous one. Alright, let's take a little look." The workers grabbed a waterhose and flooded the pipe which forced the snake to flee. As soon as he got to the "fl" of flee, he was a snake pancake. He was clubbed to death by a stick.

Me - "Really, what's so dangerous about this snake with a flat head?"
Worker - "It's very dangerous. Can kill you."
M - "What? It's not really that big. What type of snake is it?"
W - "It's a cobra."
M - "Oh, I guess that is the reason for the flat head. I'll stay away from those now on."

That was my first sight of a cobra in the wild. The rest of the day I kept one eye on the scooters darting everywhere around me and any rustling in tall grass. Fortunately it was the only cobra I saw.

After cleaning off all the dirt and evil from the morning, I quickly visited the official residence of King Sihamoni at the Royal Palace. In addition to paying a $3 entry fee for this place, if you wanted to carry a camera and take pictures, you had to pay an extra $2. Being the penny pincher I am, I kept my camera firmly in my pack, and avoided paying the stupid "camera" fee. But once I reached the Silver Pagoda and the guard asked to see my ticket, he spotted the camera case hanging out of my pocket. I was forced to leave my camera with him AND pay the stupid camera fee. But, I did get some decent photos for you to enjoy and put one on this entry. So if you would like to look at it, you will need to send us a check for 20 cents for the following photo. If you don't want to avoid paying the 20 cents like me, keep your money in your pocket, and look away as you scroll down the page. Honor system y'all.

That is a 20 cent photo of the Royal Palace

After a busy day in Phnom Pehn, I was on an early bus to Siem Reap, closest town to the Angkor Wat temples. Fortunately on the way, I started talking with Rhonda from Australia who lives in Cambodia. She informed me of several things going on at Angkor Wat this weekend, a 40K bike race, a half marathon, and a ballet inside of Angkor Wat put on by the French Cultural Association. If I had my pick, it wouldn't be any New Mexican's choice of seeing guys jump around in pink tights. Either riding or running was more preferable to me.

Touching down in Siem Reap armed with Rhonda's great advice, I dropped off my stuff in my new home for the next 4 days, rented a bike, and made my way to the Temples of Angkor. Being that it was close to sunset, my only goal for the Temples of Angkor were to enjoy a nice sunset atop Phnom Bakheng.

Phnom Bakheng was one of the first temples built in Angkor, but is now famous for being the best spot to watch the sunset. Upon arrival, I was greeted with thousands of people fighting their way up stairs for a secluded Angkor sunset. I was more in awe of the number of people balancing on top of this temple than the actual sunset. After that sunsetting experience, that would be the last time I'd try to watch one there. For a secluded sunset at Angkor, Pre Rup is the place to visit.

Cycling home, I stopped at a local conveniece store to pick up some water for a long day of cycling the following day, but to my surprise, there sat cans of Dr. Pepper. What the heck?!? Of all the places you would expect to see Dr. Pepper, it would not be in one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, but there in a fridge sat cans of cold Dr. Pepper. That would be one of my Christmas gifts to Nadine when we met up in Vietnam.

After riding to the Temples of Angkor the previous night, there would be no way that I could spend a day riding around in a crappy ol' bike. I found a quality mountain bike the next day that actually fit my long legs and I could easily rent it for 3 days for debtful price of $5. I was set for another 3 days of exploration.

My second full day among the Temples of Angkor, I planned on riding to 15 different temples in a 26K "Big Circuit." My riding carried me away from Angkor Wat so that Angkor would be my final stop of the day. My third stop of note was Ta Prohm. This is a temple that has been overrun by fig trees and vines sitting on top of temples, breaking through walls, and climbing on anything in its' way. This was a perfect photo op.

Massive fig trees among massive temple ruins

I followed Ta Prohm with a visit to Pre Rup, another temple off the beaten path. What made Pre Rup special for me other than being able to climb to the top of it was that from the top, you could see Angkor Wat in the horizon.

One of Preah Kahn's fig tree roots looks like an elephant trunk

I started the morning at 7 and at 4:30 I arrived to a sunset among the well preserved ruins of Angkor Wat. Similar to the previous evening, I was joined by thousands of neighbors. It was a great way to end a day of riding 26 kilometers through the Temples of Angkor.

By the end of the day, I had rode a bike 45 kilometers over 11 hours, and by the time I left Siem Reap I had rode 115 plus kilometers and ran another 10 kilometers. I was tired, and that made the decision whether or not to sign up for the half marathon that night being run the next morning at 6:30 in the morning through the UNESCO temples of Angkor Wat that much more difficult. But in the end, the experience overruled fatigue and I signed up for the shorter 10K race starting at 6:50.

***New Photo*** I never quite figured out what this elephant was looking at

Race day, I was once again up at 5:20, on my mountain bike and riding out to the Temples of Angkor and the Angkor Wat Half Marathon warm up for a nice little run around ruins. The run itself benefited the amputee victims of landmines. You can't go anywhere in Cambodia without seeing someone with an amputated leg, arm, foot.

I ran the race. I finished. I wasn't the last one. I did not puke. I did survive. In the end, I used a method of run/walk in that I would run one kilometer, walk 40 seconds, run another kilometer. This is a method I learned from Nadine and Nate Roller, another friend expecting a baby in the next couple of months, and it allowed me to finish without injuring myself. My final time was 49:31. My goal was to be under an hour having only run 6 times in the last 6 months. I was happy with my finishing time, but happier to have been able to do the run through Angkor Wat.

***New Photo*** Great photo of Angkor Wat at sunrise

My last day in Siem Reap, I woke up at 5:10 to go and watch the sunrise among the ruins of Angkor Wat, the perfect way to finish my time there. I was only joined by a couple of hundred people this time, rather than the thousands you encounter in the evening. As people stood by the pond, I took this chance to escape to Angkor Wat by myself. So for the next 20 minutes, I was practically the only person walking in Angkor Wat, as I perched myself on a ledge to watch the sun come over the horizon. Sweet!

Sunset at Angkor Wat

To complete a very eventful time in Cambodia, my bus from Siem Reap back to Phnom Pehn made it a little more interesting. Two hours into our trip, our bus broke down. We were stranded on the side of the road for 2 hours watching cows munch on grass. Fortunately, I didn't have to be anywhere pressing. Once a replacement arrived, we were back en route to Phnom Pehn, but as soon as we hit the next city, high government officials were present, causing a roadblock. As a result, we had to find a small, random road to get around the city. 7 1/2 hours later, my feet touched Phnom Pehn soil.

Last note, driving in Cambodia had to be the worse I have seen, and I have had the honor of visiting a few countries. Khmer drivers and scooter kamikazie pilots never felt it necessary to actually look when pulling out into any road. Include the fact that scooters use the wrong side of the road to drive, you are constantly keeping your head on a swivel watching for traffic. The lesson is, be careful driving in Cambodia or you might meet a Cambodian up close and personal.

Life is always good. We are now here in the land of a zillion scooters looking to teach Texan English for a month. If we don't find any, we will move north.

Have a very Merry Christmas and have some egg nog for us. We'll have a Dr. Pepper for you.

Peace and Love from all two and a half of us in Vietnam.
J.W.