April 26 (Entry #21)

Posted by Howard Simpson at 4/28/2008 12:53 AM
Categories: uncategorized
 After crossing the border into Cambodia it was only two more hours to get to my first city, Phnom Penh, the capital.  To be honest, there are only one or two things to see here and I considered skipping it, but I decided I couldn't overlook them.  Of course, as the capital, Phnom Penh has a great National Museum and a beautiful Royal Palace (both worth stopping by if you are in the area), but the impetus for my stop was located about 14km outside of town.   

Choeung Ek, or simply "Killing Fields" as it is often called, is the home of 129 mass graves, accounting for about 17,000 men, women and children.  From 1975 to 1978 the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, attempted to create a classless agrarian society by forcing all citizens into the countryside.  It began by actually falsely announcing over loud speakers in
all the big cities at the United States was planning to bomb Cambodia's major cities and then forcing everyone to walk to the "countryside" with no belongings to escape the US bombardment.  Many people died from the walk alone.  Later, the regime began killing any individual and their family members that they saw as a threat.  That meant anyone educated, smart, or just appearing smart (glasses apparently were an indication of one's intellect).  The killing process first had the people becoming prisoners at "S-21," a converted school originally called Svay Prey High School.  The prisoners were held, tortured, and interrogated here before being taking outside of Phnom Penh to Choeung Ek to be killed.  
   Of the 129 graves, 86 have been disinterred.  At the entrance to the fields there is a tall white stupa that serves as a memorial to the people killed.  This memorial is also the final resting point for many of the people found when the graves were excavated, as about 8,000 skulls fill the stupa from the floor to ceiling.  Many of these skulls show markings from being killed by ax, bullet, club, etc.  As a Jew who has visited many of the Nazi concentration camps in Poland, I felt I needed to visit here as well, and couldn't help but
compare the two.  While not on the same scale as the Nazi's efforts, it almost seems that the mass killings in Cambodia were more savage...if that's possible..not to mention much more recent. 
From Phnom Penh I headed to Siem Reap (on a bus that included a row of people sitting on lawn chairs down the center aisle).  Siem Reap is the jumping off point for visits to Angkor Wat, which, as opposed to Choeung Ek, is a source of national pride.  Angkor Wat itself was built in the 12th century, but all the temples making up the area, which encompasses a few square miles, were built between the 9th and 13th centuries as part of an empire
that went from Burma to Vietnam.  Angkor Wat represents the world's largest religious building.  It is surrounded by a moat, although perhaps calling it a river would be more appropriate, that no draw bridge could cross.  I would guess is at least a football field wide.  As soon as I drove up to Angkor Wat and saw it from afar I was awe struck.  It actually lost some of its appeal as I got closer (and the pictures I took definitely don't do it justice), but it still is quite amazing.  I spent two days walking through the different temples.  I know many people who visit here are enthralled both by the buildings themselves as well as their spirituality.  I am not an especially spiritual person, so maybe I missed out on something from that aspect, but as far as "ancient" cities I've visited go, it easily ranks up there with Petra and Cappadoccia.
 
In addition to the main Angkor Wat temple, I visited many of the smaller sites.  One temple on a hill made for a great sunset view.  I also visited the temple that was used in the movie Tomb Raider.  These structures looked like they were right out of an Indiana Jones movie.  I can't even count the number of times during my two days exploring these temples that I caught myself humming the theme song from Indiana Jones (in fact, I'm humming it right now).  As a result, these occurrences, along with the fact that the new Indiana Jones is coming out this summer, have solidified Indiana Jones as the first HOMP movie of the summer (you heard it here first!  See what kind of inside information you get by reading the blog!!!!).
Aside from the temples, Siem Reap represented the beginning of a long "vacation period" I plan on taking to end my travels.  Feeling a bit tired of the cheap accommodations I have experienced the past 4 months, I stayed at a really nice 4-star hotel that a mother/daughter traveling combo recommended to me.  While the comforts of this hotel were not significantly more than you might expect at an average hotel in the States, I can't begin to
tell you how nice it seemed to me.  My feelings were justified when I found out that during my stay there the hotel was officially changing from a 'hotel' to a 'resort and spa' (which brings with it the award of a 5th star).  This switch was accompanied by a huge party attended by Cambodia's Minister of Tourism.  Unfortunately, this meant the pool was closed for party preparation for 2 days of my stay there (taking 2 stars away from the hotel in my opinion), but it was still fun to watch the party unfold.

Now I am back in Thailand to continue my vacation period...

Cambodia Fast Facts:

Bus passengers to Siem Reap: 70 (on a 50 person maximum occupancy bus)
Lakers playoffs: 2-0 against Denver in the first round
KFC visits: 0
Travelers ran into that I already met in other countries: 8 (some funny stories here...)
Currency: Riel
Currency used by everyone: US$
Weight lost due to sweat dripped while walking through the temples: 5lbs, easily
Pictures taken of the temples of Angkor Wat: 347
Pictures edited out of the photo album to make it manageable to go through: 284
Days: 5
Blog Entries: 1

Click here to view my Cambodian pictures (I literally deleted over 400 pictures to bring it down to the remaining 92)
 

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