Cambodia (thoughts, Siem Reap pics)

Cambodia was sensory overload for me.  I loved every minute of it; to the point of almost being giddy.  I was even tempted to buy an "I (Heart) Cambodia" t-shirt just because, but my good taste kicked in and I passed, despite the tireless selling of the shopkeeper- a young girl who kept saying, "Only one dolla sir , only one dolla, one dolla, one dolla..."

 

I traveled everywhere by tuk-tuk - a cart with cushioned benches pulled along by a motorbike.  The hotel assigned a driver for my entire time there; his name was Twan - a gentle, happy-go-lucky kind of guy who puts his hands together and bows his head whenever he gets a tip.  He is 28 and we got along great. On the second day, I asked him a question about the land mine situation in Cambodia, for which the U.S. is partly responsible, and this is what he said: 

He grew up on a farm.  When he was 14, he was in the field when one of his cows stepped on a land mine.  The cow blew up, and then shrapnel also hit him, entering his stomach and leg. His mother took him to the hospital, and made a promise to the local monks that she would send him to live in a pagoda (Buddhist monastery) if he lived.  

Now, Twan wears leather, has long hair, and honks at every cute girl on a bicycle.  He's a G-rated, Cambodian player. Still, I was completely taken aback by this.  Twan, a former monk?  Yes, indeed.   When he finished telling me this story, he pulled up his shirt to show enormous scars across his stomach from the shrapnel.

You'll see a picture on this blog of Twan, eating a silk worm - something I stayed away from since it came out of a pot of Cambodian tap water.

Other memories: 

- Motorbikes everywhere.  Occasionally, there's a car.

- Siem Reap has 1 million people, 2 traffic lights, and zero stop signs; yet, all drivers and pedestrians figure it out.  No accident reports. 

- Frequent tributes to Angelina Jolie (given her adoption of a Cambodian kid and her filming "Tomb Raider" here).  There's an Angelina Jolie invented drink, cleverly called "Tomb Raider" and cafe called Angelina's.

- 1 motorbike = family of 4 with the baby riding shotgun

- Two kids living in a dilapidated water village speak in pitch-perfect English and show off their school work.

- The surprisingly very tasty restaurants in downtown Siem Reap, which also has a gay bar with a prominent rainbow flag in front. 

- Dusty, dirt roads are everywhere.

- Cows with leashes attached to the nearest tree graze by the side of the road.

- A 6 year-old salesman, who would've been at home in David Mamet's "Glengary Glen Ross," hawking bracelets outside a temple.  Here's an excerpt of our exchange: 

6 year-old: Bracelets?  4 for a dollar.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Bracelets? 4 for a dollar.  Look.  Only one dollar.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Why not?  Only one dollar, sir.  One dollar.  Four bracelets.  Sir.

Me: No thank you

6 year-old: Alright, make it 5.

- A double arm amputee joyfully screaming "Welcome" to passer-bys, encouraging them to stop and listen to his band - all maimed in some way by land mines.

- Children in the town of Kampong Phluk, running up to our tuk-tuk to wave and scream, "Hello!"

- Imagine shelves containing liter bottles of vegetable oil sitting roadside.  That's what a typical gas station in Siem Reap looks like.

- A tiny Cambodian woman in an outdoor food market squatting over eels with an enormous butcher knife.  Surrounding her is a combination of the beautiful (fresh fruit, veggies) and the grotesque (dried fish hanging from a string, bloody chicken on the floor).

- Eating amok for lunch - a local dish consisting of chicken, veggies and curry, all cooked in a coconut.

- Watching the sun rise at 5:30am over the fantastically beautiful Angkor Wat... and, then proceeding to overdose on Hindu and Buddhist folklore for the next 8 hours.  Go ahead, ask me about Rama and the monkey king.

...and the list could go on forever, but for now, I hope these pictures will do.