Flight of the Buddha

Last Cambodia post, I promise. (finally)

Just needed to share the funniest (in hindsight) story of the trip. It begins with a large ten to fifteen pound buddha statue mom acquired in Siem Reap and lugged ALL over Cambodia. Our last day in Cambodia was going rather smoothly, until mom got swindled into taking a local (eek!) bus from Sihanoukville back to Phnom Penh. Since there was little to no room, she stowed it in the overhead compartment.

Not really knowing where the bus would leave us, whether or not we would successfully find tuk tuks to take us to the airport when we got there, and dreading the tuk tuk ride itself, a lot of things could have gone wrong but, miraculously, didn't! We found tuk tuks easily when we got to Phnom Penh, we found an English-speaker on the bus who told us where to get off, we got all of our bags off of the bus-

but left the buddha.

Ken and I climbed into a tuk tuk, and my mom and Colton climbed into the other one, and the last thing I remember is my mom turning around and yelling, "Oh no! The buddha! Come on, we're going to follow the bus!" We barely had time to motion to our tuk tuk driver to follow their tuk tuk driver before they took off on a mad dash through the streets of Phnom Penh. We lost them after about two minutes. Having no phones, no way of communicating, little to no cash left, and no idea where they went, Ken and I wandered around for about ten minutes before we decided we would meet up with them at the airport. Hopefully.

They finally did show up, but sadly without the buddha. Apparently they made it all the way to the bus depot and searched around some of the empty buses in vain. When we had all regrouped and realized we had a full three hours before our flights left, Kenny brought up the brilliant suggestion of calling the bus company. With the aid of a nice airport attendant and a bus driver who accepted $20 to hop on the front of a motorcyle to bring us the buddha, mom reclaimed her prize.



An epic finish to a wonderful trip.

Sand and Surf

Our final adventure took us to the small village of Sihanoukville on Cambodia's small coastline. Cambodia actually used to be much larger--much of Vietnam and Thailand's coastline used to be a part of the Khmer Empire before it was lost.

Most of our days were spent here

or here

doing this...

or this...

or this.

We did have a rather frightening morning when we thought Ken had appendicitis, however. So we took a brisk tuk tuk ride into the village to find the local health clinic, Ken had some blood taken and an ultrasound done, the doctor determined that he couldn't tell for certain, and we were given some antibiotics which were taken with many prayers hoping Ken could make it back to the U.S. without an abdominal explosion.

All's well that ends well. 

Phnom Penh

Cambodia has some amazing sights to see, but is also plagued by a much more recent and violent history, which we were able to study a little of while staying in Phnom Penh.

During the 1960s, a group of communist leaders known as the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot took over the Cambodian government and radically reformed all aspects of Cambodian life. All of the cities were evacuated, electricity shut off, technology abandoned, and its inhabitants sent to work from sun-up to sun-down as farmers, with little to no food. Intellectuals, foreigners, dissenters, and anyone who wore glasses were tortured and executed in prisons around the country. For a more extensive history, see here. Today a few of the prisons and killing fields have been turned into memorials, which we spent a day touring.

Cheung Ek (The Killing Fields):

This is where the victims from political prisons were taken to be executed, when any and all information had been tortured out of them (most of the political prisoners were common citizens--they were forced to invent stories of espionage they had participated in to avoid further torture). As guns and bullets were expensive, the guards would use whatever else they could to kill their victims, dump them in mass graves, and cover them with chemicals.

At the center of the fields a seven-story stupa has been erected, and has been filled with all of the skulls that have been unearthed from mass graves.

We were asked to stay closely to the paths, as more bone fragments and clothing are constantly emerging from the ground. While the whole experience was disturbing, the fields have been very well preserved and the atmosphere as a whole is now peaceful and respectful.

Tuol Sleng--S.21 (Political Prison in Phnom Penh)

A former high school that was turned into a nightmare, it is estimated that approximately 17,000 people were incarcerated in this political prison alone. Only twelve are known to have survived. 

The Khmer Rouge kept immaculate records--every prisoner to enter had a picture taken of them when they entered, and some had pictures taken of them when they died. Many of the photos are displayed inside the prison. 

When Phnom Penh was finally liberated by the Vietnamese in 1979, they found the prison evacuated, although fourteen corpses remained in the largest cells reserved for high-ranking government officials.

The thing that really made it real for us was our tour guide. She was born and raised in Phnom Penh and was a child when she was evacuated to a farm village near the border of Cambodia.

She told us about how she was forced to work practically without food and rest, showed us her scars from being beaten, and explained how she still wakes up afraid that she will be murdered by the Khmer Rouge.

How grateful we are for where we live and the freedoms we enjoy.

Floating Village

Some of you may be wondering what has taken me so long to get all of this out. And then again, some of you may have just come to expect a snail's pace. But I actually do have a fairly valid excuse this time. In the middle of my last post, as I was trying to add a photo, I was abruptly told that I had reached my limit and couldn't add any more pictures without purchasing more room. Yes, it turns out there is a limit to how many bytes you can add to a blog, and I seem to have reached it, no doubt faster than others since I have a lazy habit of not resizing my pictures before I add them. So there you have it. Bloggers be warned.

For a change of pace, after ruins, ruins and more ruins, we spent our second afternoon in Siem Reap among local artists and on a boat. Not simultaneously.

There is a fantastic place in Siem Reap called Artisans d'Angkor, which employs handicapped and otherwise underprivileged individuals in making handicrafts to sell to nosy tourists, such as ourselves.

Some of our purchases included a large stone bust of Jayavarman VII, a silver-plated elephant, and a silk scarf.

The second half of our day was spent exploring the famous floating village on Tonle Sap lake

equipped with their own police office:

alligator pen:

and snake-wielding kids.

But also boasting some beautiful sunsets.



We rounded out our long and tiring day by watching a traditional Apsara dance at a local theater. Unfortunately, due to the potent effects of jet lag and a malfunctioning air conditioner, mom and I slept through a good chunk of it.





reatrey sous-dey.

Ta Prohm

My favorite temple of our trip.

And also the backdrop for Tomb Raider! Although that is not the basis for my favoritism. Ouch Morin took us here right when it opened, and we were, consequently, five of maybe eight people walking through the complex at that time.

The trees, which began as small saplings growing on the moss or dirt collected on the tops of the ruins, have obviously dominated the ruins, and in some cases even became a part of the infrastructure. The main tree growing on the buildings is called a "spung" tree, which is very light and hollow.

The arch above has one stone that is only held up by tree roots, and tourists like to joke about being the ones who get caught underneath when it falls. Naturally, Kenny made sure we were far enough away.

Above-right is Colton with our fantastic guide, Mr. Morin.

As I said before, there was hardly anyone else there.



Besides the eight-armed Vishnu, as Mr. Morin called his creation.

After Ta Prohm we drove to another outlying temple called Banteay Srei, which is considered to be the most beautiful temple because of its intricate carvings and pink sandstone color.

Many of the statues are not the original carvings from when the buildings were constructed, as they have been removed and put on display at the National Museum in Phnom Penh. One of these "fake" statues had been recently vandalized..

...i.e. BEHEADED...

...and the head stolen for someone's personal collection. Why you would want to steal a head made recently is beyond me, but apparently someone finds it valuable.

Anyway, more and more ruins...

and kids swimming naked in the moats.