Sunday, April 03, 2005
Cambodia, Part II
My day began around 7:30 in the morning, when Sari, my motorbike driver, and I climbed on his Honda and sped out of Siem Reap, dodging morning commuters of every mean of locomotion one can imagine (foot, push bike, motorbike, tuk-tuk, car, and truckload of people). There was quite a powerful thunderstorm overnight, which kept the temperature at a reasonable level, and the roads with significantly less dust - yet with potholes of water to avoid. Needless to say, motorbike riding in Cambodia is not for the faint of heart. Traveling the 12 kms to the first temple of the day, we eventually began traveling upon a new road leading out of Siem Reap. One cannot doubt that investment in infrastructure leads to economic development, as the new road was full of new looking plants, storage facilities, Western-style housing/hotels under construction, and Khmer commercialism in a way unlike the older streets of Siem Reap. The motorbike hummed through farms of dry rice paddies, and pastures of grazing (and gaunt) cows and water buffalo, where we were greeted by the occasional smokiness of slash-and-burn agriculture, as well as the warm sweetness of a fruit tree whose name I cannot pronounce. The indirect morning light cast a pleasant hue on the ancient crematorium, our first stop, and the climb to the top was a hair-raising way to begin the day's activities.
Sari, a single man, is a shameless flirt with all the girls on bikes that we pass by. He likes to let them pass, toot his horn, then catch up and chat away. I asked him why he doesn't have a girlfriend, and he said, "Girlfriend, she take all my money."
Children, and whole families, linger near every temple, and along the roads thereto, eager to sell you "cold drink,""postcard, Misser, only 10 for one dollar," "scarves,"and "bracelets, if not for you, for your girlfriend." Sari and I stopped on the side of the road to purchase a sample of one of those unmentionable fruits, and were warmly gazed upon by four adorable, filthy little children. "Hi, Hi," they said, smiling and staring all the while at the exoticism of a tall, white man (and the older one also had his hand out, having seen this sort of thing before). They have such warm smiles, and curious eyes, and the innocence of their youth seems to obfuscate the harshness of their young lives. So many of the youngest ones run around without any clothes at all - mostly, I think, out of preference rather than poverty. This nation is so young, both as a result of being a developing nation, and of the harshness of the Khmer Rouge and Civil War, and the young are inescapable - but I can't see why one would want to escape them, these silly, dirty, funny little people.
(As an aside, it's easy to see why Angelina Jolie ended up taking one of the children home with her after staying here in Siem Reap while filming Tomb Raider; if anyone in the blogoshpere knows her email address, please send her a link so that she and I can have dinner to talk about the situation here in Cambodia, and our future life together.)
All of this makes the tragedy of both child sexual exploitation and landmines so painfully obvious. (Of course, one of the girls near one of the temples said, "Misser, please buy bracelet from me, I want go school and not have to make boom-boom.") On the landmine front, on the way home from today's temple visit I stopped by the Cambodia Landmine Museum, literally a wooden shack on a dusty, unpaved road on the outskirts of Siem Reap. (http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/) A sad, yet at the same time uplifting place (for the children supported by the place might even have a bit of a chance). I'm trying to keep this blog apolitical, but I just cannot fathom how any country - particularly my own, which is responsible for so much of the death to and maiming of innocents here in Cambodia - can fail to ratify the Ottawa Convention on Landmines. It's genuinely shameful, and I politely urge each of you - regardless of your political persuasion - to consider writing your elected representative regarding this important step to prevent an expansion of the millions of tons of anti-personnel landmines lingering throughout the developing world.
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As a funny bit, I feel compelled to mention "Happy Food." While marijuana is (officially) illegal in Cambodia, it is permitted to be used in food as a seasoning agent. (Supposedly, it has been used for a long time in that fashion, but I'm skeptical of that claim.) Anyway, throughout the backpacker/traveler section of town, you will find signs that advertise "Happy Food," or more specific items like "Happy Pizza." In a nutshell, if you want cannabis on/in your food, just order it happy, as in, "I'll have the omelet, but I'd like to make it happy."
Tomorrow is my last day here at the Temples of Angkor Wat, and the crown jewel (unsurprisingly called Angkor Wat) had been saved for last. I have many more pictures than I will ever need (or that would ever be interesting for anyone but me to examine), and I'm sure tomorrow will test my camera's memory card.
And don't forget to weigh in on my traveler's dilemma below!
Sari, a single man, is a shameless flirt with all the girls on bikes that we pass by. He likes to let them pass, toot his horn, then catch up and chat away. I asked him why he doesn't have a girlfriend, and he said, "Girlfriend, she take all my money."
Children, and whole families, linger near every temple, and along the roads thereto, eager to sell you "cold drink,""postcard, Misser, only 10 for one dollar," "scarves,"and "bracelets, if not for you, for your girlfriend." Sari and I stopped on the side of the road to purchase a sample of one of those unmentionable fruits, and were warmly gazed upon by four adorable, filthy little children. "Hi, Hi," they said, smiling and staring all the while at the exoticism of a tall, white man (and the older one also had his hand out, having seen this sort of thing before). They have such warm smiles, and curious eyes, and the innocence of their youth seems to obfuscate the harshness of their young lives. So many of the youngest ones run around without any clothes at all - mostly, I think, out of preference rather than poverty. This nation is so young, both as a result of being a developing nation, and of the harshness of the Khmer Rouge and Civil War, and the young are inescapable - but I can't see why one would want to escape them, these silly, dirty, funny little people.
(As an aside, it's easy to see why Angelina Jolie ended up taking one of the children home with her after staying here in Siem Reap while filming Tomb Raider; if anyone in the blogoshpere knows her email address, please send her a link so that she and I can have dinner to talk about the situation here in Cambodia, and our future life together.)
All of this makes the tragedy of both child sexual exploitation and landmines so painfully obvious. (Of course, one of the girls near one of the temples said, "Misser, please buy bracelet from me, I want go school and not have to make boom-boom.") On the landmine front, on the way home from today's temple visit I stopped by the Cambodia Landmine Museum, literally a wooden shack on a dusty, unpaved road on the outskirts of Siem Reap. (http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/) A sad, yet at the same time uplifting place (for the children supported by the place might even have a bit of a chance). I'm trying to keep this blog apolitical, but I just cannot fathom how any country - particularly my own, which is responsible for so much of the death to and maiming of innocents here in Cambodia - can fail to ratify the Ottawa Convention on Landmines. It's genuinely shameful, and I politely urge each of you - regardless of your political persuasion - to consider writing your elected representative regarding this important step to prevent an expansion of the millions of tons of anti-personnel landmines lingering throughout the developing world.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
As a funny bit, I feel compelled to mention "Happy Food." While marijuana is (officially) illegal in Cambodia, it is permitted to be used in food as a seasoning agent. (Supposedly, it has been used for a long time in that fashion, but I'm skeptical of that claim.) Anyway, throughout the backpacker/traveler section of town, you will find signs that advertise "Happy Food," or more specific items like "Happy Pizza." In a nutshell, if you want cannabis on/in your food, just order it happy, as in, "I'll have the omelet, but I'd like to make it happy."
Tomorrow is my last day here at the Temples of Angkor Wat, and the crown jewel (unsurprisingly called Angkor Wat) had been saved for last. I have many more pictures than I will ever need (or that would ever be interesting for anyone but me to examine), and I'm sure tomorrow will test my camera's memory card.
And don't forget to weigh in on my traveler's dilemma below!
