NOT JUST A TEMPLE TOWN
We traveled
recently to Cambodia on a five-day post-trip after our 3-week adventure in Vietnam
with the small group travel company, Overseas Adventure Tours. OAT limits tours
to just 16 travelers and our Vietnam trip had just 14 people. On our post-trip
to SIem Reap Cambodia there was just four of us.
Cambodia
was a vast open unexplored place for us, and apart from knowing a bit of the
nightmarish history of the Khmer Rouge, and a slight familiarity with the
majestic, massive Hindu/Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat that we culled from
pictures in a travelogue, we did not know what to expect.
IT’S GREEK
TO ME
OAT flew
us from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap the second largest city in the Kingdom of
Cambodia after Phnom Penh. The carrier was Cambodia National Airlines and the
flight in a propeller plane took just over an hour. Thankfully the leader
boards at the HCMC airport rotated between English, Cambodian and Vietnamese so
we could find our gate.
At
least in Vietnam you could read things, but Khmer, the official name of the
Cambodian language is indecipherable to the novice eye. There are 74 squiggly
nonsensical letters, and, well, it’s complicated. Thankfully when our OAT guide
handed out our little cheat sheet of things to say, like “hello,” or “how
much?” it was printed out phonetically with English letters. Also, a lot of
signage is listed in both Khmer and English, like the stop signs. Although still
shaped like the universal red octagon, at least you don’t have to guess what “បហ្ឈប់”
means, with “stop” shown just below.
Anyway,
here’s a great video on the Khmer / Cambodian language:
WELCOME
This language
accommodation is convenient as Siem Reap is a very touristed destination,
mainly because of its proximity to the Angkor Archaeological Park, the home of
Angkor Wat and several other notable temples. Tourism in Cambodia is a
multi-billion-dollar industry attracting millions of foreign visitors to the
Kingdom and the temple complex is just a short drive out of Siem Reap. These
temples are the main “attraction”, but Siem Reap itself is a vibrant town of
French colonial architecture. It has a lively night scene along Pub Street, and
there are plenty of restaurants and luxury hotels. The Angkor National Museum
explores the history of the Khmer Empire and is worth a visit, just expect to
see a lot of Buddhas.
Opposite
of the serenity of Buddha it is possible to visit several war related museums
in Siem Reap, including the Landmine Museum and the Genocide Museum.
MAKING
THE WORLD A SAFER PLACE
Instead
of solely focusing on the horrors of that time though, our tour leader gave us
a brief synopsis of that sad time and had us visit Wat Kesararam, a small
temple where we were able to walk the grounds and receive a water blessing from
the monk there.
There is a stupa containing the remains of victims of the Khmer
Rouge on the grounds, but the overall visit felt like we were moving forward
instead of embracing the past.
Another
stop, albeit macabre, that is leading Cambodia and the world to a brighter
future was a visit to the APOPO demining organization. APOPO and their trained African
Giant Pouched Rats tackle the global issue of landmines left behind in
conflicts by sniffing them out. At the
facility in Siem Reap we learned about these HeroRATs that can sense and help
clear an area filled with landmines the size of a tennis court in just 30
minutes, compared to the four days a standard deminer with a metal detector
would take to complete this same task. |
| HeroRAT |
We
were treated to a demonstration of a HeroRAT and its handlers and later had the
chance to hold a critter. These working rats are big, but light enough to not
trip a landmine and it was a positive stop to see how APOPO deals with the
sobering reality of deadly landmines.
APSARA
Modern
day Aspara dancers mimic the carvings found on the walls of Angkor Wat. The
performers wear ornate headdresses and silk clothing. They begin training at an
early age to ensure flexibility of their hands and feet as their fingers bend
backwards and toes flex upwards during the mesmerizing dance performances that
were once only for the king’s pleasure.
In
Siem Reap OAT had us attend a dinner/dance performance of Apsara and got us
front row seats.
There’s
a lot to do in Siem Reap beyond Angkor Wat.
Thanks
for reading.
Love
Janet and greg
© 2024
by Gregory Dunaj
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