The Geno-Sidetrip (Cambodia)

Part 1 (Rwanda) can be found at: http://intrepidation.blogspot.com/2009/11/geno-sidetrip-rwanda.html

The Geno-Sidetrip: Mixing Triumph and Tragedy on the Road

Part 2: Cambodia

The eastern gate of the Bayon complex was my favorite of Angkor's charms. Access is difficult and the site is little visited in contrast the tourist shrouded temples nearby. The gate, a structure that once acted as the doorway of ancient Angkor is one of two on the eastern side of Bayon. It seems to be part of the jungle itself, as if the stone was shaped by the living forest surrounding it. Dragons greet you as you approach. The structure itself is over 60 feet tall and stone elephants stand sentinel on each side as you pass through the ancient safety of Angkor to the wild monsoon jungles outside. Bayon and nearby Angkor Wat were once capitals of one of history’s greatest civilizations. To witness this greatness, one can easily fly into the town of Siem Reap, spend week exploring the temples and leave Cambodia without witnessing a story that may be even more important than that of Suryavarman II and his obsessive 11^th century construction.

Cambodia is a nation of shallow water and rice paddies. Enough rain falls in the monsoon season that the mammoth Mekong river changes direction, emptying into the fields along the floodplain. In these soggy fields two of history's important events occurred. The rise of a Angkor civilization and the culmination of its fall. One gifted travelers with ancient intact temples, the other left thousands of hidden land mines and the infamous Killing Fields. Cambodia joins the ranks of nations like Mongolia, Ethiopia, and Lithuania, who have in the span of 1000 years gone from empire to impoverished. The Khmer dynasty ruled Southeast Asia for four and a half centuries, twice as long as the USA has been a country. Its history lies etched in stone and sculpture in the temples they left behind. Archeologists from around the world decode secrets of the ancient Khmer. To explore Angkor Wat is to witness the largely intact skeleton of greatness that once was. And it is hot. Biking to and from the temples in the monsoon humidity ranks as one of the steamiest experiences of my life. Never does an Angkor beer taste so good than when standing in front of the Angkor temple itself after a long day of exploration, the condensation running off the bottle onto your hand as the jungle's heat beats you into oblivian.

One cannot visit Cambodia without seeing signs of its fall. Near the temples, signs warn tourists to stay on trails as the area's nearby have not been searched for unexploded ordinance. In the capital of Phnom Pehn and through the countryside, countless amputees walk with makeshift crutches. Beggars mendicate passersby, tourists buy cheap souvineer buddha's and shirts that read "I'VE BEEN TO THE LANDMINE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD". The genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge was spread throughout all of Cambodia. Their leader, Pol Pot was a highly educated Maoist who iniated the mass killings not as an act of genocide but as "social engineering". Over four years the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated 1.5 million Khmers, their own people. Their targets were primary educated individuals and anyone associated with the past government. Cambodians who were at all critical of the regime were tortured and killed. The infamous Killing Fields are technically not in one place, but throughout the entire rice growing land which makes up Cambodia. Here, like Rwanda, one need not travel far to experience this sad but formative part of their history.

Cambodians are entrepenueral people. A first time visitor will find that a tuk tuk driver is never more than a whisper away and often they follow you in hopes you will relent and allow them to show you around. Memorials of note include Phnon Phen's Tuol Sleng Museum, a secret prison ran by Pol Pot and a venue of torture. The halls of this former school are lined with photo's of the victims. The experience of walking through the halls alone, hearing only the tap of your feet, lends to an air of mystery as the fallen's sorrowful eyes watch you. Elsewhere, visitors can access burial sites such as Choeung Ek and Wat Nokor that are a simple mix of a buddhist stupa and a memorial containing stacks of bones. At close examination of most skulls, one can see the entrance and exit holes of bullets that felled the victims.

Like Rwanda, Cambodia is a nation in healing. Khmer people are fundamental kind and understanding, if not a little removed. One cannot visit Cambodia without taking pause to learn more about the genocide as it seems to work its way into every aspect of their culture in some form. Still, a trip to a local memorial gives the traveler a deeper look into the reality of the Khmer Rouge, whether staring at photo's or standing solemnly before ten thousand skulls.