CAMBODIA:  BAD ROADS.....GOOD PEOPLE.

SIEM REAP (ANGKOR)- February 12, 2000 - February 15, 2000

SIEM REAP:  HOME TO ANGKOR, THE BEAUTIFUL AND POWERFUL CENTER OF THE ANCIENT KHMER EMPIRE

February 12, 2000

Today we experienced the "bad roads" part of the above quote.  After staying up all night in Bangkok, updating and uploading our web site, we jumped into a cab and headed for the bus station at 4:30 a.m.  It took us a while to figure out that we were at the wrong bus station.  However, one hour and a half and $8 later, we made it to the right bus station and we were headed for the town of Aranyaprathet, which lies on the border of Thailand and Cambodia.  The actual border crossing was like something from out of a foreign flick.  We walked over a dusty road, filled with garbage and occupied by hundreds of Thai and/or Cambodian people carrying and dragging giant cart loads of goods over the border.  The sun was hot, and therefore so were we.  While making this border crossing into Poipet, Cambodia, we were approached by several men asking us to ride in their pick-up truck to Siem Reap.

The road from Poipet to Cambodia is notoriously bad.  It is filled with giant craters, dilapidated bridges, broken down vehicles that could not make this arduous journey.  The only means of transportation available at this time for this road is by pick-up truck.  We wanted to choose the best pick-up truck we could find.  We decided to by-pass the local trucks filled with locals, produce, livestock and other miscellaneous items which were scheduled to make regular stops throughout the day, and wait two hours for the tourist pick-up truck which, instead, would be filled with backpackers and luggage and would go directly to Siem Reap.  We had a great time in Poipet while we waited for the other backpackers to arrive, thus allowing our pick-up truck to leave.  I made friends with a dozen of the young Cambodian children.  They were teaching me to count in Khmer and I was teaching them in English.  I hope that they remembered their lessons better than I remembered mine.  While I was being entertained by these friendly and well behaved, yet impoverished children dressed in rags, if in anything at all, Rich was talking to a young man named Lai.  Lai was talking to Rich about the Khmer Rouge era and how it effected him and his family.  I soon joined in on the conversation, as I was both moved and interested in learning more about this terrible time in Cambodia's history.  Essentially, Lai was taken from his family at around 8 years of age, and made to work in the Khmer army.  His parents fled Cambodia and moved the the United States, while many others in his family were killed.  The Khmer Rouge was an army of indigenous rebels who, under their leader Pol Pot, attempted to create an agrarian society where everyone was equal, which involved radical and brutal restructuring of Cambodian society.  Children were taken from their families, or even worse, killed along with their family.  During the Khmer Rouge era, people were driven out of the cities and into the countryside and made to do labor intensive work or tortured or executed.   Close to two million people died between 1975 and 1979 either at the hands of the Khmer Rouge soldiers or by malnutrition or disease.  It was so sad to learn about this terrible massacre and to meet someone who was so effected by it.  

After a two hour wait in Poipet, Rich and I said goodbye to our new friends and joined 17 others as we piled into a pick-up truck.  This was not one of those monster sized pick-up trucks that you see on television.  It was just normal size with a small back seat in the cab.  Luckily, Rich and I were able to sit inside the truck.  I guess you could say that it was not really luck, but more insistence that we were able to sit inside along with the other two insistent passengers and the guide and driver.  The poor 13 other passengers hade the choice of jumping into the back of the truck or walking to Siem Reap.  The truck ride was unlike any other ride that I have been on in my entire life...this includes amusement park rides.  We drove through dry and dusty flat land with crater sized pot holes and flimsy bridges that had been in disrepair since the war and washed out by monsoons.  Dust was flying everywhere and we were constantly stopped by police checkpoints and greedy land owners who demanded money in order for us to proceed.  

We arrived into Siem Reap at 8:00 p.m.  and met back up with our friends, Bo and Heidi.  We also were met by Heidi's mom, Mrs. Maile Janzen, who will be traveling with us through Cambodia and her home country, Vietnam.  After our day's travel experience, I was very happy to take a nice hot shower, and very happy that we decided to take these bad roads, instead of our only other option, flying.

Monday, February 14, 2000

"Happy Valentines Day", I said to Rich halfway through the morning.  It is amazing how you forget days and holidays while on the road.  Regardless of whether we realized it was Valentines Day that morning, it was a very romantic setting as we sat outside the front gates of Angkor Wat and watched the sun rise just to the right of the magnificent architectural phenomena.  Of course, we were joined by the rest of our group, Bo, Heidi, Mrs. Janzen, and Nara (our Angkor guide), as well as dozens of other tourists.  Nevertheless, it was a very special scene, one which I will never forget.  Not only is today Valentines Day, but it is the year anniversary of the day that we met Bo and Heidi.  We met them skiing one year ago in Crested Butte.  It seems like we have been friends for a lot longer.  I am sure by the end of this trip, it will seem like we have known each other for years.  

Back to the temples of Angkor.  I am completely moved, impressed and blown away by these Khmer temples that were constructed between 800 AD and 1400 AD.  We have visited the Roman Forum, Machu Picchu, Tikal and Copan, but none of them even compare to the beautiful temples of Angkor.  Rather than repeat myself, I will refer you to Angkor Wat Photos.

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