The inspiring yet harrowing beauty of Cambodia

How does one put into words the most incredible and almost unreal day we have yet experienced on our trip? Being 30-some-odd days on the road, by now you’d think that we would have an idea. But the surprising height and complexity of the architecture, the intricacy of the sandstone carvings, and the striking effects of 10 centuries of jungle existence of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom with its famous Bayon Temple, and the unrestored Ta Prohm were more beautiful and inspiring than any other place that either of us has seen on the planet. We spent a day exploring these places in wonder at the abilities of the stone masons, the sacrifices of the laborers, the resources of the builders, and the visions of the masters of these places.

We ended a day such as that with an evening even more surprising, but much less inspiring. At the urging of our tuk-tuk driver, we hired a long boat and motored out along a very smelly (and assumed polluted) channel onto Tonle Sap Lake to the nearest floating village. We somehow pictured large raft-like constructions with huts built on top and then all of them roped together along the shoreline. What we found were a couple hundred small boats with crude shelters built above the water line that were loosely moored together. There was a floating school, a floating church, a floating restaurant (for tourists), and a floating playground. There was even a floating pig sty. Only 5 meters deep, the lake was an obviously pervasive presence, providing a place for people to wash, fish, drink, and clean. Kids also swam in the same brown and thick water that served as plumbing. It was an eye-opening experience.

We spent the rest of our time in Siem Reap relaxing -- we were staying at FCC Angkor, so it was easy to lose ourselves in our lovely and modern surroundings. We also caught up on what was happening in the “real” world and contemplating the recent horrifying history of Cambodia. The trial of the leader of the Khmer Rouge's Tuol Sleng prison, Kaing Guek Eav, began while we were there. The Khmer Rouge was a Maoist regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. The Rouge abolished religion, schools and currency in a bid to create agrarian utopia. They also killed up to two million people through starvation, overwork or execution.The lingering effects of the Rouge oppression were seen everywhere in everyday life: labor is cheap so grass is cut by hand sickle rather than lawn mower; people have not been driving for very many years, so all traffic laws and speed limits are obeyed; wages are low so living conditions are dismal. Yet despite their hardships, the people of Cambodia were welcoming, friendly, polite, and proud of their cultural heritage. It is on our list of places needing another visit (which we did).