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An Elephant Walks into a Bar, and Other Reflections on Cambodia

Crossing into Indochina brought us into a region where we had much less knowledge of where we were getting into,
An Elephant Walks into a Bar; And other reflections on Cambodia
<ELEPHANT>
Other than Ankgor Wat and the Mekong Delta, we didn’t know what we were getting into traveling in Cambodia.
Of all the countries I’ve had the chance to visit that once were empires (Iran, Greece, Rome, and England), Cambodia and the Khmer people are the only ones who seemed to not to be stuck on the grandeur of empires lost a thousand years ago.
Perhaps, the more recent misery and Youthinasa of the Khmer Rouge which blasted the country of XXXX of its population, including almost all the educated class is fresher on the mind of Cambodians. It was devastating to learn that anyone who had received higher education or spoke a foreign language was jailed or killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
<Noodles>
These are atrocities we hear less about in the west, but the impact of the Khmer Rouge is still very apparent in the cultural psyche of Cambodia today.  I’ve read and heard that Cambodians for better or worse, live for the day, without much regard to the consequences to come. Although this can be detrimental, especially when it comes to environmental issues such as non-sustainable farming and dynamite fishing (which has destroyed all the reefs around the Cambodian shores), it’s not hard to empathize with living for today when you’ve seen your whole country derailed and destroyed in a military dictatorship than lasted less than four years.
<Some war photo>
The impact of the Khmer Rouge is still apparent everywhere, whether in the extreme poverty, which is by far the worst in South East Asia, to the armies of men and women disfigured through mines or chemical weapons left from the Khmer Rouge, as well as the US-Vietnam War, which unfortunately slipped into the country.    Off-trail hiking is a big no-no in Cambodia given many unfound and unstrapped mine fields which still exist throughout the rural parts of the country.
Given the extreme poverty, tourism in Cambodia is a little strange, existing mostly of incredible expensive package tours to Angkor, to a relatively small group of backpackers (compared to other countries in the region) going through the Indo-China trail, to those who only make it here to engage in activities deemed illegal (such as launching bazookas for $40, or turning that Bazooka on a cow to blow it up for $140) to extremely immoral anywhere else. (despite government intervention, child prostitution is still a big industry in Cambodia)
<Picture of the little girl>
But above all and in addition to Akgor Wat, the heir of comradiry, politeness and warmth which captures most Cambodians makes the country a wonderful destination.  Although we heard a lot of good things about Silloukavile, which is Cambodia’s main beach town (the only one not destroyed by the Khmer Rouge) we decided to pass it up for this trip, having spent a long time on beaches on Thailand and Indonesia.
The appreciation of preservation of our cultures is another reason.



P2044608
For more on the Elephant Saga, click the photo or check out Seen In Asia

Other than Ankgor Wat and the Mekong Delta, we didn’t know what we were getting into traveling in Cambodia.

Of all the countries I’ve had the chance to visit that once were empires (Iran, Greece, Rome, and England), Cambodia and the Khmer people are the only ones who seemed to not to be stuck on the grandeur of empires lost a thousand years ago.

Perhaps, the more recent misery and genocide of the Khmer Rouge which blasted the country of two million of its population, including almost all the educated class is fresher on the mind of Cambodians. It was devastating to learn that anyone who had received higher education or spoke a foreign language was jailed or killed during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.

Photos of genocide victims on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Photos of genocide victims on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

These are atrocities we hear less about in the west, but the impact  is still very apparent in the cultural psyche of Cambodia today.  I’ve read and heard that Cambodians for better or worse, live for the day, without much regard to the consequences to come. Although this can be detrimental, especially when it comes to environmental issues such as non-sustainable farming and dynamite fishing (which has destroyed all the reefs around the Cambodian shores), it’s not hard to empathize with living for today when you’ve seen your whole country derailed and destroyed in a military dictatorship than lasted less than four years.

The impact of the Khmer Rouge is still apparent everywhere, whether in the extreme poverty, which is by far the worst in South East Asia, to the armies of men and women disfigured through mines or chemical weapons left from the Khmer Rouge, as well as the US-Vietnam War, which unfortunately slipped into the country.    Off-trail hiking is a big no-no in Cambodia given many unfound and unstrapped mine fields which still exist throughout the rural parts of the country.


Given the extreme poverty, tourism in Cambodia is a little strange, existing mostly of incredible expensive package tours to Angkor, to a relatively small group of backpackers (compared to other countries in the region) going through the Indo-China trail, to those who only make it here to engage in activities deemed illegal (such as launching bazookas for $40, or turning that Bazooka on a cow to blow it up for $140) to extremely immoral anywhere else. (despite government intervention, child prostitution is still a big industry in Cambodia)

P2024578

Young Cambodian girl with a the famous Khmer smile, selling postcards

But above all and in addition to Akgor Wat, the heir of comradiry, politeness and warmth which captures most Cambodians makes the country a wonderful destination.

March 4th, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Cambodia, Uncategorized | 30 comments

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