Temples, kids and river life
The last few days have swept past in a dizzying but delicious pace.
On Saturday evening, Marissa and I met up with her French friend Sandra and Sandra's friend Cellia. They decided to join us the following day in our tuk tuk with Mr Won and see the sights of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and also to move to our guesthouse, Queen House Villa.
On my way to an ATM, I saw a little girl who we had been playing with the previous evening and she stopped me to tickle me and talk to me. She didn't ask for money and it was lovely to see her smiling instead of the normal groaning sad noise she, and the others, usually make.
A girl and a boy with one leg soon joined us and carried on the banter. They seemed fun and when the other girl disappeared I chatted to them a little more. As I was about to make tracks to find the others, they said they were hungry and pointed down the street asking if I could buy them some food. It seemed a reasonable enough request but something told me not to.
I told them I had to find Marissa and they walked with me down Bar Street but could not wait outside the bar - they are supposed to stand the other side of the fences at the ends of the street - so they said they would wait for me.
I checked a couple of bars but couldn't see the girls but saw some other friends and two new people and sat with them for a while chatting. I told them about the children and we all said it was better than giving money - which I am loathe to do as it goes straight to parents or some other adults.
Richard and Luke agreed it would be a nice thing to do and Adam and Tish, the new people, agreed. I was feeling guilty for having said I would buy them something and not so I went to find them.
Basically, I wanted to buy them a meal and they directed me to a shop. By this time, I was surrounded by two or three women clutching malnourished babies and two other girls. All pulling me to this one shop. And pointing at baby powder. Which cost $8 for a tin.
I didn't have much choice. I told the girl I thought she was hungry but she did the whole 'my sister...' I knew there was something up with the price but said I would buy it if they agreed to share.
Two girls stayed behind after the others left and were wrenching my arms as I walked, trying to pull off my cheap rings and doing the groaning noise. I felt shattered and upset when I reached my friends.
Adam said he had the same thing happen to him in Nepal. Of course they just return the milk and get the profit.
I left early to go home feeling naive and shaken.
But it was a good move as we had to be up at 4.15am to go to Angkor. Sandra and Marissa were celebrating their reunion until some ungodly hour though!
As we approached Angkor, the suns first rays were breaking the horizon. We had our first glimpse of the towers of the mighty temple in this ethereal light. It was magical walking the bridge over the massively wide moat (more like a lake), seeing Angkor Wat being gradually lit from behind.
When the sun had risen above the towers, we began to explore the grounds. Climbing steep stairways to the top and looking at fascinating bas-reliefs (stone carvings telling a story where the figures and pictures are raised and the background has been chipped away).
We spent hours looking in awe at the work of 11 to 12th century craftsmen. It is truly amazing how they built this temple.
We needed Red Bull after this to perk us up and then headed for Baphuon in Angkor Thom. This mountain temple collapsed and is being restored at the moment and it was interesting to see how the work had come on since the photographs in our guide books.
Marissa and I had split from the other girls as we were taking longer to look around. We chatted to a policeman who was filling in for his friend and selling water and followed some monks through a stone doorway which ended up leading to the Royal Palace.
We took some ridiculous posed photos and chatted to other tourists and then teased some girls selling scarves. We came up with a ploy to put the many sellers off. Simple but we told them we weren't going to buy for $3 or whatever they were asking, we were going to pay them $10, and when they said yes please! we said no no no. we can't do that at that price. You're crazty. We'll give you $20. and so on. It makes people laugh. Marissa has that quality, particularly with children. She has people in stitches just by pulling a funny face.
We bought coconuts and drank the juice sat looking at the palace. As we sat and chatted, we realised the seller was calling out cold drinks! cold coconuts! cold cold cold!!! in different languages and different nationalities walked past. We learned the Chinese for cold from her and tested it out to the delight of some tourists and then learned the Khmer for it too. And goodbye - very useful. We practiced these words on everyone we met on our short walk to the last temple of our tour - Bayon.
It is a very famous temple and rightly so. A jumble of towers, corridors and bas-reliefs. All the towers have faces carved into them on each side of the King at the time. He wanted the temple to show he was looking over his people at all times and protecting them - but it is actually quite ominous to see so many. It was rather spectacular.
We had lunch, met the others and then drove to the Landmine Museum. Here, children survivors of landmines have come to live with Aki Ra (an ex-child soldier who has cleared more than 6,000 mines) and his family in a rehabilitation centre. Other survivors help show people around. Our guide had stepped on a landmine aged 8 and the blast had killed his elder brother and sister who were walking behind him. He lost a leg.
We looked at the different landmines used here and the countries who still haven't signed the anti-mine agreement (US, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan...). We learned that it will take between 50 and 100 years to clear all the mines in Cambodia. We learned that both the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge used mines against their enemies in the 1980s in Cambodia and the dreadful effects they still have today. It is evident in the number of people missing limbs begging in Siem Reap and Battambang. (Donate here to support children and also the continuing clearance of landmines - www.cambodialandminemuseum.org)
Knackered, drained and needing a few hours sleep, it was inevitable something was going to stop us. A tyre on Won's motorbike popped. Luckily there was a souvenir shop over the road where we sat and ate the complementary sweets and drank jasmine tea until he had it fixed.
Later we slept and then Marissa and I decided to stay an extra day in Siem Reap and chill out the following day.
So Tuesday (yesterday) was spent sleeping off the early mornings and late nights, wandering the market Christmas shopping and eating. I managed to donate blood at Angkor Children's Hospital, a place more in need than the other place (which is on the tourist route) and which only gets a few donations a day. The staff were excellent, coke, a massive pack of biscuits and a t-shirt large enough to fit Rab C Nesbitt were included and it was quick, sterile and painless.
Our last evening, a group of us went to a street stall for food and bought noodles. Marissa agreed to buy a little boy a plate of fried rice and Sandra was asked by a woman with a baby for food and bought her a plate too. Soon we were surrounded with children eating the rice and helping themselves to Sandra and Marissa's food (they were on the end by the road) while the rest of us looked on with amusement.
After the meal, we played with the children - noughts and crosses in the dirt, thumb wars, spinning them around and giving them piggybacks. Children who normally (and some still did) have babies on their hips in slings begging for money and baby milk with groaning voices and sad faces. They were giggling, tickling us, hugging us and playing as children should.
We went for some drinks, free popcorn and peanuts and chatted for a few hours.
But it was another early start today. I had a pick-up at 6am. Well the pick-up for the boat to Battambang was supposed to come at 6am but it was more like 6.45am. By this time I was pretty worried as the boat leaves at 7am - a 20 minute ride away. The guesthouse owner was frantically contacting the tour company.
Eventually they turned up with a car as the minibus was too full for me. The road from Siem Reap to the Thai border is closed as it's in such a bad state so everyone travelling to Bangkok was forced to come to Battambang instead. Five passengers squeezed into the car and we made it to the boat.
The trip was stunning. At first, the trip along the Tonle Sap lake was just glass-like water with abundant plantlife making passages across the lake. But soon we came upon floating villages. The first was quite basic - wooden huts floating with fishing boats moored nearby, people fishing and very modest.
But the second was a veritable town. It had what looked like a townhall, a police station, a floating temple and even a floating school (built by Unicef) with children in their immaculate white shirts and blue skirts and shorts.
Apart from these villages dotted here and there, the scenery was fairly dull for the next three or four hours save for the fishing boats, larger boats towing two or three others and house boats. There were some big houseboats but many were just longtail wooden fishing boats with a cabin atop. More had a circular roof constructed of thin bendable wood and palm leaves.
The last couple of hours of the six hour trip was magical. As the lake became a currentless river, we saw houses along the banks surrounded by jungle - palm trees and wooden huts, brwon children splashing off boats into the waters, people bathing, youngsters fishing, women covered with scarves from the sun in fishing boats, surly teenagers annoyed at their boat being rocked by our larger ones.
Surprised glances and delighted waves from people at seeing westerners or a friend on the boat. Many smiles. Many waving hands. Life looked so simple, so peaceful though I suspect the reality is far different. The riverside was just beautiful and I can't highly recommend the trip enough.
So now I am in Battambang. Have found what seems to be a nice guesthouse. Had a wander around the market today. Few people spoke English so I had to test out my Khmer (very bad) but it was fun to be somewhere again where there is a challenge like that.
Still quite a few beggars and moto drivers but nothing like Siem Reap. No children from what I have seen so far. It is a tranquil riverside town it seems (though as I say this a child is shouting outside the cafe) with a post-colonial air.
Tomorrow I will take a look around the countryside on a moto with a nice guy who speaks good English and will tell me about the Khmer Rouge in this region of Cambodia.
On Saturday evening, Marissa and I met up with her French friend Sandra and Sandra's friend Cellia. They decided to join us the following day in our tuk tuk with Mr Won and see the sights of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and also to move to our guesthouse, Queen House Villa.
On my way to an ATM, I saw a little girl who we had been playing with the previous evening and she stopped me to tickle me and talk to me. She didn't ask for money and it was lovely to see her smiling instead of the normal groaning sad noise she, and the others, usually make.
A girl and a boy with one leg soon joined us and carried on the banter. They seemed fun and when the other girl disappeared I chatted to them a little more. As I was about to make tracks to find the others, they said they were hungry and pointed down the street asking if I could buy them some food. It seemed a reasonable enough request but something told me not to.
I told them I had to find Marissa and they walked with me down Bar Street but could not wait outside the bar - they are supposed to stand the other side of the fences at the ends of the street - so they said they would wait for me.
I checked a couple of bars but couldn't see the girls but saw some other friends and two new people and sat with them for a while chatting. I told them about the children and we all said it was better than giving money - which I am loathe to do as it goes straight to parents or some other adults.
Richard and Luke agreed it would be a nice thing to do and Adam and Tish, the new people, agreed. I was feeling guilty for having said I would buy them something and not so I went to find them.
Basically, I wanted to buy them a meal and they directed me to a shop. By this time, I was surrounded by two or three women clutching malnourished babies and two other girls. All pulling me to this one shop. And pointing at baby powder. Which cost $8 for a tin.
I didn't have much choice. I told the girl I thought she was hungry but she did the whole 'my sister...' I knew there was something up with the price but said I would buy it if they agreed to share.
Two girls stayed behind after the others left and were wrenching my arms as I walked, trying to pull off my cheap rings and doing the groaning noise. I felt shattered and upset when I reached my friends.
Adam said he had the same thing happen to him in Nepal. Of course they just return the milk and get the profit.
I left early to go home feeling naive and shaken.
But it was a good move as we had to be up at 4.15am to go to Angkor. Sandra and Marissa were celebrating their reunion until some ungodly hour though!
As we approached Angkor, the suns first rays were breaking the horizon. We had our first glimpse of the towers of the mighty temple in this ethereal light. It was magical walking the bridge over the massively wide moat (more like a lake), seeing Angkor Wat being gradually lit from behind.
When the sun had risen above the towers, we began to explore the grounds. Climbing steep stairways to the top and looking at fascinating bas-reliefs (stone carvings telling a story where the figures and pictures are raised and the background has been chipped away).
We spent hours looking in awe at the work of 11 to 12th century craftsmen. It is truly amazing how they built this temple.
We needed Red Bull after this to perk us up and then headed for Baphuon in Angkor Thom. This mountain temple collapsed and is being restored at the moment and it was interesting to see how the work had come on since the photographs in our guide books.
Marissa and I had split from the other girls as we were taking longer to look around. We chatted to a policeman who was filling in for his friend and selling water and followed some monks through a stone doorway which ended up leading to the Royal Palace.
We took some ridiculous posed photos and chatted to other tourists and then teased some girls selling scarves. We came up with a ploy to put the many sellers off. Simple but we told them we weren't going to buy for $3 or whatever they were asking, we were going to pay them $10, and when they said yes please! we said no no no. we can't do that at that price. You're crazty. We'll give you $20. and so on. It makes people laugh. Marissa has that quality, particularly with children. She has people in stitches just by pulling a funny face.
We bought coconuts and drank the juice sat looking at the palace. As we sat and chatted, we realised the seller was calling out cold drinks! cold coconuts! cold cold cold!!! in different languages and different nationalities walked past. We learned the Chinese for cold from her and tested it out to the delight of some tourists and then learned the Khmer for it too. And goodbye - very useful. We practiced these words on everyone we met on our short walk to the last temple of our tour - Bayon.
It is a very famous temple and rightly so. A jumble of towers, corridors and bas-reliefs. All the towers have faces carved into them on each side of the King at the time. He wanted the temple to show he was looking over his people at all times and protecting them - but it is actually quite ominous to see so many. It was rather spectacular.
We had lunch, met the others and then drove to the Landmine Museum. Here, children survivors of landmines have come to live with Aki Ra (an ex-child soldier who has cleared more than 6,000 mines) and his family in a rehabilitation centre. Other survivors help show people around. Our guide had stepped on a landmine aged 8 and the blast had killed his elder brother and sister who were walking behind him. He lost a leg.
We looked at the different landmines used here and the countries who still haven't signed the anti-mine agreement (US, Vietnam, China, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan...). We learned that it will take between 50 and 100 years to clear all the mines in Cambodia. We learned that both the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge used mines against their enemies in the 1980s in Cambodia and the dreadful effects they still have today. It is evident in the number of people missing limbs begging in Siem Reap and Battambang. (Donate here to support children and also the continuing clearance of landmines - www.cambodialandminemuseum.org)
Knackered, drained and needing a few hours sleep, it was inevitable something was going to stop us. A tyre on Won's motorbike popped. Luckily there was a souvenir shop over the road where we sat and ate the complementary sweets and drank jasmine tea until he had it fixed.
Later we slept and then Marissa and I decided to stay an extra day in Siem Reap and chill out the following day.
So Tuesday (yesterday) was spent sleeping off the early mornings and late nights, wandering the market Christmas shopping and eating. I managed to donate blood at Angkor Children's Hospital, a place more in need than the other place (which is on the tourist route) and which only gets a few donations a day. The staff were excellent, coke, a massive pack of biscuits and a t-shirt large enough to fit Rab C Nesbitt were included and it was quick, sterile and painless.
Our last evening, a group of us went to a street stall for food and bought noodles. Marissa agreed to buy a little boy a plate of fried rice and Sandra was asked by a woman with a baby for food and bought her a plate too. Soon we were surrounded with children eating the rice and helping themselves to Sandra and Marissa's food (they were on the end by the road) while the rest of us looked on with amusement.
After the meal, we played with the children - noughts and crosses in the dirt, thumb wars, spinning them around and giving them piggybacks. Children who normally (and some still did) have babies on their hips in slings begging for money and baby milk with groaning voices and sad faces. They were giggling, tickling us, hugging us and playing as children should.
We went for some drinks, free popcorn and peanuts and chatted for a few hours.
But it was another early start today. I had a pick-up at 6am. Well the pick-up for the boat to Battambang was supposed to come at 6am but it was more like 6.45am. By this time I was pretty worried as the boat leaves at 7am - a 20 minute ride away. The guesthouse owner was frantically contacting the tour company.
Eventually they turned up with a car as the minibus was too full for me. The road from Siem Reap to the Thai border is closed as it's in such a bad state so everyone travelling to Bangkok was forced to come to Battambang instead. Five passengers squeezed into the car and we made it to the boat.
The trip was stunning. At first, the trip along the Tonle Sap lake was just glass-like water with abundant plantlife making passages across the lake. But soon we came upon floating villages. The first was quite basic - wooden huts floating with fishing boats moored nearby, people fishing and very modest.
But the second was a veritable town. It had what looked like a townhall, a police station, a floating temple and even a floating school (built by Unicef) with children in their immaculate white shirts and blue skirts and shorts.
Apart from these villages dotted here and there, the scenery was fairly dull for the next three or four hours save for the fishing boats, larger boats towing two or three others and house boats. There were some big houseboats but many were just longtail wooden fishing boats with a cabin atop. More had a circular roof constructed of thin bendable wood and palm leaves.
The last couple of hours of the six hour trip was magical. As the lake became a currentless river, we saw houses along the banks surrounded by jungle - palm trees and wooden huts, brwon children splashing off boats into the waters, people bathing, youngsters fishing, women covered with scarves from the sun in fishing boats, surly teenagers annoyed at their boat being rocked by our larger ones.
Surprised glances and delighted waves from people at seeing westerners or a friend on the boat. Many smiles. Many waving hands. Life looked so simple, so peaceful though I suspect the reality is far different. The riverside was just beautiful and I can't highly recommend the trip enough.
So now I am in Battambang. Have found what seems to be a nice guesthouse. Had a wander around the market today. Few people spoke English so I had to test out my Khmer (very bad) but it was fun to be somewhere again where there is a challenge like that.
Still quite a few beggars and moto drivers but nothing like Siem Reap. No children from what I have seen so far. It is a tranquil riverside town it seems (though as I say this a child is shouting outside the cafe) with a post-colonial air.
Tomorrow I will take a look around the countryside on a moto with a nice guy who speaks good English and will tell me about the Khmer Rouge in this region of Cambodia.
posted by charlie at 8:54 pm
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