10.07.2008

Cambodia - Summary

We only spent 16 days in Cambodia and thus decided to focus only on two places: Phnom Penh & the Angkor Area near Siem Reap. Heidi also spent two days in Battambang.

There are many other places to see in Cambodia, but we had simply run out of time and had grown weary of changing place every other night after 11 months of traveling. Cambodia surely deserves more time to be discovered in depth.

We stayed one week in Phnom Penh, although three days would be enough to see the major sights. The Angkor area deserves a good week if you plan to see all the major sights at a leisurely pace. To our big surprise, the most famous and most well-know monument, Angkor Wat, did not rank number one among the many monuments we visited.

 

The highlights of this trip were:

  • The “Jungle Temples” in the Angkor Area, especially the very remote and almost mystical Beng Mealea, but also the famous Ta Prohm and the impressive Preah Khan.
  • Of course Angkor Wat, but maybe even more the Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom.
  • The panoramic view from a helium-powered balloon over Angkor Wat at the end of a sunny afternoon.
  • Visiting the memorials for 2 million victims of the horrific Khmer Rouge Regime and learning more about the terror of the prison S21 & the Killing Fields. Also seeing how the country and its people moved on from this nightmare.
  • Cooling down in the pool and relaxing at the Golden Banana Hotel in Siemp Reap, after walking our feet sore. It was one of the best accommodations we stayed in more than 11 months.
  • The boat trip from Siem Reap to Battambang and riding the bamboo train there.

 

When thinking about Cambodia, this is what we will always remember:

  • “Mister, Tuk Tuk?” or “Ok, you buy from me!” Street vendors in Angkor and Tuk Tuk drivers in general are omnipresent and can be pretty relentless.
  • The innumerous N.G.O. projects. Some of them, like “Pour un sourire d’enfant”, are really impressive.
  • How present, although not obvious Cambodia’s tragic past is. Many adults we talked to had suffered under the terror regime of the Khmer Rouges, but it was never them who initiated this topic.

 

Would we do something differently the next time?

  • Take more time to discover other places of Cambodia.
  • Skip the “sun set watching” from the small hill near Angkor Wat. By the time the sun really sets and the light would be right for taking photos, Angkor Wat is already in the shade, since it is on the side of the hill facing away from the sun. We took great photos of the zillions of tourists waiting with us.

 

Conclusion?

The most amazing aspect was to visit a country that 10 years ago was still seeing violent struggles between government troops and what was left of the Khmer Rouges but that now attracts 2 million visitors a year to see the incredible achievement of its ancient Khmer civilization. We truly hope that this hard working people will continue to see a brighter future.

 

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