Angkor What?
Sat-Tues, Feb 16-19, 2013
After staying put for several weeks, I was really beginning to feel the travel bug inside of me stir. As much as I have come to love living in my little provincial town, there is a large part of me that has been simply itching to get out and see something new. A part of me has begun to feel as though I’ve sort of seen all of what Cambodia’s about, even though I know this is an untrue assumption. I decided then, that this weekend was my chance to get away and prove myself wrong! Combining my need for a visa extension in Phnom Penh with the long holiday weekend, I was able to arrange an ample five days to take a nice little vacation. I guess my fellow AJWS volunteers in Phnom Penh, Dave and Jill, had the same idea, and we all had our eyes set on Siem Reap, home of the great Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex and largest religious monument in the World (thank you Wikipedia). It was built in the early 12th century and was once the capital of the great Khmer Empire. It is a source of great pride in Cambodia, as it is a symbol of their past strength, and images of Angkor are prevalent throughout the Country( adorning the country’s flag and favorite beer, Angkor). Siem Reap (home of Angkor) is about a 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. I’d like to interject here that I absolutely love riding in buses. I love the feeling of instant movement, of passing tableaus, and of the feeling that you are moving somewhere, towards something. I find it incredibly therapeutic, and taking such journeys was one of my favorite things about living out West (USA). Anyway, the point is, I was very much looking forward to the 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh.
After staying put for several weeks, I was really beginning to feel the travel bug inside of me stir. As much as I have come to love living in my little provincial town, there is a large part of me that has been simply itching to get out and see something new. A part of me has begun to feel as though I’ve sort of seen all of what Cambodia’s about, even though I know this is an untrue assumption. I decided then, that this weekend was my chance to get away and prove myself wrong! Combining my need for a visa extension in Phnom Penh with the long holiday weekend, I was able to arrange an ample five days to take a nice little vacation. I guess my fellow AJWS volunteers in Phnom Penh, Dave and Jill, had the same idea, and we all had our eyes set on Siem Reap, home of the great Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex and largest religious monument in the World (thank you Wikipedia). It was built in the early 12th century and was once the capital of the great Khmer Empire. It is a source of great pride in Cambodia, as it is a symbol of their past strength, and images of Angkor are prevalent throughout the Country( adorning the country’s flag and favorite beer, Angkor). Siem Reap (home of Angkor) is about a 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh. I’d like to interject here that I absolutely love riding in buses. I love the feeling of instant movement, of passing tableaus, and of the feeling that you are moving somewhere, towards something. I find it incredibly therapeutic, and taking such journeys was one of my favorite things about living out West (USA). Anyway, the point is, I was very much looking forward to the 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh.
To save you from a long and garrulous account of my wholly enjoyable, but otherwise uneventful bus ride, I will leave you with the highlights. We passed a Muslim district in Phnom Penh, which showed me a completely different pocket of Cambodia culture, and reminded me of the fact that if you keep delving, there is much “newness” to be found right around the corner (in this case, literally). The constant honking by our bus driver reinforced for me the twisted nature of the rules of the road in Cambodia (or lack thereof). The bigger your vehicle, the more seniority you have, and everyone else better move to the right to get out of your way. Passing each other on the road is not only accepted but expected, and this is communicated through honking. For a culture that is so gracious, I find their rules of the road completely contradictory.
Arriving in Siem Reap didn’t overwhelm me as much as I had anticipated. I was expecting a town overly-convoluted with tourists, and aside from those on our bus, I saw mainly locals around. Of course later, I would encounter exactly what I had been anticipating, but until then, I enjoyed the change of scenery.
Again, since there is much to cover in this entry, I will summarize. Highlights of the evening included: 1) Picking up a new friend at my guest house and 2) Witnessing a local NGO sponsored puppet parade.
Arriving in Siem Reap didn’t overwhelm me as much as I had anticipated. I was expecting a town overly-convoluted with tourists, and aside from those on our bus, I saw mainly locals around. Of course later, I would encounter exactly what I had been anticipating, but until then, I enjoyed the change of scenery.
Again, since there is much to cover in this entry, I will summarize. Highlights of the evening included: 1) Picking up a new friend at my guest house and 2) Witnessing a local NGO sponsored puppet parade.
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Angkor Wat: Day 1
For those who know me, and now for those who don’t, sleeping through alarms is a given. Fortunately for me, on this occasion, the sound of my fellow roommate gently closing the door behind him was enough to stir me awake (however, I would later discover that I had not actually slept through my alarm, but had rather set it for PM as opposed to AM—a fact that would help me later on in our story). After mistakenly usurping another group’s tuk-tuk, and making amends, I was on my way with Jill and Dave to sunrise at Angkor Wat. 5am, and pleasantly cool (almost chilly), we approached the temples, disguised by a blanket of darkness. It was clear we were not alone in this endeavor (as many other tourists jump at the opportunity to witness this spectacle), however the quiet and calm that pervaded the scene was surprising and beautiful. After dropping us off at the majorly inflated coffee booth, our driver told us to find him “over there” when we were done. I still do not know how we ended up finding him later “over there,” for “over there” was a vague direction amidst a mass of a hundred or so tuk-tuk’s that all looked the same! Meh!
A silent parade of people filtered into the temple complex, lit only by moonlight. After joining the central line, we veered left to find a pocket for ourselves. Clearly attempting to get ourselves as far off-the-beaten path as possible, I was amused by how easy this pursuit ended up being. There was a central path that led to Angkor Temple. On the left was a large mass of people. On the right, was an equally large field, with a fraction of the crowds. I laughed to Jill and Dave, “I guess we should go to the right!” This reinforced for me how easy it can be to get away from the crowds, even in a tourist trap like Angkor Wat—you just have to seek it out!
For those who know me, and now for those who don’t, sleeping through alarms is a given. Fortunately for me, on this occasion, the sound of my fellow roommate gently closing the door behind him was enough to stir me awake (however, I would later discover that I had not actually slept through my alarm, but had rather set it for PM as opposed to AM—a fact that would help me later on in our story). After mistakenly usurping another group’s tuk-tuk, and making amends, I was on my way with Jill and Dave to sunrise at Angkor Wat. 5am, and pleasantly cool (almost chilly), we approached the temples, disguised by a blanket of darkness. It was clear we were not alone in this endeavor (as many other tourists jump at the opportunity to witness this spectacle), however the quiet and calm that pervaded the scene was surprising and beautiful. After dropping us off at the majorly inflated coffee booth, our driver told us to find him “over there” when we were done. I still do not know how we ended up finding him later “over there,” for “over there” was a vague direction amidst a mass of a hundred or so tuk-tuk’s that all looked the same! Meh!
A silent parade of people filtered into the temple complex, lit only by moonlight. After joining the central line, we veered left to find a pocket for ourselves. Clearly attempting to get ourselves as far off-the-beaten path as possible, I was amused by how easy this pursuit ended up being. There was a central path that led to Angkor Temple. On the left was a large mass of people. On the right, was an equally large field, with a fraction of the crowds. I laughed to Jill and Dave, “I guess we should go to the right!” This reinforced for me how easy it can be to get away from the crowds, even in a tourist trap like Angkor Wat—you just have to seek it out!
I’ll let the pictures from Day 1 do the talking:
Scroll over pictures to navigate
Scroll over pictures to navigate
REFLECTIONS on Day 1:
Other than the temples themselves, the biggest thing that struck me and moved me was the incredibly large presence of aggressive vendors and beggar children. In working with the homeless in Boston, I have become pretty comfortable turning down solicitations for money. I have a conceptual framework for the causes and effects of feeding into this behavior, and I feel confident that refusing to give in to such solicitation is the best response, and know that there are ample services available to such a population. I do not have as great of an understanding of the support systems in place for vulnerable populations like this in Cambodia. My educated guess is that they are certainly not as developed as those in Boston. However, I do know that much exploitation exists amongst this “beggar” population in Cambodia, and the risk of feeding into a corrupt system by giving money outweighs the potential for good (in my opinion). The problem both in the US and here, is that people do not know about the reality of such populations, and they do not know the repercussions of giving money. I’ll be honest, before working with the homeless, I too did not know whether giving money was appropriate or not! People feel a sense of instant gratification when they give, and they (for the most part) don’t see their giving as enabling or promoting dependency.
In Boston, there are regulations in place to limit what is called “aggressive panhandling”—essentially protecting individuals from aggressive solicitations. Such protective measures do not exist in Angkor Wat. As a tourist, if you even try to be friendly by saying “no thank you” or even just smiling, this is an invitation for harassment. I quickly learned that the only way to get the message “no” across to vendors and beggars was to be silent and ignore them as much as possible. How uncomfortable! As someone who tries to be friendly and respectful to all, being forced to ignore such individuals was really not fun. Furthermore, I believe it strengthens the divide between tourist and local, and reinforces inaccurate stereotypes of both parties: the unfriendly, disrespectful tourist and the pushy, exploitative local. I certainly don’t view myself to be a part of the first category and don’t classify the majority of the Cambodians I have met to be reflective of the later. The unfortunate part is that because of the situation, I was forced to be like the tourist stereotype, and many tourists to Cambodia who only visit Angkor Wat, internalize an incredibly inaccurate portrayal of Cambodians (a reality that rang true for me when I heard my friend and fellow traveler bash Cambodia based on her experiences in Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh).
Other than the temples themselves, the biggest thing that struck me and moved me was the incredibly large presence of aggressive vendors and beggar children. In working with the homeless in Boston, I have become pretty comfortable turning down solicitations for money. I have a conceptual framework for the causes and effects of feeding into this behavior, and I feel confident that refusing to give in to such solicitation is the best response, and know that there are ample services available to such a population. I do not have as great of an understanding of the support systems in place for vulnerable populations like this in Cambodia. My educated guess is that they are certainly not as developed as those in Boston. However, I do know that much exploitation exists amongst this “beggar” population in Cambodia, and the risk of feeding into a corrupt system by giving money outweighs the potential for good (in my opinion). The problem both in the US and here, is that people do not know about the reality of such populations, and they do not know the repercussions of giving money. I’ll be honest, before working with the homeless, I too did not know whether giving money was appropriate or not! People feel a sense of instant gratification when they give, and they (for the most part) don’t see their giving as enabling or promoting dependency.
In Boston, there are regulations in place to limit what is called “aggressive panhandling”—essentially protecting individuals from aggressive solicitations. Such protective measures do not exist in Angkor Wat. As a tourist, if you even try to be friendly by saying “no thank you” or even just smiling, this is an invitation for harassment. I quickly learned that the only way to get the message “no” across to vendors and beggars was to be silent and ignore them as much as possible. How uncomfortable! As someone who tries to be friendly and respectful to all, being forced to ignore such individuals was really not fun. Furthermore, I believe it strengthens the divide between tourist and local, and reinforces inaccurate stereotypes of both parties: the unfriendly, disrespectful tourist and the pushy, exploitative local. I certainly don’t view myself to be a part of the first category and don’t classify the majority of the Cambodians I have met to be reflective of the later. The unfortunate part is that because of the situation, I was forced to be like the tourist stereotype, and many tourists to Cambodia who only visit Angkor Wat, internalize an incredibly inaccurate portrayal of Cambodians (a reality that rang true for me when I heard my friend and fellow traveler bash Cambodia based on her experiences in Angkor Wat and Phnom Penh).
Angkor Wat Day 2:
We rented bikes and explored more temples on day two. Aside from needing to be extremely attentive to surrounding traffic (you don’t always know if people will stop for you), I thoroughly enjoyed this method of transport.
We rented bikes and explored more temples on day two. Aside from needing to be extremely attentive to surrounding traffic (you don’t always know if people will stop for you), I thoroughly enjoyed this method of transport.
A Lesson Learned:
So on the bus-ride home from Siem Reap, I learned a very valuable lesson: complacency yields misfortune. In South America, I was ALWAYs very conscious of where my stuff was, and especially attentive of separating and hiding my money. Here in Cambodia, I have been told that theft is not too big of a concern, so I have been a bit lackadaisical about hiding my money. Well, this ended up kicking me in the butt. I had brought my bag with me on the bus (vs. stowing it under the bus), and the woman in front of me spilled her coke on the floor, causing me to put my bag on my lap (so my bag did not soak in the spilt coke). The friendly faces around me encouraged me to sit on the aisle seat and rest my bag there instead of on my lap (to this day I am sure they were being sincere in this suggestion). I remember having the thought that my wallet was in the top of my bag, and considering taking it out, but then choosing to leave it in. Long story short, I think the woman who spilt the coke took my wallet out of my bag when I was turned around playing with the baby behind me. She got off the bus early, and I was later told that this is often what culprits do once they have procured their loot. I thought my phone was gone too, until I heard my alarm go off. Fortunately for me, I had mis-set my alarm for 4:30pm (instead of AM, as you may remember from when I had to wake up early for sunrise at Angkor), and the sound of the alarm led me under the seat next to me! This I was grateful for, as I now had a means of getting in touch with supports. Moral of the story:
1) Thieves exist everywhere, especially around tourist destinations and
2) Be more diligent about separating my money and cards (both my credit and debit cards were in the wallet, but fortunately I had a back up card in Takeo).
Hey, at least I still had my passport, and at least I wasn’t on the traveling part of my trip (and had a stable address for my mom to send my replacement cards to)!
Pictures from a show I saw in Siem Reap:
So on the bus-ride home from Siem Reap, I learned a very valuable lesson: complacency yields misfortune. In South America, I was ALWAYs very conscious of where my stuff was, and especially attentive of separating and hiding my money. Here in Cambodia, I have been told that theft is not too big of a concern, so I have been a bit lackadaisical about hiding my money. Well, this ended up kicking me in the butt. I had brought my bag with me on the bus (vs. stowing it under the bus), and the woman in front of me spilled her coke on the floor, causing me to put my bag on my lap (so my bag did not soak in the spilt coke). The friendly faces around me encouraged me to sit on the aisle seat and rest my bag there instead of on my lap (to this day I am sure they were being sincere in this suggestion). I remember having the thought that my wallet was in the top of my bag, and considering taking it out, but then choosing to leave it in. Long story short, I think the woman who spilt the coke took my wallet out of my bag when I was turned around playing with the baby behind me. She got off the bus early, and I was later told that this is often what culprits do once they have procured their loot. I thought my phone was gone too, until I heard my alarm go off. Fortunately for me, I had mis-set my alarm for 4:30pm (instead of AM, as you may remember from when I had to wake up early for sunrise at Angkor), and the sound of the alarm led me under the seat next to me! This I was grateful for, as I now had a means of getting in touch with supports. Moral of the story:
1) Thieves exist everywhere, especially around tourist destinations and
2) Be more diligent about separating my money and cards (both my credit and debit cards were in the wallet, but fortunately I had a back up card in Takeo).
Hey, at least I still had my passport, and at least I wasn’t on the traveling part of my trip (and had a stable address for my mom to send my replacement cards to)!
Pictures from a show I saw in Siem Reap:
Afterword:
So a week or so later, the director of my program got a call from someone who said they had my wallet! They of course wanted money for it, but considering I had already cancelled my cards, and the cash in the wallet was gone, there was really no use for me to pay into this scheme!
So a week or so later, the director of my program got a call from someone who said they had my wallet! They of course wanted money for it, but considering I had already cancelled my cards, and the cash in the wallet was gone, there was really no use for me to pay into this scheme!
In Memory of Vivian Lee Reilly (Gramie)
So when I was on my way to Siem Reap to visit Angkor Wat, I had this weird feeling hit me at around 1:30 pm my time. My thoughts abruptly turned to my step-grandmother, and I wondered if this was one of those telepathic messages being sent to me. I knew she was not doing so well (physically), and I took note of the time. I later learned that this time correlated with when my father went to check on her in her bedroom, right around when she began to "transition." On Day 2 at Angkor Wat, I paid my respects to my Gramie at one of the temples by lighting incense in her honor. Here are the pictures:
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