Battambang day 2

We moved to different hotel because they had a pool. Did I mention how hot it is? 100 or so with high humidity. But the old hotel gave us a gift upon leaving, a silk scarf for each. Yes, it did make us feel a little guilty. We found the veggie restaurant we had been looking for and had an Asian version of an egg McMuffin.... Three slices of bread, with a mushroom patty and a fried egg. Another shake. Coffee is amazing here.

The pool was so inviting, so we lazed around trying to cool our bodies off. Difficult when the pool water is about the same as the ambient temperature. But it was nice to sit still for a few hours. You can only go at full speed for so long. We still had an afternoon adventure planned. We met up with our driver Chin Chin to drive out to an old temple from the 11th century. On the way we stopped at some small villages. The first village specialized in Bamboo sticky rice. They mix up rice, coconut water, beans and maybe something for sweetness, pack it into a hollowed bamboo tube about 10 inches long, and then place the tubes in a trough of charcoal. Once it cools, you peel back the bamboo and eat the sticky rice. It was so smooth and sweet, but with a woodsmoke flavor.

Next stop was the fish paste village. Full disclosure, I did not try any. They start with piles of deboned medium sized fish. Yes, the pile gettting ready for the next batch was sitting in the sun covered with flies. Then they throw all these fish pieces into huge clay pots with lots of salt. They have large paddles for mixing it all up. It sits in these pots for months, fermenting away. Covered, no flies at this point. Once it is ready, they package it into little plastic rolls, about the size of your finger, or small plastic pyramids for a single serving. I'm Sure we've been eating it I almost every dish we've had.

Our last village made rice paper for spring rolls. Today's production was mostly gone, but what was left was laid out on the grassy strip beside the road, awaiting the dew to soften it up.

We visited the 11th century temple ruins and beside it there was a large wat. Apparently this was a special Buddhist holiday so the wat was filled with chanting monks and townspeople. I was allowed to sit on the floor near the back with the other women and listen to the monks for half an hour. Just when I thought I might leave, they came and brought plastic cups of sugarcane juice to everyone... Their version of an energy drink. I finished most of that and headed out the back door only to be invited to sit down next to an old woman. Finished my juice with her and she was very intent on comparing our skin. Personally I thought her even bronze tone was much more beautiful than my freckled, wrinkly version.

On the way back to town I realized that every house had one or two huge urns filled with water out front. Many people were having sponge baths at the end of the steamy day. There was also some sort of secret code, because little kids came flying out of every nook and cranny to yell "hello!" . If you say hello back, the kids are so excited.

We walked down to the food stalls along the river for dinner. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to which vendor served which area. We sat down, and the one English menu was brought out. The food was excellent as it has been everywhere. We did stop for one more milkshake on the way home. Mango this time..

 

Battambang day 1

With only two weeks in the country, I want to see as much as I can, even if some towns are not typical tourist destinations. Although I could spend another few days visiting temples, we packed a lot into two long days. Today we are taking a bus around the west side of Tonle Sap area and over to the city of Battambang, which means Lost Stick. This is a photo of the monument to the guy who stole the stick? Still waiting for confirmation.

We decided to go with one of the cheaper bus companies. The AC is just as good on those filled with Westerners. And, fortunately there is no Fast and Furious or Battle of the Planet of the Apes video blaring the entire time. However, communication is lacking a little. We stopped in Bantam Meanchey, with no word how long a stop it might be. Half the people hopped off the bus, including Erin and Nick. Two minutes later the bus takes off and winds around through town. Evan rushed to find what was going on. Well, the driver wanted to stop somewhere else to eat. We could have gotten off if we had wanted. Evan walked back to the first stop while I sat on the bus with our belongings. I don't think I would have wanted to be Erin, walking out of the bathroom without her bag and seeing that the bus had disappeared.

Low season in a sparsely tourist end area meant that we were assaulted by tuk tuk drivers when the bus stopped, not a common occurrence here. But we found our way to a hotel, and quickly set out on some sightseeing as Nick was heading back to Siem Reap the next day.

The bamboo train was our first adventure. Apparently there were only two train lines ever built in Cambodia, one from Phnom Penh up to the Thai border and one from Phnom Penh to the south. Both were built in french Colonial times but fell into disrepair and all traffic was stopped. However some intrepid locals came up with an idea to us the tracks for their own transportation purposes. Using two axles that fit the rails, a rubber belt, a small engine, and a bamboo platform, they roll along the rails to distant villages. If there is an oncoming bamboo train, someone stops, one train is carried off the track in pieces, the other rolls by, then stops to get the first one all put together.

The track is so bad that you are bumping and jumping and pounding the whole way. Occasionally we crawled ahead at a a snails pace to avoid bouncing off the rails.we stopped at a small village, had an incredible cold coconut, and some interesting conversation. My friend here has several children, one a doctor and the other a teacher. She was 56. Same same.

 

From there we went to a mountain outside of town. It is famous for several things. First, its caves are home to more than 5 million bats. As we drove towards the mountain, our Tuk Tuk driver, Chin Chim, pointed out these smudges in the sky each was a swirl of bats. As we got closer, the smudges were taking over the sky until we came to the mouth of the cave where it was a constant outpouring of bats. He told us it takes more than an hour for the bats to all leave the cave. Twice a month they go in at night to collect the guano,,

We took a jeep to the top of the mountain to see the sunset over Battambang. There are some hills in the distance, but the city itself is in the same flat plain we have been in all over Cambodia. Rice fields as far as the eye can see. Flame trees are in bloom right now, creating a spectacular sight.

There is a pagoda on top of the mountain that was reflecting the last rays of the sun. On the other side a full moon was rising.

The most important thing about the mountain was its use as another of the killing fields. There are limestone caves throughout this mountain. They would bring those to be killed to the top of the mountain where there was an opening to the cave far below, and send them to their deaths. There is a shrine to those killed and a buddha watching over their bones in the cave.

 

 

Angkor Wat

This area is so much more than I expected. The evidence of thriving civilizations starting in the 900's. Not just one temple, but a succession of the highest expression of their art. Rivaling the cathedrals, the Mayan ruins, Machu Pichu, and then multiply it all by 100. Some completely restored, others in ruins, some in the process of being reclaimed by the forest. And then think of the Khmer Rouge decimating the country in the mid '70s. We are so lucky to have this.

Almost every inch of every temple is carved or decorated in some way. In addition to the unique architecture, it is all adorned. Where the restoration is complete at Angor Wat, the bas relief sculptures that surround the building are monumental in their length. Other temples might be surrounded by piles of carved rubble, a 3d jigsaw puzzle waiting to be put back together.

While the overall scope is hard to comprehend, the details could drive you to stay here for months. Intricate lintels, turned ballisters, arches and passages. I was In one small hallway by myself when I felt I was no longer alone, I looked over my right shoulder and a fullsize Buddha relief was smiling sere my in my direction

 

Phnom Penh

The excitement I feel when throwing a backpack on my back is tangible. Whether it's to lead a flower hike, climb to a summit, or fish at a lake, there is always the anticipation of an adventure. But today I am hoisting my backpack for a new destination. Cambodia.

Traveling halfway around the world is so easy. The connections were perfect, the food was wonderful (always order vegetarian for a special meal), and suddenly I was there in Phnom Penh airport. In 5 minutes I was out in the sultry air, flagging down a tuk tuk to the hotel, the only part of this trip that had been arranged. My mind was still in Colorado, but my body was bumping along the road, smiling at how all the different forms of transportation could thread their way between each other with no stop lights or stop signs, and rules that were difficult to comprehend.

Erin and Evan were waiting at the hotel, enjoying the mom-sponsored luxury of a pool. After a dip to try to forestall the jet lag, we walked out into the fray. Street food, a walk through the royal palace, and wandering through the city. Absorbing the sites such as spider webs of electric cables wrapped around poles at each street corner, motorbikes parked by the hundreds along every street, tuk tuks to transport you wherever you might not want to walk, ladies sitting sidesaddle on the back of a motorbike, families of four all riding on a motorcycle, hello kitty bike helmets.

The Royal Palace was beautiful and ornate, across from a large parade ground and just off the Tonle river and it's junction with the Mekong.

 

Day 2

 

The second day we visited two of the sites that are dedicated to remembering the time of the Khmer Rouge. The first was S21, a school in the center of town where people were imprisoned and tortured. Of the 14,000 people known to have been imprisoned there, only 7 survived. The rest were sent to one of the killing fields. It seems incongruous to find this in the middle of a city until you realize that the Khmer Rouge emptied the city of all inhabitants the first week they were in power.

We then went out to the Killing Fields, where they executed most of the inmates of S21 and other enemies of the people. Close to 9000 corpses were discovered in the mass graves. There are over 300 killing fields in Cambodia. In less than 4 years, the Khmer Rouge killed over 1 million, about a quarter of the population.

Over 500 skulls are enshrined in the Buddhist stupa, to honor and preserve their memory, and to never forget what happened.

 

That evening, we cruised down the Tonle and Mekong rivers for a tour of the water. It does not appear that the rivers are a source of much commercial traffic, but they do bring the water to saturate this fertile land.

Many small communities were living along the waters edge. One was Vietnamese, the other was Cambodia Muslim.