Cambodia
After five weeks in Vietnam, we were lonesome to leave. For the umpteenth time, we were awash in the intense emotions of leaving behind what had become familiar and advancing to the foreign and unknown. After initial struggles with tonality in Vietnam and having finally had some consistent success being understood, we were not ready to learn new words for hello and thank you!
Despite its proximity to Vietnam, Cambodia felt starkly different. We took a bus from HCMC to Phnom Penh. As we made our way from the border of Cambodia to its capital city, the motorbike hordes had shrunk and were joined by pick-up trucks and tuk-tuks, the sidewalk restaurants of small bright plastic chairs and tables had all but disappeared, and the surrounding environment went from hot, lush and green to hot, dry, and brown.
Despite differences in ancestry, language, history, and branches of religion, many elements of this next subtropical Southeast Asian country were familiar. We saw similar large markets filled with local produce, busy streets, French colonial remnants, and again sidewalks (if they existed) coopted for seemingly everything but pedestrians.
A few photos and reflections from our visit can be found below.
Phnom Penh
We arrived in Phnom Penh without a detailed plan. Hoping to take advantage of our first night in town, we took a walk around our neighborhood.
As the sun set, we happened upon (read: Chris sought and found) a local brewery and were invited in to attend a comedy show. We hadn’t planned on a late night but couldn’t pass the chance for this surprising introduction to Cambodia, and we joined in for an odd (but entertaining) evening of stand-up by expats. The host’s goal was to work the names of each of the 25 provinces of Cambodia into his set. This resulted in a few clever jokes and many more very strained puns. Though we certainly couldn’t have done much better with names like Mondulkiri!
On our second day in Phnom Penh, we explored a market by our accommodation called the Russian Market. The metal roofs seen in these photos provided some shade but not much relief from the heat of the 103-degree sun… But we enjoyed walking between the stalls and seeing the sometimes subtle (sometimes not subtle) changes in foods between the countries of Southeast Asia.
In the slightly cooler evening after sunset, we explored the riverfront neighborhoods. We passed by the brightly lit royal palace (the official royal residence of the King of Cambodia) which was built in 1866.
And found a rooftop bar with great views of the city and cheap drinks.
On our third day in Cambodia, we visited sites associated with the genocide that took place here from 1975–1979. The sites emphasize the commemoration of the victims (an estimated ~20% of the population) and understanding the conditions that resulted in Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's rise to power.
Outside of Phnom Penh, we visited Choeung Ek, one of ~300 killing fields/execution sites in Cambodia. A self-guided audio tour allowed us to walk the somber grounds while listening to survivor accounts and historical context.
The large glass stupa seen below is a Buddhist memorial on the site. It houses the remains of victims found on the site.
In Phnom Penh, we visited S21, a secondary school turned secret prison. S21 is one of two hundred such prisons found in Cambodia. Those detained were perceived enemies of the regime; members of the previous Lon Nol government, doctors, academics, monks, and engineers. The goal of S21 was to document each prisoner’s history, use torture to extract a confession, and transfer the prisoner to Cheoung Ek.
The prison was discovered in 1979 by the invading Vietnamese Army, hours after the Khmer Rouge had fled.
Kang Kek Lew (also known as Comrade Duch) was the commanding officer at S21. He was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2007 and after serving 10 years in prison, he died in 2020 at the age of 77.
Pol Pot fled after the defeat by the Vietnamese but remained largely free until his death in 1998.
Battambang
A fairly smooth six-hour van ride north brought us to the town of Battambang. We stayed at a homestay and the uncle of the host ran a regular Cambodian cooking class. We were happy to join in one afternoon. The class started with a trip to the local market for produce. The first photo depicts lots of local spices and curry powders. The middle photo shows a woman using a machine to scrape the meat from a coconut shell (a process we had to do by hand in the Vietnamese Mekong) to be processed into coconut milk. The last photo shows fermented fish paste. This fish paste is has a powerful smell and is forbidden on flights.
Back in the cooking classroom, we prepared vegetarian spring rolls. Just outside, in the hot afternoon sun, a truck rolls by spraying the ground with water to prevent the red dust from blowing into the air and buildings.
We made fish amok (a traditional Cambodian dish) by preparing fish with spices and coconut milk and steaming it in a banana leaf boat):
We made lok-lak (another traditional Cambodia dish) of beef fried in spices with a pepper and lime dressing):
With the guidance of our instructor, Nary, the meal was delicious!
The next day we went on a tuk-tuk tour of Battambang. Our first stop was an 11th-century Hindu temple.
Built near the ruins was a more modern Buddhist pagoda.
And a very large Buddha out front.
Our next stop was with a local woman who taught us ways to cut and dry bananas. It was International Women’s Day (a holiday in Cambodia) so her niece was back from university for the day and taught us a few techniques.
Another stop was at a rice paper factory (very similar to the one we saw in Vietnam). The picture below depicts the use of the rice husks as fuel for the fire. The resultant ash is then collected and returned to the rice fields for use as fertilizer. Across the street, we tried spring rolls made with these rice paper rolls.
Another stop was at a powerfully scented fish paste factory. Prahok is a specific fish paste produced in Cambodia (typically from snakehead fish) and is widely used in Cambodian cuisine.
Siem Reap
A three-hour bus ride east brought us to Siem Reap, the launching pad for Angkor Watt.
But before we made the journey to the ancient city, we had to stop at APOPO!
Due to decades of war (Vietnam war [including US bombing in Cambodia], Khmer Rouge genocide, conflicts with Thailand), millions of land mines and unexploded ordnances still exist in Cambodia despite millions having already been cleared. Especially in rural areas, these land mines have a devastating impact on farmers and children. Cambodia has one of the highest rates of lower extremity amputations in the world (40,000 amputees in a country of just 16.6 million). The main goal of the program is to return compromised agricultural land to local farmers to allow them to plow and plant without risk of setting off old explosives.
Typically, the process of de-mining an area with metal detectors is slow and dangerous. This is where APOPO comes in.
APOPO trains large African Giant Pouched rats to sniff out TNT (even when it’s buried deep in the ground). These rats have an incredible sense of smell and unlike metal detectors, can detect explosives that are made without metal. The rats can clear a tennis court-sized area within 20 minutes (this could take a human up to 4 days depending on how much scrap metal is in the area). Across all countries in which APOPO works, over 100 million square meters have been cleared by the rats thus far.
We watched a demonstration below.
We also got to meet a few “hero rats.” These rats generally live 6–8 years (4–5 years working in the fields). They are trained using operant conditioning, which takes about a year to complete. Each rat has to pass a rigorous test before being deployed.
Because of the important job they do, and the year-long investment in their training, they are very well cared for. They only work in the morning and have sunscreen applied to their ears and tails before working under the hot Cambodian sun! Any wounds or injuries take them off the job until they’re rehabilitated and ready to work again.
Ancient Capital City of Angkor
Most probably already know a bit about the ancient city of Angkor and Angkor Wat and aren’t coming to us for a history lesson, so briefly…
The city of Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer Empire, which existed approximately between the 9th and 15th centuries. The city was very large, with a population of almost one million at its peak. Angkor Wat (“Angkor” meaning “capital city” and “Wat” meaning “temple”), the building most are familiar with, was built during the 12th century, first as a Hindu temple before transitioning to a Buddhist temple.
The entire historical park (Angkor Wat and the many surrounding temples) is massive, stretching over 400 square kilometers. To truly appreciate this place of history, we split our time over three days, taking part in a tour and then self-guiding by foot and by bike.
Angkor Wat
Our first day required an early start for sunrise at Angkor Wat. This included waking at 3 AM to meet our guide and then get to the lake across from the temple to watch the sunrise. Our Cambodian guide was careful not to step on wildlife on the way to the viewing spot “Good morning! Good morning, I love you!” he would say to frogs spotted with his torch.
Millions of people visit Angkor Wat each year and watching the sunrise here is a popular activity. We got pretty lucky, nestled into a crowd of cheerful folks from all over the world. It’s a lot of fuss for a view and a photo that has been taken millions of times but it was still pretty neat to see the massive intricate buildings take shape in the morning light.
Another view in the daylight from the opposite side.
Once the sun was up, we explored the inner temple. Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious structures in the world, containing numerous hallways, towers, galleries, and shrines. After multiple visits, we still hadn’t explored every corner.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm is particularly famous today thanks to Tomb Raider (the site was used as one of the filming locations). Interactions between human-constructed temples, nature, and time… are on display. Vegetation overgrowth can be seen in the photos below.
Roots stretch into and over the temples, simultaneously shifting and stabilizing the stones.
Our guide was a clever photographer…
Bayon Temple
This impressive Buddhist temple holds 54 gothic towers with 216 smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara. It’s truly an impressive “eye spy” temple to walk through.
A closer look revealed smiling faces and dancing ladies everywhere.
Even a monkey crawling along the ruins.
Tonle Om Gate
Over 54 impressive stone figures welcome visitors through this gate (or guard it). There is one row of deities and one row of demons, expressing a sort of “tug of war.”
Prasat Preah Khan
Also built in the 12th century, this flat temple holds many galleries.
Neak Poan
This site was located “on an island on an island.” Getting here entailed a long walk along a bridge through a large man-made lake covered in bright pink lotus flowers.
Pre Rup temple
One of the older Hindu temples on this site, it is believed that funerals/cremations may have taken place here.
Banteay Kdei
Another Buddhist temple from around the 12th century, similar to the Bayon architectural style seen above.
Prasat Ta Keo
One of the unfinished temples on the site. It was the first monument built entirely of sandstone.
As mentioned above, we first explored the grounds with a guide who drove us to several of the more popular sites. The next afternoon, we tackled a very small percentage of the grounds on foot. On our final day, we explored for a full day on bicycles. This was the best means of transport. As we moved on the bikes we were grateful for the gentle breeze. We were also able to explore temples that are often bypassed by large busses of visitors.
Kampot
Having seen enough temples to last us quite some time, we left Siam Reap and made our way to the south coast. We landed in the riverside city of Kampot. With just 45,000 people, this was a great contrast to the busy Phnom Penh and the heavily touristed Siam Reap.
Pepper plantations
Kampot is home to Kampot Pepper, a cultivar of black pepper. Kampot pepper is a certified geographical indication product (similar to Champagne or Camembert) in both Cambodia and the EU. The pepper here can be found in upscale restaurants around the world.
Our little scooter tackled unpaved gravel, and narrow dirt roads as we made our way out to a small plantation to learn more about the pepper. On our tour, we learned that all types of pepper (black, white, red) come from the same peppercorn. Their distinctive taste comes from how the pepper is processed (though red pepper comes from a riper peppercorn). Below you can see the pepper plant growing up the poles and a few red and green corns on the plant.
Salt flats
Kampot is also home to large salt flats. After a few practice laps on the scooter, Marlene was ready to take us on a tour.
The salt flats are located on an island just south of the city of Kampot. The environment is quite desolate and hot. We pulled off on the side of the road and watched the salt farmers rake and collect the salt which forms on the water's surface like a crust.
Green Cathedral
One lazy afternoon was spent kayaking “the green cathedral,” a canal system off the Preaek Tuek Chhu River. We timed it just about right to catch a sunset at the end.
Kep
Another motorbike ride brought us to the small town of Kep. A large statue of a creature, top half Hindu deity, bottom half mermaid, welcomed us to the seaside town known for its crab fishing and crab market. Not being big seafood eaters, we didn’t do what most come to Kep to do… eat the crabs, which here are spiced with kampot pepper.
Instead, we were content to observe and marvel at the different stages and people involved in getting sea-life to market. From small wooden boats, men walk barefoot through the water bringing shellfish, crabs, and fish to shore. Women, covered head to toe to finger in sun hats, gloves, and clothing to protect them from the sun and crab pincers, select the finest specimens and fill rattan baskets with slick writhing creatures. They load themselves and the baskets onto awaiting tuk-tuks before heading to the market… and to the awaiting mouths of eager locals and tourists.
Below is a picture of locals purchasing crabs from the boats.
Not a bad seat to observe the ongoings.
Back in Phnom Penh
A three-hour bus ride brought us back to Phnom Penh, our final stop in Cambodia and our final stop on our SEA mainland loop.
We spent our final day walking around Phnom Penh’s various neighborhoods. A friend of ours, Po, had immigrated from Cambodia to the US at eighteen. We visited the location of his old home and the nearby central market.
The next day we boarded a plane for another part of Asia. Cambodian flight attendants in shimmering gold and indigo dresses directed us to our seats. Warm rays of the setting sun lit the plane as the attendants demonstrated pulling the red tab to inflate the life vest. The graceful and purposeful movements of their hands reminded us of the many dancing ladies carved in stone at the wats of Angkor (see below photo).
With that, we bid adieu to Cambodia and, on the very day that the newest security law had passed in Hong Kong, we were flying that direction.
