Cambodia

Phnom Penh:  August 2013

The hotel is surrounded by hundreds of trees, planted by the French owners. It’s very lush.

Front of The Kabiki

Breakfast area around the pool

The patio area outside our room

Room at The Kabiki

The room has bunk beds too.

Really nice pool area at The Kabiki

Green pool at The Kabiki

The boys are performing more advance tricks.

Trying to impress the French at the pool.

Aidan on his way down

Splash!

Looks to be a demonstration before the big demonstration on Wednesday.

Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh has 4-seater tuk-tuks. Much more comfortable.

Best way to see the city

Entrance to Tuol Sleng Prison, otherwise known as S-21.

Cell that housed some 30 prisoners

Rules of the Khmer Rouge

Photo of man tortured

Shackle that held prisoners

Explanation of The Gallows

Prisoner 408

Leader of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, He was never brought to justice and lived to the age of 72.

Photo of children in Khmer Rouge labor camp

Photo of Khmer Rouge labor camp

Photo of children in Khmer Rouge labor camp

Photo of Khmer Rouge labor camp

Photo of man tortured

Photo of man tortured

The prisoners’ photos go on and on.

The Khmer Rouge documented the execution of each prisoner.

Prisoner tags found at S-21

This woman’s husband worked for the government; he was killed. Then her baby was murdered in front of her, before the Khmer Rouge killed her.

The Khmer Rouge did not discriminate. They killed the young…

… and old.

The Khmer Rouge first killed all the government leaders, intellectuals, and professionals and their families. Later, everyone was expendable.

Courtyard of S-21

The barbed wire was added to this building to prevent prisoners’ escapes.

Individual cells

Imagine being in this cell for 2 to 6 months before your execution.

Torture table

Prisoner 320 and her baby

Photos of S-21 prisoners

Instruments of torture

Boxes for ammunition

S-21 Prison

Entrance to Choeung Ek, otherwise known as the Killing Fields

Aidan is listening to the audio tour. It was really well done.

The largest remembrance stupa in Cambodia

Site of another mass grave

In some spots, you can still see clothing worn by the victims; sometimes it’s stuck in the roots of trees.

Visitors leave bracelets in memory of the victims.

Khmer Rouge guards used the spiked branches from palm trees to slit victims’ throats.

Nathan and Aidan listen to the audio tour explain about this mass gravesite, one of many unearthed at the Killing Fields.

Photo of skulls and bones exhumed at this site

Still today, especially in the rainy season, bones and teeth continue to come to the surface. Caretakers preserve the body parts.

Victims’ teeth and bones

From this tree, the Khmer Rouge hung loud speakers. At night, music would play to drown out the screaming of those being executed.

Inside the remembrance stupa is a tower of skulls and bones from thousands of victims.

The first few levels are skulls; the upper levels are larger bones.

Just some of the skulls of victims unearthed at the Killing Fields

One of the thousands of skulls recovered from the Killing Fields.

This was the most disturbing moment on the tour. The guards would take babies and children by their feet and strike them against this tree until they were dead. Hair and brain matter were found on the bark. Bracelets have been left in the children’s memory.

Top of remembrance stupa

The stench from the trash can be overwhelming.

While not as prevalent as in Africa, trash does line some of the streets in Phnom Penh. No one bags trash here. Garbage trucks come along, and using pitch forks, workers throw the rubbish into the back.

Nathan can’t escape the smell from the trash.

Siem Reap

East entrance to Ta Prohm, a jungle temple

Neerav, Nathan, Aidan, and Shellie in front of the east entrance to Ta Prohm

The temple was commissioned by King Jayavarman IIV in 1186 AD. It took 10 years to complete.

The fallen bricks are labeled to indicate their estimated position.

Nathan, Shellie, Neerav, and Aidan in front of a Banyan tree that’s taken over this corner of the temple

Look closely behind the Banyan tree.

Banyon tree, both beautiful and destructive

More missing Buddhas at the hand of King Jayavarman VIII, a Hindu.

Cambodian girl swinging on vines

Aidan gives it a try.

Restoration in progress

To the left of the tall pillar, you can see where the restoration team is slowly trying to piece together a puzzle.

All those empty spots used to have carved Buddhas inside.

The roots of this Banyan tree have to be braced.

Apsara, Khmer angels

Aidan and Nathan inside a Banyan tree root

Pieces of a puzzle

Sign by the restoration areas

Look carefully. See the carving?

So many doorways…

Banyan tree

This entrance was in the movie, “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” starring Angelina Jolie.

This corner, too, was in the movie.

These tree roots remind me of an octopus.

Vendor is selling incense inside the temple.

Apsaras, or Khmer angels

The carving is clearly of a dinosaur. It’s the only one.

Nathan inside Ta Prohm

Aidan at Ta Prohm

Another tree’s “tentacles” are taking over.

This root reminds me of an elephant trunk.

Nathan at Ta Prohm

Aidan explores another passageway.

This doorway is being overtaken by termites. What looks like dirt is a termite mound.

The head of this apsara was removed for illegal sale.

The temple was originally constructed out of volcanic rock, but it easily crumbled over time. The builders then switched to sandstone.

Our guide, Sarith, shows how men were able to drill holes and then using wood dowels, move the rocks.

The moss adds to the effect.

This sign shows the before and after photos of restoration.

Recently restored area of Ta Prohm

Yet another corridor…

Side view of the east entrance to Ta Prohm

These holes were made by people looking for gems inside the walls of the temple.

Aspara, the Khmer angel

This is one of the Hindu etchings made to replace the Buddha that was removed.

Lion near east entrance

We told Aidan to kiss the lion for good luck. He did.

These boys were selling wood flutes with grass cases for $1. Aidan bought one and got a quick lesson.

Kompheim

Several families work together in one family’s field.

The rice grows in one field for 2 weeks. Then it is uprooted and replanted – shoot by shoot – in another field for 2 months. This allows the rice more room to grow.

Neerav and Aidan climb into their oxen cart.

Aidan and Neerav riding Cambodian style

The whip isn’t used to strike the animals but instead keep away the pesky flies.

Nathan and Shellie ride in their oxen cart.

The home of our host

Family’s living room/bedroom with black-and-white television

Family’s closet

Family’s kitchen, in need of walls

Toilet and chicken house

The family’s bathroom

Our host family only has this one small field to plant rice. After several months of work, it only yields enough to feed them for one week.

Our guide, Sokha, gives Aidan a lesson on wall panel construction.

Aidan gets to work.

Taking his job very seriously, Nathan rocks out four panels, more than anyone else.

Finally, something that Shellie does better than Neerav!

Aidan has the hang of it.

Nathan, Neerav, and Aidan work to connect the palm leaves that will be used to construct kitchen walls. The owner needs 300 panels!

Our guide and driver share their insight into Cambodia’s turbulent past and uncertain future.

Ame, the owner of this home, is married with four children, ranging from age 18 to 10.

Visiting neighborhood girl

We attract curious neighbors. This little boy is 6 months old.

This water filtration system, supplied by at New York-based NGO, removes the rust (and bugs) from the water.

Ame is cooking rice for her family’s lunch.

Host’s 12-year old daughter

She was a very quiet, but hardworking girl.

This was the reaction Shellie got from our host’s 1-year old nephew. He was scared by the white skin. His name was Hay.

Host’s nephews and neighbors. The 6-year old was in charge of caring for his 1-year old brother. He was a very caring brother.

Still not to sure about Shellie…

The family collected 1000 water bottles to earn this second-hand bicycle. More on the bottles later.

The little boy finally sits on Shellie’s lap. Her secret weapon: food.

These winged red ants are lunch… not kidding.

Red ants… wings and all.

Cambodians use fish paste in nearly everthing. It’s a combination of fermented fish bones and guts and salt… lots of salt.

To the fish paste, our guide Sokha adds chopped red chillies, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass.

Now Sokha adds the red ants. This dish is supposedly a special treat for the family. Wow.

Aidan with a cleaver

Shellie takes over cleaver duties.

Neerav prepares to try fish paste/red ant dish.

Neerav’s reaction to fish paste and red ants… Hmmmm, salty.

Aidan tries the fish paste/red ants dish. Nathan… not a chance.

Trying not to be impolite, Shellie tries the fish paste/red ants dish… just one small bite.

Our lunch consisted of vegetarian sandwiches wrapped in palm leaves and fresh fruit. A large banana leaf served as a tablecloth.

The family enjoys the fish paste/red ant lunch.

We couldn’t bear to eat all the fruit provided for our lunch. Instead we gave it to the family.

Neerav plants his mango tree for the family.

Aidan swings the hoe. Watch out!

Aidan plants his mango tree for the family.

Shellie plants her rambutan tree for the family.

Neerav waters his tree.

Aidan waters his tree.

Nathan breaks ground for his mango tree.

Nathan waters his tree.

Shellie waters her tree.

We say goodbye to our gracious hosts.

In return for their hospitality and to provided them with an added income, we decide to buy the family a pig. (Not pictured: father and 3 other children)

Home of the two brother pictured earlier

Home built by Beyond Escape and visiting tourists

Another home in the community. This one belongs to what they call a Tier 3 family, i.e. wealthy by village standards.

Villagers offer gifts to their dead ancestors at their spirit houses.

This family was Tier 3. They had many crops and fruit trees, including banana.

Some families have livestock. Our host family did not.

At the village grocery store, the shopkeeper sells large, glass Pepsi bottles of gasoline for motorcyles.

We hope that one day these trees will produce much fruit for the family.

Your can see the iron in the water that needs to be filtered.

Growing green onions in pipe

Giant cucumber-like fruit

Beyond Escape built these three buildings. Villagers can come to learn English for free; women can come to get vocational training (sewing).

Beyond Escape built the building out of plastic bottles. Villagers collect the bottles, fill them with trash (which is an eyesore in the village), and turn them in for extra rice (12 bottles) or a second-hand bicycle (1000 bottles). It’s ingenious.

The bottles are surrounded by chicken wire and then encased in cement to create the walls.

This wall is being built from plastic bottles.

Village children go to this government school from age 6 to 14.

When a person dies, they are cremated. Their ashes are placed in a family stupa next to the village temple.

This is the village temple. You can’t help wishing that less money was spent on the temple and more money on infrastructure for the village.

Bright green rice fields

Siem Reap

Entrance to Angkor Thom, or Great city, last capital of the Khmer Empire

There are 54 Hindu god heads on the right side of the causeway leading to Angkor Thom.

One of the original stone figures

A hand-dug moat surrounds Angkor Thom

One of five entry towers to Angkor Thom

Inside view of entry tower

Aidan demonstrates how the Khmer people were able to move such massive stones.

Can you imagine moving each and every stone?!

Nathan, Neerav, Aidan, and Shellie at Bayon Temple inside Angkor Thom

Bayon was built in late 12th century to early 13th century by the King Jayavarman VII, dedicated to Buddhist.

Our guide, Yanos, shows us the lions that guard the temple entrance.

Aidan, Nathan, and Neerav approach Bayon Temple.

Bayon boasts 54 stone towers.

Bayon has 216 of these faces, known as the Smile of Angkor.

The faces is thought to be a combination of King Jayavarman VII and Buddha.

King Jayavarman VII thought of himself as a God King. In other words, he had a big head.

Faces at every turn

Aspara dancers with tourist

Buddhists worshipping inside Bayon Temple

Aidan looking at one of the many faces

The statue on the right is supposed to be King Jayavarman VII’s queen.

The Khmer must have had small feet because the stairs here are narrow.

These Hindu symbols are frequently seen at the temples. If I explained them, I’d have to rate this blog, “R.”

For some reason, many Chinese tourists take photos like this at the temples – not just one or two – but entire photo shoots at one spot. They move a few feet away and do it again. It can get a bit annoying when you’re waiting to get your one shot.

The gallery depicts the story of Khmer battles.

The scene is not on just one piece of stone but over several bricks that fit together like a puzzle.

Nathan in front of Bayan’s gallery

The detail is extraordinary.

The gallery is enormous.

Carvings of apsaras. They represent peace and happiness in the Khmer culture.

Bayan Temple at Angkor Thom

Aidan and Nathan at Bayan Temple

Baphuon, the royal palace, at Angkor Thom

At this point, Aidan has had it with temples.

Elephant trunks in stone

Part of Elephant Terrace, where the King spoke or gathered to watch sports or performances

The other part of Elephant Terrace

This is the entrance to Preah Khan, built by King Jayavarman VII to honor his father. He built Ta Prohm to honor his mother.

The guardians at Preah Khan. Some head were lost to nature; others were lost to thieves.

Headless gods are on the left; headless demons are on the right as you enter the temple.

One of the demon statues

One of the god statues

Demon at entrance to Prasat Preah Khan

Bayan Temple at Angkor Thom

Nathan prefers hammocks to temples.

Kampong Phluk

Boarding our longboat to Kampong Phluk

Headed down the Roulos River to Kompong Phulek

Aidan at the helm

The string controls the throttle.

It takes some coaxing, but Nathan gets behind the steering wheel. Once he started piloting, he didn’t want to stop.

Kickin’ back on the longboat

Nathan passes another longboat.

Kids checking their net for fish

Given how high the houses are built, you can imagine how high the water gets in the later rainy season.

Homes in village of Kampong Phluk

The homeowners store fishing nets and firewood on the lower part of the house.

Walls made from palm leaves

Village of Kampong Phluk

All over Cambodia, we’ve seen very independent young children.

These children look to be collecting trash in a fishing net.

The bamboo boxes are fishing traps.

Everything here is done by boat.

Riding through Chong Kneas

Boys shampooing their hair

Though this home looks like it should be abandoned, it’s fully inhabited.

This is the Flooded Forest. In the dry season, the trees sit on land not in the water.

Villagers from Kampong Phluk awaiting tourists

We transfer to a small canoe and row through the Flooded Forest.

Shellie, Aidan, Nathan, and Neerav in the Flooded Forest

Agrala is 12 years old. She and her dad are rowing our boat.

Aidan, Nathan, and Neerav enjoying the shade of the Flooded Forest

Agrala’s father rowing in the front

Canopy of the Flooded Forest

The route is marked.

Shellie, Aidan, and Nathan in the canoe

Neerav takes a turn with the paddle.

To the right, you see a new pathway to Tonle Sap lake being built.

Back to the shade of the Flooded Forest

Seems like some place that crocodiles should live!

Goodbye to Agrala’s father

We reach Tonle Sap Lake.

Tonle Sap Lake is 6200 square miles during the rainy season. It’s only 1860 square miles during the dry season

Neerav and Shellie on Tonle Sap Lake

Neerav and Shellie on Tonle Sap Lake

I’ve never seen corn growing like this!

Kids being kids

Guest house and restaurant for the adventure traveler

Believe me, it’s hot. These kids are cooling down in the murky waters of the Roulos River.

The chicken coop is below the house.

More kids taking a dip

Brother paddling the family boat

Floating garden

This house is set up to actually float.

Local high school and fisheries office

Shellie at the wheel

Neerav takes a turn at the helm.

The string that controls the steering snaps. Oops. Our driver makes a temporary repair.

Mr. Sayeth, our tuk-tuk driver for the week

The ladies who worked at the reception desk were so incredibly friendly.