Cambodia
Cambodia was never on our list, but since we could only spend 30 days in Vietnam we had to find a pit stop in between and we are so lucky we found Siem Reap.
Almost all tourists coming to Cambodia are here to visit Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Over 164 square miles of brilliant architecture created from mostly sand stone or volcanic rock filled the area in the time period between the 10th-15th century. We found it absolutely amazing that so long ago with no modern mechanical assistance Cambodian's could build these magnificent buildings. All of the buildings were made to honor a particular God, usually Vishnu. They were also used for ceremonies, and as memorials for the kings siblings, parents, or fallen heroes during battle.
The famous Angkor Wat building to the right was dedicated to the God Vishnu who represents a God that is between Heaven and Earth. The building is a square shape and along the walls you can see story telling from many years ago.
Our tuk tuk driver picked us up at 5am to see the sunrise over the temple. We went to different temples in the complex and our guide Nak did the best he could in explaining the history to us. We played a bit of charades, but in general understood about every other word he said. Nak was previously a monk for 10 years, but due to his family situation he had to find work. Over our three days of touring we visited 12 temple sites in the Angkor Watt, Angkor Thom, and Angkor Thum complexes.
You can see the poverty here more than what we have seen in other countries. Nak explained the average salary in Siem Reap was $110 a month for a decent paying job in one of the hotels or restaurants. The main two cities in Cambodia are Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and the remaining lands are for farming.
During our few days of touring we also visited the Land Mine Museum. It is estimated that 2-4 million land mines still remain hidden in Cambodian countryside and are still active. Millions of Cambodians have been affected by a landmines, since 1975. They were placed to protect the borders between Vietnam and Thailand and larger bombs were dropped from American planes along the Vietnam border during our five year war here. Once a land mine is placed or bomb dropped from a plane it is forever active and ready to explode, they never 'expire'.
The man that started the land mine museum Aki Ra, was once a child soldier placing these land mines. Being at such a young age he didn't realize the devastation he was causing. Later he decided he was going to help get rid of them so he started by digging them out by hand with no protection or assistance. Today he and his team of 30 scour the land a football field at a time trying to give back safety to their community. The proceeds of the museum and donations go to growing their team, and to the school behind the museum which assists children who have been directly affected by a land mine or children that do not have a safe home to live in.
If you would like to learn more: http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/
As it was quite warm in Cambodia hitting around 95-100 most of our days were spent inside and out and about at night. The Cambodian Circus was a highlight. In a small tent with about 200 people as we watched an hour show of Cambodian teens doing some heart stopping tricks.
Almost all tourists coming to Cambodia are here to visit Angkor Wat, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Over 164 square miles of brilliant architecture created from mostly sand stone or volcanic rock filled the area in the time period between the 10th-15th century. We found it absolutely amazing that so long ago with no modern mechanical assistance Cambodian's could build these magnificent buildings. All of the buildings were made to honor a particular God, usually Vishnu. They were also used for ceremonies, and as memorials for the kings siblings, parents, or fallen heroes during battle.The famous Angkor Wat building to the right was dedicated to the God Vishnu who represents a God that is between Heaven and Earth. The building is a square shape and along the walls you can see story telling from many years ago.
Our tuk tuk driver picked us up at 5am to see the sunrise over the temple. We went to different temples in the complex and our guide Nak did the best he could in explaining the history to us. We played a bit of charades, but in general understood about every other word he said. Nak was previously a monk for 10 years, but due to his family situation he had to find work. Over our three days of touring we visited 12 temple sites in the Angkor Watt, Angkor Thom, and Angkor Thum complexes.
You can see the poverty here more than what we have seen in other countries. Nak explained the average salary in Siem Reap was $110 a month for a decent paying job in one of the hotels or restaurants. The main two cities in Cambodia are Siem Reap and Phnom Penh and the remaining lands are for farming.
During our few days of touring we also visited the Land Mine Museum. It is estimated that 2-4 million land mines still remain hidden in Cambodian countryside and are still active. Millions of Cambodians have been affected by a landmines, since 1975. They were placed to protect the borders between Vietnam and Thailand and larger bombs were dropped from American planes along the Vietnam border during our five year war here. Once a land mine is placed or bomb dropped from a plane it is forever active and ready to explode, they never 'expire'.
The man that started the land mine museum Aki Ra, was once a child soldier placing these land mines. Being at such a young age he didn't realize the devastation he was causing. Later he decided he was going to help get rid of them so he started by digging them out by hand with no protection or assistance. Today he and his team of 30 scour the land a football field at a time trying to give back safety to their community. The proceeds of the museum and donations go to growing their team, and to the school behind the museum which assists children who have been directly affected by a land mine or children that do not have a safe home to live in.
If you would like to learn more: http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/
As it was quite warm in Cambodia hitting around 95-100 most of our days were spent inside and out and about at night. The Cambodian Circus was a highlight. In a small tent with about 200 people as we watched an hour show of Cambodian teens doing some heart stopping tricks.
Comments
Post a Comment