my trip to Kampuchea, or Kingdom of Cambodia
Well, i arrived back in Seoul early Sunday morning, after a long five hour flight, and immediately i was reminded how nice the weather was in Cambodia, and how hot it is in Seoul right now. I'm imagining that the weather is close to how it is right now in North America, however, I'm dying here with the awful humidity and the lack of temperature fluctuation; it stays hot all night long. I have no control over the weather, so i’ll quit complaining.
Cambodia was an amazing experience. I arrived there late Saturday, to find that the whole city nearly shuts down at 11pm, and i had no hotel reservations (in hindsight, this oversight could have been bad) i luckily got into a hotel, with the last room; i had to fight to not be ripped off in my hotel room; not something that i liked doing that late at night. The following day, i continued onto Siem Reap, coming upon the bus “station” almost by tripping over it. Phnom Penh is really quite amazing; 1 million people, and there’s not an apartment in sight- everything is four-story french colonial style houses. This is beautiful to the eyes, but a hassle, because the city is so spread out, with no public transportation whatsoever. After a harrowing seven hour bus ride to Siem Reap (its only 279 km) i checked into my guesthouse, and immediately felt welcomed. Something about Siem Reap somewhat grows on you. Its a city that is due to explode in the next five years, because there is so much development going up in the city, that in five years, it will be miles ahead of where it is now. For example, the city has no major drainage system - when it rains, and it rains a lot, the whole street’s just flood completely over. And the Khmer just act as if there’s nothing wrong; they just walk on through the rain, knowing that they’ll dry really quickly once it stops raining.
Angkor Wat was just amazing; i bought a three day ticket, in preparation for my next three days of exploring. In the end, i didn’t need all three days, but it was still amazing. Its just incredible how much work they put into their temples, and their belief’s in buddhism that led them to feel so rewarded for their work. The only struggle that I had with Angkor and all of their temple’s was the absolute poverty that surrounds the temples. These people have been treated like shit for the past three or four decades, and land mine’s still dot the countryside. However, when you see so many people with maimed legs, arms, or worse yet, both, you really feel a deep sense of sorrow for them. You try to help, but there’s only so much you can do without making things worse for them.
In Siem Reap, I was lucky to stay at a guesthouse that, while a tad more expensive, went out of their way to make you comfortable. I ended up meeting two other couples, and we did some touring together, and eating out. This trip only reaffirmed for me that this will be the last trip i make on my own; traveling solo does allow you a lot of freedom, but its just too lonely. In Siem Reap, we spent two nights in a bar called “Angkor What?”, where travelers wrote messages all over the walls. Siem Reap is also home to Angkor beer, by far one of the best beer’s i’ve ever had - it beats Korean beer hands down. I lifted my beer glass just to help remind myself how much i enjoyed it. In the end, it was hard to leave Siem Reap; at first, the city was really unappealing to me; in the end, I had cancelled my other trip i was going to do in Cambodia in order to spend more time there. It grew on me, and I was surprised that when i left, i somewhat felt like i was going to wish I had used my time more wisely when i was there.
I arrived back in Phnom Penh, to an absolute bleating noise of Tuk tuk drivers - if you don’t know what they are, google it - and you’ll find out. they’re aggressive, try to rip you off every chance they get, and they’re shady... but they’re vital to their economy, because without any other form of income, many of them sleep in their tuk tuks in order to save as much money as they can. The only thing you have to worry about is their sense of direction - many of the drivers have no idea where they’re taking you, and they’ll just start driving anywhere that you think is important, they’ll drive you anywhere you want, but unless you tell them where to go, they’ll just keep driving until you realize you’re lost - and then you still have to pay. i got fooled once, but not the second time - i called his bluff, and he just smiled as i walked away.
overall, phnom penh was not as nice as i was hoping it would be. its a big city spread out - its got cheap eats compared to Korea, but its often very depressing. the poverty that surrounds everywhere you go makes you appreciate what you have so much more when you return; its often the little things that make me so thankful that God has given me what He has. I spent two nights in a great guesthouse in Phnom Penh, and I got to see some things that will never leave me. the Khmer Rouge did horrible horrible things to their own people, and things such as the Killing Fields, and their S-21 prison left a scar with me that I’ll never forget. I think that it was due to their use of a secondary school as their prison and torture chamber that really made me feel sorrow; maybe if i wasn’t a secondary teacher, it might not have bothered me as much; who knows.
In the end, I was glad I went, even though I was slightly scared to go. Cambodia is a growing country, and their wealth is making those less fortunate try to take from those who show their wealth. I was blessed to never have any problems, but on my last night, I ran into a gentleman who had been robbed of nearly everything; he wasn’t too bright, but still, it happens. I’m going to post pictures to this site in the short future - with tags and slightly detailed descriptions for each selection of photos. Be sure to stay posted. As for now however, its good to be back home, and I thank God for another safe and poorly planned trip, where things never went wrong.
take care all, and God Bless
love me
Cambodia was an amazing experience. I arrived there late Saturday, to find that the whole city nearly shuts down at 11pm, and i had no hotel reservations (in hindsight, this oversight could have been bad) i luckily got into a hotel, with the last room; i had to fight to not be ripped off in my hotel room; not something that i liked doing that late at night. The following day, i continued onto Siem Reap, coming upon the bus “station” almost by tripping over it. Phnom Penh is really quite amazing; 1 million people, and there’s not an apartment in sight- everything is four-story french colonial style houses. This is beautiful to the eyes, but a hassle, because the city is so spread out, with no public transportation whatsoever. After a harrowing seven hour bus ride to Siem Reap (its only 279 km) i checked into my guesthouse, and immediately felt welcomed. Something about Siem Reap somewhat grows on you. Its a city that is due to explode in the next five years, because there is so much development going up in the city, that in five years, it will be miles ahead of where it is now. For example, the city has no major drainage system - when it rains, and it rains a lot, the whole street’s just flood completely over. And the Khmer just act as if there’s nothing wrong; they just walk on through the rain, knowing that they’ll dry really quickly once it stops raining.
Angkor Wat was just amazing; i bought a three day ticket, in preparation for my next three days of exploring. In the end, i didn’t need all three days, but it was still amazing. Its just incredible how much work they put into their temples, and their belief’s in buddhism that led them to feel so rewarded for their work. The only struggle that I had with Angkor and all of their temple’s was the absolute poverty that surrounds the temples. These people have been treated like shit for the past three or four decades, and land mine’s still dot the countryside. However, when you see so many people with maimed legs, arms, or worse yet, both, you really feel a deep sense of sorrow for them. You try to help, but there’s only so much you can do without making things worse for them.
In Siem Reap, I was lucky to stay at a guesthouse that, while a tad more expensive, went out of their way to make you comfortable. I ended up meeting two other couples, and we did some touring together, and eating out. This trip only reaffirmed for me that this will be the last trip i make on my own; traveling solo does allow you a lot of freedom, but its just too lonely. In Siem Reap, we spent two nights in a bar called “Angkor What?”, where travelers wrote messages all over the walls. Siem Reap is also home to Angkor beer, by far one of the best beer’s i’ve ever had - it beats Korean beer hands down. I lifted my beer glass just to help remind myself how much i enjoyed it. In the end, it was hard to leave Siem Reap; at first, the city was really unappealing to me; in the end, I had cancelled my other trip i was going to do in Cambodia in order to spend more time there. It grew on me, and I was surprised that when i left, i somewhat felt like i was going to wish I had used my time more wisely when i was there.
I arrived back in Phnom Penh, to an absolute bleating noise of Tuk tuk drivers - if you don’t know what they are, google it - and you’ll find out. they’re aggressive, try to rip you off every chance they get, and they’re shady... but they’re vital to their economy, because without any other form of income, many of them sleep in their tuk tuks in order to save as much money as they can. The only thing you have to worry about is their sense of direction - many of the drivers have no idea where they’re taking you, and they’ll just start driving anywhere that you think is important, they’ll drive you anywhere you want, but unless you tell them where to go, they’ll just keep driving until you realize you’re lost - and then you still have to pay. i got fooled once, but not the second time - i called his bluff, and he just smiled as i walked away.
overall, phnom penh was not as nice as i was hoping it would be. its a big city spread out - its got cheap eats compared to Korea, but its often very depressing. the poverty that surrounds everywhere you go makes you appreciate what you have so much more when you return; its often the little things that make me so thankful that God has given me what He has. I spent two nights in a great guesthouse in Phnom Penh, and I got to see some things that will never leave me. the Khmer Rouge did horrible horrible things to their own people, and things such as the Killing Fields, and their S-21 prison left a scar with me that I’ll never forget. I think that it was due to their use of a secondary school as their prison and torture chamber that really made me feel sorrow; maybe if i wasn’t a secondary teacher, it might not have bothered me as much; who knows.
In the end, I was glad I went, even though I was slightly scared to go. Cambodia is a growing country, and their wealth is making those less fortunate try to take from those who show their wealth. I was blessed to never have any problems, but on my last night, I ran into a gentleman who had been robbed of nearly everything; he wasn’t too bright, but still, it happens. I’m going to post pictures to this site in the short future - with tags and slightly detailed descriptions for each selection of photos. Be sure to stay posted. As for now however, its good to be back home, and I thank God for another safe and poorly planned trip, where things never went wrong.
take care all, and God Bless
love me