Cows, Temples, and History

I got to Thailand over a week before my internship at the Population and Community Development association. It took a few days to figure out the basics of living in my neighborhood of Bangkok. But, I still had a few days before I started work.  I decided to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia to see the Angkor Temple Complex.

 Before my arrival, I didn’t know much about the country. I knew that it was a French Colony. I’d heard, in vague terms, about Year Zero and the Khmer Rouge. However, I was still amazed at how the Cambodia’s communist history stilted its development. Like many Americans, I had seen pictures of rural Cambodians and their emaciated white cattle farming the land. I never expected to see any this countryside life-style near a city. Yet, that was exactly what I saw right after leaving the airport. Just outside of its tourist area, Siem Reap’s river turns into a trash-clogged dry ditch.

It’s not that Cambodia is without positives. On my first full day there I toured Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. I opted for the ‘short tour’, thinking that it would be a rip off. It ended up being the longest short tour of my life, spanning 9 hours and 12 temples for only $13.  

By talking to some of the temple guardians I came away with a new understanding of the country’s plight. “There used to be a large statue of Buddha here but it was looted 200 years ago” became a common story.  Sandwiched between more powerful Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia lost much territory to each nation. In fact, French intervention may have been the only factor that saved the country from complete partitioning between its neighbors. As a Polish-American, I can appreciate the similarities in history.

During my final temple visit it began to rain. In a vain attempt to avoid getting drenched I headed back to my remorque. On my way, I noticed a Cambodian family was also trying to get out of the downpour. They were hearing their cattle through the front gates of the temple ruins. The Cambodia that we see in movies or pictures is not just made for the cameras. It exists. It is real. It is the true face of a nation

The organization I work for has many rural business development programs in Cambodia. There has been some talk about allowing the interns to visit these projects. I hope these discussions prove fruitful, so that I can gain a deeper perspective on the modern Khmer empire.