The Two Cambodias

In a similar vein to the previous post, my second trip to Cambodia showed how different the same place can appear on two separate visits.

I originally went to Siem Reap before the beginning of my internship. I thought that my company would never pay to send me to their projects there. That is exactly what they did.

There were a few differences in the itinerary. First off, we traveled by van. This meant we had to pass through the infamous Cambodian border town of Poipet. Think of it as the Khmer Tijuana: a dirty border town rife with corruption. It is also where most blue-collar Thais go to gamble. As one frequent traveler put it “Poipet rhymes with toilet for a reason”. 

Other travelers’ stories of Poipet were so horrendous that I previously choose to pay a high air fare, rather than attempt to cross through Poipet on my own.

The stories did not disappoint. The Cambodian border police, however, did. We successfully argued our way out of paying visa the officials off to simply give us a Cambodian visa. Then, they discovered that I had no more visa pages in my passport. After a 15 minute argument and 500 Bhat ‘fine’, they finally agreed to stamp it on an endorsements page and let me in the country.

I later found that the government was even more depraved than I’d thought. Those in power rely on donations from other countries for the majority of governmental income.

Fortunately, the rest of the trip went much better. We rousted ourselves the next morning at 4:30 for a different perspective of Angkor Wat. I enjoyed watching as daylight broke across the temple.

We also got the chance to sample some of the real Cambodia. Our company took us out to the villages. We bounced across dirt roads to remote villages and met the locals. Previously, I had only seen the center of Siem Reap. The differential was amazing as I took in the countryside of Cambodia’s second poorest province.

When I arrived in Siem Reap the first time, I settled back in my remorque and decided that the city and it’s immediately surrounding vicinity were unlike anything else. My second trip made me check my premises. I’m not only talking about my visits to Cambodian villages. After spending weeks in rural Thailand, the town which once seemed so exotic looked downright western. Before, I never really questioned the fact that shop owners spoke some English. I took it for granted that the restaurants served western food and, above all, cheese. Now, Siem Reap looked more like a tourist trap, albeit still an enjoyable one.

Returning to the theme of perspective’s influence on travel, my most recent adventure in Cambodia shows the pivotal role one’s viewpoint plays in forming one’s opinions. I’d been to the same Cambodian city twice. Once, as a American tourist newly arrived from America; the second time, on a business trip for a Thai NGO. The buildings were the same. But, I saw two different places. A city or country may be just as you have read of, or seen. Yet, there is always more to its picture, painted by the experiences you’ve had -- or more importantly--those you have not. 

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.