Phnom Penh: SEA Games, sights, Killing Fields

Phillip and I have been in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for five of our seven scheduled days now. Although hot, it does not seem as hot as Siem Reap. More traffic, but not as much as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. We have been averaging about 5 miles a day walking, although today we hired a tuk-tuk as our adventures took us out of town. 

We see this sign all over the city. My friend Google tells me that Cambodia is hosting the Southeast Asia Games for the first time in the history of the games. These SEA Games are a regional (11 countries) biennial sporting competition. 581 events will be held in Cambodia from May 5-17, kinda like a smaller version of the Olympics. While walking along the river on our second night here, we got to see the parade of Cambodian athletes. 

As 90% of its citizens are Buddhist, there are many wats, some more elaborate than others. We are wearing shorts, so we are not going inside any of them as the dress code requires the knees and shoulders to be covered. 

Even though the riverfront walk is about a mile away from our hotel, we've walked along it several times. The riverwalk itself is 3.5 km (2.1 miles), but it's the biggest green space anywhere near us. 

During the evening, party boats go out for short cruises on the Mekong River. This spot is where the Tonle Sap River joins into the Mekong. The boats seem too loud and crowded to us, so we won't be having that adventure.

One evening, we were on the riverwalk and decided to eat at the Night Market. For US $2.50 each, we had plates of stir-fried pork and vegetables (me) and pork and noodles (Phillip). As Westerners, we did sit at a table, not at the other food court seating area shown below!

In addition to many wats, we also come across numerous statues and monuments during our walks.  

The Independence Monument was interesting to see. Designed by a Cambodian architect, it commemorates Cambodia's independence from France in the 1950s. It was a much larger version of the above statue. Zooming in, naga (five-hooded cobras), cover the monument, reflecting the Buddhism of the country. (A naga protected Buddha from a terrible storm while he was meditating by wrapping around him and opening its five hoods to cover him.)

Because of the heat, we have only been eating two meals a day, breakfast at the hotel and dinner out. Well, that and a fruit smoothie (mango, coconut, or avocado for $1.50-$2.50) during our morning walk. Our favorite meal here was lok lak at a nearby restaurant yesterday evening. Chicken this time. We will return to that restaurant again before we leave. I'm glad I got the lok lak recipe during the Siem Reap cooking class to make it when we return home.

One of the main reasons that we chose Phnom Penh for a visit was to explore the history of the Killing Fields and the genocide of the Pol Pot regime. We are firm believers in the George Santayna quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Here in Phnom Penh, we went to Tuol Sleng, S-21. 

Tuol Sleng was a high school until 1975 when Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge forced over a million people out of the city and turned this school into the main political prison and torture center of the area. Of the 12,273 people (the administrators kept records that did not get destroyed) who were prisoners here, only 7 survived. The others died during torture or were sent to Choeung Ek.  

I only took one picture inside before I saw the sign that read "no pictures, please." The classrooms of two buildings were divided into many cells where teachers, monks, and other educated people were chained before being tortured or killed in classrooms of a third building.

This morning, we took the above tuk-tuk for the 17 km drive to Cheoung Ek. Cheoung Ek was an orchard when the Khmer Rouge set it up as an execution center. 17,000 people were murdered here and buried in 129 communal graves between 1975-1979. Each of those depressions you can see in the below picture contained 100 to 500 bodies when the Vietnamese finally put an end to the genocide in 1979.

Cheoung Ek is not the only killing field. According to the United Nations, over 2 million Cambodians, 25% of Cambodia's population, were executed, starved to death, or died because of torture during those years. This location is the national memorial for all the deaths. 43 of the communal graves here are not being disturbed. A Buddhist stupa containing the skulls unearthed from this former orchard was very haunting and unforgettable.

Phillip and I rewatched the Angelina Jolie movie, "First They Killed My Father," a few days ago. The historical narratives by survivors that we heard today on our audioguides at Cheoung Ek matched the story told in that movie. 

In two days, we travel to Laos where food, waterfalls, and more food will be the subject of my posts. 

    

Angkor Complex, more than a temple

Phillip and I arranged a two-day guided tour of Angkor prior to our visit to SE Asia. I did a bit of research before our trip, knowing that Angkor was a UNESCO World Heritage site. Our tour guide, Sotath, educated us much more on the history of the area. Angkor Wat, one temple in the complex, is the largest single religious monument in the world. The entire 390 square mile area of Angkor was the center of the Khmer empire. Recent satellite photos have shown that Angkor was the biggest pre-industrial city in the world, with roads, water management, and public works. Angkor lasted from the 9th century to the 15th century, beginning when one Khmer king defeated his rivals and declared himself the "god king" in 802 A.D. He and his heirs, some Hindu, some Buddhist, enlarged their kingdom and built these temples. Some of the temples were residences, some had other uses. About 1000 were built in the area, but the smaller ones are lost to time and the jungle. Angkor Wat was not the first temple built but is the tallest and most well-known. Built from 1113 to 1150, surrounded by a moat, Angkor Wat's walls are 1/2 mile on each side.

This king was Hindu, so the carvings in the walls reflect Vishnu, a Hindu god. Once across the moat and thru the exterior wall, it was still a hike to the temple.

Angkor Wat, and several of the other larger temples, are built with three levels. 

We climbed quite a number of stairs during our two days of touring. From the top level of Angkor Wat, we could see much of the temple and jungle.

The carvings, telling the story of the king's victories and glorifying the Hindu god Vishnu, were added after the stone was put in place. 

Another temple that we visited was Ta Prohm, built beginning in 1186. 

The jungle has taken this one over.

Ta Prohm was popularized by Angelina Jolie's "Tomb Raider" movie. Side note: According to a waitress, Angelina regularly ate at the Red Piano Restaurant on Pub Street in Siem Reap, where we ate our first night in town.

Another temple we visited had a set of stairs from the second to third level that I did not even attempt as the stairs were original, over 1000 years old, steep, and high. Phillip did climb them with a camera.

(That's me, still at the bottom of the stairs)

Another temple, the Bayon temple, built by a Buddhist king, had many towers, all four sided with Buddhas on each side.

Although weathered, the Buddhas were still recognizable.

Several temples, not just Angkor Wat, were surrounded by moats. Warriors decorated the bridge over the moat of one temple.

Sotath took us to a temple which was used as a crematory. Both high ranking and regular folks could be taken here to be cremated. Relatives would get the remaining bone fragments for memorialization. 

That temple had elephants flanking the four corners. Another note: Elephants were used to haul the stones that built the temples, carrying them from a mountain 75 km away.

Another temple was called a hospital. In the middle of a lake, the waters were thought to provide cures for the people, whatever their ailment. 

Several of the temples we visited had firehouses, inside the outer wall, but just outside the temple. They were not staffed to put out fires, but to maintain a fire that people could come for. Cooking and lighting were dependent on fire. Especially during the rainy season, people needed a reliable way to get fire if theirs went out. 

Some temples still had great detail in their carvings. This could be because of the stone used or the location of the carvings inside protected from weather. 

This one had more critter statues, although some had lost their heads.

Our final temple to visit was Banteay Srei, made of pink sandstone and nicknamed "The Lady Temple."

The pink sandstone also was more durable, so the carvings were still distinct.

At the height of the Khmer Empire, the kings who built Angkor ruled over almost all of Southeast Asia. Only what is today the Vietnamese coast to the east (then, the Cham kingdom) and to the west, the Siam kingdom, were not under Khmer rule. However, in the 14th century, the Khmer kings began losing support and power. Because of wars, they could not keep up with public works and lost land area to others. The Angkor area was abandoned by the kings over time, with Angkor Wat being the last to be deserted. Buddhist monks inhabited it for a few hundred years until they too left. Weather, the jungle, and looting by Europeans (mainly the French!) in the 1800s took its toll on the structures. In 1992, the area was named a UNESCO World Heritage site and controls were put in place to ensure no illegal digs are done, the structures are stabilized, and tourism is regulated. Angkor was an amazing place to visit. It reminded us that our Western civilization was not the only one to develop. 

Cambodian Circus, hotel pampering, and other Siem Reap activities

Phillip and I spent a great week in Siem Reap. The highlights were our two days visiting the Angkor complex, for which I have many pictures to use in the next post. This post describes other activities in town. Although I mentioned our hotel, the Khmer Mansion Residence, previously, the stay there was such a delightful experience that I wanted to add a few more pictures. 

The mango daquiris at the swim-up pool (at the far end of the picture) were probably the best tasting cocktail I've ever had. Sit for a few minutes, and the staff brings the snack. Brownies delivered to the room every evening. A smile and greeting, by name, from everyone, all the time. The best service ever, from housekeeping, breakfast dining room staff, reception, the manager. We were definitely spoiled during our stay.

We took a tuk-tuk (motorcycle taxi) only once during the week as we preferred to walk. Monday, we began walking and a tuk-tuk driver approached us. He spoke decent English and offered to drive us around town for an hour for $2. He took us to the Royal Palace where we saw the biggest bats, with bodies the size of crows, covering the trees next to the palace. We visited the Vietnamese/Cambodian War Memorial (the Vietnamese helped get rid of Pol Pot in 1979) and a religious area, I'm not sure what it was, but it had more modern version of the same five-headed serpent that we were to see at Angkor.

Monday evening, we attended a performance of Phare: The Cambodian Circus Show. Don't think Barnum and Bailey, think Cirque de Soleil, no animals. It was a character-driven theatrical show by local performers with comedy, acrobatics, and a story. Nice way to spend the evening. Our favorite character was this guy, on the "not-so-high wire" who started out as the drunk person of the show. 

Since it isn't temple-related, I've got to include this picture of a monkey at one of the Angkor parking lots. He was trying to eat the yellow measuring tape. Even though it snapped back, he kept pulling it out, studying it, then trying to chew it.

After about eight or so of the Angkor temples, and being templed-out, our guide for Tuesday and Wednesday, Sotath, took us to the Tonle Sap Lake Wednesday afternoon where we had a private boat ride on the lake to a floating village. It is dry season now, so these stilt houses are high above the road. The lake covers this road by the end of the rainy season and the houses need the stilts!

Sotath went with us on the boats, such a friendly and knowledgeable guide. We rode boat 109.

Because the lake was low and tourism is still way down from pre-Covid levels (only about 25% of tourism has returned), few floating houses were on the lake, but we did boat to one with a restaurant. In the distance is another floating house/restaurant. 

And the final picture is our boat navigating the narrow channel to return to its spot. 

Siem Reap: Wonderful Hotel and Cooking Class

Traveling out of Vietnam into Cambodia posed no issues for us. Giep ordered us a taxi and walked with us down the alley to the street, speaking to the taxi driver for us and hugging us good-bye. We had spent quite a bit of time talking with him during our stay. At the airport, just lines to join: airline counter, immigration, security screening. Our flight was less than an hour, basically up to cruising altitude then "prepare for landing." Immigration into Cambodia was not a problem as we had already obtained our visas. The visa-on-demand line was quite long, so preparation paid off. We were met just outside security again, this time by Nene, in a professional uniform with a nametag. He was a hotel employee, not a taxi driver. Within a minute of meeting Nene, I knew that I had made the correct hotel choice. Nene offered us cold water and chilled, jasmine-scented damp washcloths with which to refresh ourselves. 

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were provided with a snack of seasoned peanuts, glasses of cold water, and another jasmine-scented washcloth. The hotel supervisor provided us with hotel information, items like the wifi password. Nene took us to our room, on the second floor, overlooking the pool, with a table and chairs on its terrace. On the bed: flower petals with "Welcome Phillip and Patric" spelled out in bamboo. The hotel booking site had apparently truncated the spelling of my full name. We did get a chuckle and appreciate the staff's gesture. 

We love this hotel! Khmer Mansion Residence with a not-so-appealing address on Concrete Drain Road. And yes, there is a huge concrete drain running beside the road. That's probably why the hotel must frequently spray for mosquitos. Phillip was initially hesitant about the hotel, saying he didn't like such fawning over us. His actual wording was a bit different, as the family can imagine. His hesitancy lasted only until we got our much-needed glass of water and refreshing washcloths again after a short walk. The grounds are beautiful, and staff are all friendly and smiling. It is apparent that customer satisfaction is paramount. The pillows were too firm for us, so after our first night, I mentioned this to the front desk and we had softer pillows within the hour. Every time we sit, either at the pool or reception area, they bring us water and a snack. Peter, the desk worker this morning, just brought potato and banana chips as I type now! 

Other than walking the one kilometer to the downtown area twice a day and swimming in the hotel pool, our only activity was a cooking class yesterday. I booked a three-hour class, not private, at the Paper Tiger Restaurant on Pub Street. The Cambodian New Year celebration was last weekend, so this week is the lull week after the holiday crowds. That meant that we had a private cooking class (and it means that our hotel is not full). We enjoyed the market tour and food preparation during class. 

Phillip made spring rolls and lok lac and I prepared green mango salad and fish amok. We both had a hand in making our dessert of sautéed bananas with passionfruit sauce. 

And, of course, we ate our prepared food. We both liked the lok lac best as it reminded us of Korean bul go gi. Fish amok, the national dish of Cambodia, is fish curry. It was tasty, but we are Texas beef eaters. 

I took a few photos around town, during our day walks and evening walks. The following is the same bridge, prettier when lit up at night. 

We have three days until our Angkor Wat tour, so I expect we will find some mischief to get into or delicious restaurant to try. We stay at the hotel during the afternoon. Yesterday, walking back from the cooking class at 1 pm, the temperature was only 97 degrees, but the heat index was 117.