Angkor Wat, Siem Reap and Battambong

Last week, two other leadership residents and I escaped the craziness of Phnom Penh for a week in Siem Reap and Battambong. I'm now two months into my three months at Harpswell and it's going by so quickly! I've loved my time with the Harpswell girls and I'm really going to miss them when I leave on November 11th. That being said, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to get away for a week.

Kristen, Sarah and I took a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap which stopped multiple times along the way, including for a snack and lunch and to deliver Khmer passengers to their homes. Snacks on offer included worms, spiders, tarantulas and steamed turtles (in the shell). I'm having problems with asthma and I looked up "asthma+Cambodia" on Google and I found an article stating that doctors are telling people with asthma not to eat bugs. I guess I'll have to give them up! Darn! :-P

When we reached Siem Reap, we were picked up by our guesthouse from the completely flooded bus station and checked into our room. We had a bath tub! After traveling for 6 months, little things like bath tubs and hot water make all the difference in the world. The first night we went to Angkor Wat to see the sunset but the sun was hidden by the clouds so we didn't get much. It was also our first experience climbing the treacherous stairs which are found throughout the Angkor Wat grounds. There were several occasions where we decided not to climb up to the top of various temples because we wanted to keep all limbs intact. After returning from the non-sunset, we took a free tuk tuk into town and ate dinner at a delicious restaurant on Pub Street, the main tourist area of Siem Reap. It was wonderful to have a salad. Again, the little things.

The next day we had a nice morning then went to the temples. We were walking by Bayon Temple when a monkey came out of nowhere and started circling us. First he went after Kristen and then turned his attention to Sarah. He grabbed her leg and we yelled at him. He let go and ran away but not before gnawing on her leg. We saw he had drawn blood so we grabbed a temple police officer and they called an ambulance to take Sarah to the hospital. We went to the international hospital in Siem Reap, which is incredibly nice and clearly the best hospital in Cambodia. My cousin was also treated here when she was infected with Dengue Fever and Dysentery a few months ago. Sarah was quickly seen by a doctor, got the first of five rabies shots and we were on our way again in 45 minutes. We even made it back to Angkor that day! She was a real trooper.

The next two days, we explored the grounds of the temples by bicycle and tuk-tuk. Kristen and I cycled the "grand tour" which covers at least 10 different temples, over one day and boy were we sore the next day! Angkor is actually a complex of many temples built by Cambodian kings between 800 AD and 1430 AD.  Angkor is also the pride and joy of the Khmer people and frequently referenced in conversations about Cambodia. For a nation suffering so greatly from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the horrific Khmer Rouge genocide, the ability to point to a time in their past when they were a great nation is extremely important. It also essential for the national psyche to know that they have the capacity to be a successful nation. I hope that they can overcome the corruption that is inherent throughout the country to become that very successful nation once again.

The temples are truly amazing but I can't help thinking how difficult it must have been to build them (likely with slave labor). Various countries have "adopted" Wats throughout the park and are carefully restructuring or renovating them. Angkor Wat is probably the most beautiful temple and is depicted on the national flag and money. U.S. dollars are used much more than the national currency, the Riel, but Riel are frequently given as change.

On the last day, we visited the most well known temples, Angkor, Thom and Bayon, and got up at 4:00 a.m. to see the sunrise. Unfortunately it rained that morning to there wasn't much color in the sky, but it was still fun to see. We spent the morning visiting the temples and then spent the day relaxing. Our last day in Siem Reap was also spent exploring Siem Reap and relaxing in our hotel room. I also watched Tomb Raider, featuring actress Angelina Jolie, which was filmed at Angkor. It was fun to be able to recognize places I'd been in the movie. Angelina Jolie adopted her first child, Maddox, from Cambodia after filming Tomb Raider. Sarah had an emergency in the States, so she left on Friday and returned back to the US. We were sad to see her go.

Friday, we left for Battambong, which is a rather disappointing city but surrounded by beautiful countryside. We met two guys from Europe, Kevin from Ireland and Steffen from Germany, on the bus and spent the next few days with them. Another leadership resident, Nellie, also joined us in Battambong.

On Saturday we took a tuk tuk out into the countryside and took a ride on the "bamboo train" which is a wood platform set on train wheels which takes riders about 5 kilometers into the countryside. It felt like a mini Disney ride. When another bamboo train comes, the one with fewer people has to get off the tracks. The people hop off, they take the platform and wheels off, the other "train" goes through and they they put the "train" back on the tracks. We also visited the only winery in Cambodia, which is run by a woman who makes all the wine herself... and the winery is named after her husband. Typical. The wine was okay; it had a nice nose which promised a good wine, but was disappointing on the palate. It was also $15 per bottle, which is pretty pricey in Cambodia. I try to see a winery in every country I can to compare their methods and wines to the wines back home. I guess that's what happens when you grow up sleeping on a bed of wine! (Cases of wine were stored under my bed, but no I didn't pop any open for a midnight drink!)

We also visited two temples, both requiring steep climbs up hundreds of stairs. The first one was called Banon Temple and had signs everywhere warning of land mines. On the second one, Phnom Sampeou, we cheated and climbed up a hill instead of going up the 800 steps. The views from the top were spectacular!

We were planning to stay one more day in Battambong, but decided there wasn't much more to do so we headed back to Phnom Penh. It was a hard transition for me because pollution in PP is so bad that I've been having some trouble with asthma, especially when running.  I just bought an inhaler and I'm hoping it will help!

It was wonderful to return to the girls, and I got a lot of hugs amid cries of "I missed you". It definitely gave me the "awwww" warm and cuddly feeling. I won't be sorry to leave Phnom Penh, but it will be really hard to leave the girls when the time comes.What a wonderful, amazing group of humans. I know they will do great things in Cambodia in upcoming decades!