Cambodia
In January 2001, I had just finished my consultancy for Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Pat & I wanted to visit Angkor Wat, at Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was not too far from Bangkok, perhaps 250 miles. I can’t remember how we got there but it was probably by plane.
As soon as we arrived, on the advice from the supervisor of my report, we contacted the guide that he had used. This guide turned out to be wonderful. He spoke beautiful English and was an expert in Cambodia’s history.
Between 1975 and 1978, under the regime of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia experienced a dramatic political shock: massive killings and starvation, large-scale population transfers, forced labor on collective farms, and an almost complete destruction of the school system.
The year 2001 marked the third year of relative political stability in Cambodia since the 1998 general elections.
Beyond belief, Angkor Wat is a huge temple complex in Cambodia, located on a 402-acre site. It resides within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor. The Guinness World Records considers it as the largest religious structure in the world. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire during the 12th century, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century; as such, it is also described as a “Hindu-Buddhist” temple.
Upon arrival, one of our first observations was that we saw many people with only one leg – all on crutches. They had been crippled by stepping on landmines.
| Husking Rice Dance |
On the first evening we went to a dance show given by orphans. It was beautiful. It depicted their history and traditions, which are a lot like those of the Thai people.
Thousands of Cambodian children who live in facilities commonly called orphanages are not orphanages in our sense of the word. Neither parents nor the facilities are looking to offer the children for adoption.
Parents, many in dire poverty, are easily convinced to place their children in these so-called residential care facilities. Most of them think that, in an orphanage, the child will have a better life with access to food, education and medical care.
Your heart skips a beat!
Market
| Elephant Bell – about 5” Tall x 5” wide |
We visited a market that sold anything and everything. Pat picked out a few unset gemstones and I picked out a large elephant bell. The sellers couldn’t take credit cards, but never mind, a young boy motioned for me to ride with him on the back of his scooter. I had no idea what we were doing or where we were going. We maneuvered around potholes and other scooters on the dirt road. He took me to a night club where we found an English speaker – sort of. He explained that, with my credit card, I could buy dollars if I paid a 5% service charge. I bought dollars.
On the way back we maneuvered around the same potholes and different scooters on the same dirt road. Back at the market we paid our bills, and everyone was happy – smiles everywhere.
We gave that bell to granddaughter, Kate. as a Christmas present, telling her that the last time it was rung was on a Cambodian elephant (she had ridden an elephant with us in Thailand). That was not completely accurate. Our cluster at Collington, upon hearing that Biden had won the election, all came out with noise makers and celebrated. My noise was the best – the elephant bell. Kate was thrilled with the bell and when her father said that he wanted it, Kate said “keep your hands off.”
Later, I couldn’t stand the thought of not owning an elephant bell and I bought on E-Bay, a couple of smaller bells. I tell myself that I am happy with them instead of having the larger bell.
I have avoided talking about Ankor Wat because there is no way I can give it justice! I can only say that the whole experience was mind boggling. It felt that I was in another wonderful world – like being in a trance!
