Although we are not usually allowed to travel outside of the borders of whatever country we are visiting, Semester at Sea offered a trip to Cambodia for three of our five days in Vietnam. Although I didn’t know much about the country before signing up for the trip over the summer, I am so very glad that I decided to go! We packed SO much into our three days in Cambodia, and it was three of my favorite days of the entire semester so far.
We flew a small propeller plane to the capital city, Phnom Penh, on Thursday, where our excellent tour guide greeted us. The first afternoon, we visited the Silver Pagoda inside of the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace complex was built in the 19th century during French colonial rule, and boasts spectacular architecture, jewels and other riches. We then visited the National Museum, which hosts many artifacts from the great Khmer Empire, dating back to between the 9th and 14th centuries. There were many statues of Hindu deities, and we learned a lot about India’s influence on Hinduism in Cambodia, as well as some of the major differences between the religions practiced in each respective country. In the 13th century, the Khmer King Jayavarman VII chose Buddhism over Hinduism, and today Cambodia is 80% Buddhist. As such, there are many Buddhist statues from the later Khmer period at the museum, too. The museum has a beautiful courtyard, too. We finished our afternoon with a sunset cruise on the Mekong River, a body of water that connects Cambodia and Vietnam. After dinner, some of us ventured out on our first tuk-tuk ride – a uniquely Cambodian vehicle consisting of a motorcycle with a carriage for the passengers hitched to the back. We went to the Foreign Correspondents’Club (FCC for short), a restaurant and bar with a lot of history. The building used to a hotel in which expats covering the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge atrocities would stay. Once Cambodia opened its doors to tourists, the place became a bar frequented mostly by tourists.
The following morning began very grimly – we first visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which was one of the most important of the 136 prisons during Pol Pot’s reign over Cambodia. Here we learned the history of the genocide that occurred under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979 – Nearly 2 million people were executed by the Communist regime, and 16,000 people were interrogated and tortured at the Tuol Sleng prison that we visited. The Khmer Rouge targeted educated Cambodians and members of the former government, as well as their families. It is a very simple yet powerful museum – photos of the victims and our tour guides’ explanations were enough. Only seven of the 16,000 prisoners survived – after being interrogated, the rest were sent to the Killing Fields. By now, only 3 of the 7 survivors are still alive…it happened to be our luck that one of the survivors, Bomeng, was sitting on the bench while we were visiting. He comes many days to the prison to talk to visitors about his four months there – although he didn’t speak English, our tour guide was able to mediate a discussion with him. This definitely made the visit all the more memorable, though his story of losing his entire family was heart wrenching.
Our next stop was to the Cheoung Ek Killing Fields, the resting place of thousands of Cambodians in mass graves that were unearthed after 1979. Today there is a beautiful Buddhist stupa there, packed full of human skulls found in the graves. It is a truly chilling sight, as are the many pits that remain from the mass graves that were dug. Walking around, there are still bits of clothing, bone and teeth in the dirt paths that were never pulled out. While looking at the remnants of Pol Pot’s atrocities, a beautiful yellow butterfly flew by, and I was reminded of Pavel Friedman’s poem “The Butterfly,” which he wrote during the Holocaust in the Theresienstadt concentration camp:
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone…
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
The Khmer Rouge killed nearly a quarter of the Cambodian population, and just about every Cambodian was affected personally. Our tour guide, for instance, lost his mother, and was evacuated from Phnom Penh to the countryside at age two. Like all other genocides, it is painful but necessary to learn about and remember.
After the Killing Fields, we visited the Russian Market for a very quick shopping jaunt. The U.S. dollar is widely accepted in Cambodia, and nearly everything from a can of soda to a water bottle to a t-shirt or a pack of postcards - even knock-off sunglasses – cost “Only one dollah!” After lunch, we flew to Siem Reap, a tourist hub that has been built up to accommodate visitors to Angkor Wat, which was the capital of the Khmer Empire at its height of power. That afternoon, we visited the very famous Angkor Wat temple complex for the first time. We watched the sun set over the spectacular temple, built during the first half of the 12th century. At dinner that night, we saw a Cambodian dance show, which was really interesting. The female dancers use and bend their hands in ways I have never before seen or imagined, and the costumes were very elaborate and beautiful!
We returned to Angkor Wat twice more, once at sunrise and once later in the day. After breakfast, we visited the abandoned Ta Prohm temple, featured in Tomb Raider. It is currently undergoing restoration, sponsored by the Indian government. However in its current state of disrepair, massive trees have grown through sections of the stones and pillars. Despite the mess and rubble, it was spectacular! We visited Angkor Wat for the final time, and got to explore the upper levels and the intricate wall carvings. That afternoon before our flight, amidst a thunderstorm, we visited the Angkor Thom complex, built by King Jayavarman VII during the 12th century. The most famous temple at Angkor Thom is Bayon, featuring 216 faces of disputed Buddhist origin. We got to climb around the 54 towers, each adorned with four carved faces. We drove by the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King – large carvings that line parts of the road within Angkor Thom.
Tourists have begun to pour in after a long, dark period in Cambodian history. I’m glad that I had the chance to experience the rich culture and long history. There is so much to learn and see there, and although we only visited for three days, I now know so much more about Cambodia than I ever did before. I’m looking forward to reading my new copy of Loung Ung’s memoir First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers.
Now, we’re back on the ship for only three days before we reach Hong Kong and mainland China, and rumor has it they are taking all of our temperatures to appease fears of the Chinese over H1N1. Hopefully we're all allowed in! I was able to upload a few more photos from Mauritius and India: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2030596&id=1238070056&l=b2c1e6ee24. Enjoy!
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