On my last couple days in Siem Reap I wanted to go on a road trip into Phnom Kulen National Park which was the place where Jayavarman II had himself declared chakravartin (King of Kings), an act which is considered the foundation of Khmer Empire. And to the temple Bantãy Srĕi—citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty— which is probably related to the intricacy of the bas relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of the buildings themselves.
I was able to accomplish the national park after meeting a new friend who said there was an extra seat on a group tour they were taking to the mountain. It was on a Saturday and the ride was about an hour and a half up the hill and into the park. Because it was a Saturday, the park was very crowded with locals. Foreigners are required to pay $20 for a day ticket while the locals get in for free. We arrive after about a 90min drive to the park. It is very busy with people enjoying the atmosphere and their “holiday”, meaning it’s Saturday and a lot of the shops are closed observing a day of rest for all.
The temple, on the other hand, is part of the Angkor ticketing which means $37US for a day ticket – $62 for 3 day – $72 for a week pass and you must buy your tickets inside Siem Reap and not the temples which takes a little more planning and financial resources for the foreigners going. As like the national park, locals get in for free. I’m sorry that I missed that particular temple.
I’ve noticed something about myself after arriving to Cambodia, that I’m a bit of a germ-a-phobe. It’s not that I’m constantly applying hand sanitizer or need to have a toilet seat cover or anything like that. It’s that I’m looking around at the conditions in which food is being sold and prepared, and the conditions of my surroundings and living arrangements. I’m even particular about training my students and making them aware of how sanitary they are keeping their space and themselves in the kitchen, an important part of being a cook.
I spoke about being a germ-a-phone in the van on the ride up into the national park and decided I was not going to go swimming after seeing all the garbage, public urination and all the people in the water. I had a similar experience when I was in India as well, not eating meat, eating raw fruit/veg from items that are peeled and making things I eat are cooked and served hot. In Thailand it was much cleaner there than in India and Cambodia. Cleanliness is next to godliness… oh I’m not sure anymore.
Then I arrive to Phnom Penh and before I got here I watched the movie “The Killing Fields”. I wanted to make sure I was all brushed up on my history before I got here and arranged for a tour to Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, the memorial site of the S-21 interrogation and detention center of the Khmer Rouge regime. And the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, the site of a former orchard and mass grave of victims of the Khmer Rouge – killed between 1975 and 1979 – about 17 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is the best-known of the sites known as The Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime executed over one million people between 1975 and 1979.
I found it such a dichotomy how I could go from this celebratory environment of a Saturday weekend holiday in a beautiful national park and a couple days later wind up in historical landmarks marking the Khmer Rouge genocide. It’s as real as life gets here in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
I have found that being in the bigger cities when I’m traveling less desirable than the smaller ones. No surprise seeing that I live in Maine and in a small town just outside of Portland. After about 3-4 days I feel pretty complete. I have a few more days here in Phnom Penh and will be taking a river cruise, maybe a half day bike tour of the islands outside of the city and visiting a few more of the markets before I head to Koh Rong Sanloem and the Jungle Bay Eco-Lodge. You’ll find me on the beach for a week or so snorkeling the coral reefs and soaking in the luminescent plankton at night before heading to Hanoi, Vietnam.
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