globalmidtown

we arrive in the ho chi minh airport to discover that our trip to cambodia will begin in style. apparently i thought we might be weary after two weeks in vietnam and unwittingly booked us all on a first class flight. isn’t the subconscious an interesting place?

after a quick flight we arrive in siem reap in the late evening. the airport is lovely, full of sculptures and artwork and there is a feeling of calmness in the air. we are greeted by phirun, who is to be our tuk-tuk driver for the next few days. phirun has a wide, childlike smile and twinkling eyes. i have an immediate love for this man. as i ride along the long, dark roads of siem reap, taking in smells of grasses, wetlands, and blooming flowers and feeling the warmth and light humidity of the vanished day on my face, i find myself thinking: this is what fresh night air should smell and feel like. i feel pure contentment. 

phirun takes us to our home-stay where we are greeted warmly by the family and their two dogs. it is a lovely home-stay with orchids, bougainvillea, banana trees and large tropical plants everywhere. the eating area is a space covered with palm thatching in the yard, complete with hammocks, a beautifully carved wooden table and chairs, a sound system that you can plug you iPod into if you tire of local music, and several lounging chases. i want to move in.

the next morning we feast on of an array of fresh local fruit before phirun and his smile come to get us. in his beautifully kept tuk-tuk, we head to angkor wat. along the way, phirun gives us little tid bits of information and trivia about this fascinating place:  angkor wat is the largest religious monument in the world and is made up of over 250 individual temples. the name “angkor wat” literally translates into “the pagoda that became a city”, as is it a working town to this day. hundreds of locals still live within the confines of the great moat, which surround the town of angkor wat. angkor wat’s original construction began sometime around the year 790  and continued in earnest through the reign of various rulers over the next 500 years. there are visible signs of different rulers and times throughout the temples, however, my untrained eye requires a guide book to see these signs. over the years, and depending who was in power, angkor wat was constructed with either buddhist or hindu practices in mind. however, it is considered to be a hindu monument.  angkor wat is a pilgrimage for monks from all over the world. the movie Tomb Raider was filmed at the ta prohm temple. in the main temple there are literally thousands of apsaras (the celestial dancers who entertained the hindu gods) and each one has a closed mouth smile – that is, no teeth show. however there is one apsaras with teeth showing in her smile. naturally, this became a quest for me ~ my time in the main temple was spent on the scavenger hunt of finding the one apsaras with a wide, teeth-bering smile.

we arrive at the main temple along with about a million other tourists. for a moment, i am disillusioned. fortunately , i quickly find that angkor wat is HUGE and there are moments that i feel as if we are the only people here. the city of angkor wat was carved out of the jungle, so the flora and fauna is of beautifully overgrown tropical plants and flowers and monkeys are everywhere. the main temple is massive. we spend half the day wandering through the courtyards, libraries, gopuras (pavilions),galleries, and halls trying to take in all of the different sculptures, shrines, cruciform cloisters, and reliefs. the sun is hot and the air is thick, which only add to the feeling of mystery surrounding this ancient place. walking, i feel as if i am truly on sacred ground. i hunger to learn more about the history of angkor wat, about the hindu religion in general and khmer specifically. a sense of peace overwhelms me, which is surprising given cambodia’s somewhat bloody and war-torn history.

we depart the main temple to explore the town of angkor wat. we lunch at a small, local restaurant where we learn of the local dish, amuck. amuck is a coconut based soup of either fish or chicken that is cooked and served in a coconut. the restaurant is on a lake and our server says the fish is caught daily. the fish amuck is spectacular – reminiscent of curry with strong coconut flavor and large chunks of meaty white fish. my meal is accompanied with the local “angkor” beer and finished off with a nap in the hammock.

next phirun takes us to several other smaller temples, including the ta prohm temple. in comparison to the main temple, these temples are equally stunning, however the feel of the smaller temples is …. raw. at the smaller temples, one can actually feel the spirituality that makes angkor wat such a special place. here i feel the connection between the natural world under my feet and the spirit world for which these temples are meant to worship. it is a surreal feeling.

the beauty  of these temples is astounding. many of the temples are crumbling with decay and are being overtaken by the jungle, as massive trees grow out of every possible surface. after several hours exploring the smaller, outlying temples, river guards and gates, the darkness wins and we must depart.

back at the home-stay, we shower off the heat of the day and head out on foot to explore the town of siem reap. we spent hours meandering the streets and bargaining at the “night market”. finally, we find a funky street side restaurant where we feast on barbecue and morning lories. after dinner we wander down a side street where i am approached and asked if i want to see a “lady boy” show. what? is this really an opportunity to see a drag show in cambodia?! in we go and i am not disappointed. i am serenaded by the performer who invited us – “because of you”… this is an experience that is going to be hard to beat. finally, in the wee hours, we head back to our home-stay. the night walk is simply beautiful.

after a short wink of sleep, phirun is back to take us out for more adventures. we leave siem reap and head out in to the province where we find the silk farm. this silk farm is part of a group that is run by a non-governmental organization in conjunction with local farmers and artist known as “angkor artisans”. it has grown into quite a working model for giving those in need a way to find work without selling out the traditions, culture, or natural resources of their country. this organization participates in global fair trade practices and gives particular consideration to local women’s needs, as there are many problems with sex trafficking in this economically impoverished land.

(i must pause here to make the point that i very purposefully use the word “economically’ in front of impoverished. while, yes, by many standards cambodia is a very poor country in terms of economics, it is an a country of extreme wealth. the culture  is rich, the natural beauty is breathtaking, the natural resources are bountiful, and the cambodian people are pure joy. this country is anything but poor. there is much to be learned here in this land of wonder.)

at the silk farm, we take the fascinating tour of production. i never knew that for each strand of silk a worm must die while in its cocoon awaiting the next phase of life. silk comes from the cocoon of the silk worm and if the cocoon is broken to let the worm or butterfly out, the strand of silk is rendered useless. to get the silk, the cocooned worms are boiled alive, then the single strand of silk is unraveled from the cocoon. the process of silk making is quite labor intensive and passes through many hands before there is a finished piece of silk ready to be made into a scarf, tie or handbag. if i ever buy silk again, i will not complain about the high price. on this tour, we discover that silk worms are edible. being an adventurous eater, i have a go at a boiled silk worm. the flavor is of corn, but the texture leaves much to be desired. it has a thick outer layer that, when punctured, squirts a geewy liquid into the mouth. the guide tells me that they are often served fried in coconut oil with salt and pepper, which seems much more appetizing to me.

next we head north to the largest lake in cambodia to see the floating villages. this area is populated by cambodians, vietnamese, and muslims mainly from malaysia. we take a boat through the mangroves out into the lake where the floating village lies. while i am sure that this began in an authentic way, the floating village has become somewhat of a hard sell tourist trap. complete with children floating in wash tubs or with giant vipers around their necks whose photo you can take for a price and a “school” where tourists can go to see the children at work (i.e. watching television and playing with balloons) if you are willing to purchase a bag of rice ($65 USD) to “donate to the school”.  we quickly become disgusted and ask to be returned to land where phirun takes us away in his tuk-tuk.

however, it is on this boat ride that i learn phirun’s story. he was raised by buddhist monks, as he was one of 13 children in a very poor family. he lived with the monks for 12 years before he was approached by a christian missionary. at this point, he left the monastery and was homeless for quite some time. somehow, he managed to get himself into school where he learned the english that has allows him to have a successful tuk-tuk business for those who come to tour siem reap and angkor wat. i am happy to discover that phirun is now married to a teacher and has two beautiful children. when i ask phirun how old he is, he replies “i was born in 1974”, but gives no age. so  i ask when his birthday is, to which he answers “i was born in the rainy season”.  yet another culture that is not so interested in chronological age or the passage of time as we know it.

after a late lunch at a local road-side restaurant, we arrive back at our home-stay just in time to celebrate nika’s (the woman who owns the home-stay) birthday. we are welcomed like family as we join in singing “happy birthday” and eating cake! next, we scurry to gather our belongings and pack our bags to head to the airport.

we catch our flight south to phnom penh, check into our hotel, and find a late bite to eat at a very local and very delicious restaurant. in the morning, we go south to the seaside town of kep. kep is a sleepy little beach town on the south eastern coast of cambodia. here we spend several days at a lovely boutique hotel overlooking the gulf of thailand. our days are spent lounging by the pool and walking along the beach. we spend one afternoon wandering the hills behind our hotel and happen upon the abandoned home that once belonged to the prince of cambodia. the house is now occupied by “squatters” who have an amazing view of the gulf and incredible gardens at their disposal. apparently kep was at one time quite the destination for cambodia’s most wealthy, until several years ago when the town saw a coup which caused the wealthy to flee, abandoning their homes. many of these homes were burned in the coup, however, some remain to make lovely squatter homes. it was quite difficult to get information regarding the history of this town, which leaves me wanting to know more. kep is now occupied almost completely by locals and french expatriates.

on new year’s eve we find ourselves at a party on the top of the hill at a lovely resort. as soon as we walk in, i recognize the party-goers as aid workers. almost all of the people here are french aid workers and are only superficially friendly. it is a strange night full of people watching. however, the moon is full and the air is beautiful, so we make the most of it. after several bottles of champagne, we push tables aside to make room for dancing.  we ring in 2013 with champagne at midnight, listening to live french rap music, dancing up a storm … all under a haloed full moon on the beaches of cambodia. i find myself thinking:  2013 is starting off just fine.

on january 1, 2013 i eat pumpkin soup, cambodian style, in honor of haiti’s independence day … and i am happily homesick. 

the last days of our holiday are spent in the capital city of phnom penh. we spend our time meandering the streets of this culturally rich city, resisting temptation to buy as we pass the amazing markets full of local art. We take a tuk-tuk to the russian market on the far end of town where i bargain for an amazing bag for less than $5 USD. there is a university for monks in the city center, consequently  the streets are full of young monks dressed in their traditional orange robes. the combination of  beautiful monks, the riverfront walkway and the plethora of parks and green spaces makes phnom penh a very beautiful city.

this holiday fed my soul. it was in need of much repair, as i was in need of time away from the desert, as well as  time away from myself. i needed to reflect, to gain perspective, to remind myself of what it means to be a citizen of the world. and this trip did that for me … until the next one!