Our next day in Siem Reap started out like the first, with a
temple. Bang Mealea was farther away, but the scenery kept our attention for
the two-hour tuk tuk ride, (Chamnan was our driver again!). Fields of grass and
rice paddies interspersed with tropical trees and several types of cows grazed
near the road. Women cooked what looked like bamboo leaves in giant pots and
children waved excitedly as we passed. There were plenty of dogs and cats
playing in the dirt with chickens, and even a few pigs and water buffalo. The
“gas stations” especially fascinated us. People sit on the side of the road
with a table of 2 liter Pepsi bottles filled with gasoline, and tuk tuk and
motorbike drivers pull up, pour a bottle in under the seat and are off again in
seconds.
Bang Mealea is like the temples at Angkor Wat, but hasn’t
been restored, so it’s overgrown with roots and large parts of the stone have
collapsed. To get through it you crawl over heaps of rocks, through windows and
across ledges. The fallen stone is overgrown with moss, so it was a little
slippery, but I thought this was the most interesting temple, and definitely
the most fun to climb around!
Leaving the temple, Chamnan asked if we wanted to stop at
the landmine museum. “Some tourists think ‘oh, it’s very interesting’ and they
like it, but sometimes they say’ oh, no it is so sad’ and they do not want to
go,” he told us. Of course we wanted to stop! The museum was founded by Aki Ra,
a former child soldier for the Khmer Rouge who now works as a deminer. His parents were killed by the Khmer
Rouge, and he was taken into their army when he was 10-years-old. A few years later he was captured by
the Vietnamese army and fought for them. Later, because he had laid many landmines
himself and knew quite a bit about them, he was hired by the United Nations to
help clear them. He soon began deactivating landmines himself, and brought home
children injured children in the areas he cleared. Aki Ra and his wife opened
the Cambodian Landmine Museum and the accompanying orphanage, (currently home
to 29), to raise awareness of the aftermath of war, still an issue still affecting
Cambodians every day. (Aki Ra and his work were also featured on CNN Heroes
2010). The
museum is small, holding deactivated bombs and black and white photos, but
gives a lot of information. On a map of Cambodia, little red dots marking
landmines fill up almost the entire country. This goes back to my previous post
on Phnom Penh, detailing US involvement in dropping 2.7 million tons of bombs
on Cambodia. The United States is also one of few countries that have not
signed the Land Mine Treaty banning their use, (along with others like Iran,
North Korea, China, Libya and Somalia). The US argument for not signing yet is
that landmines are a valuable part of our strategy in security against North
Korea. Though the museum is small and basic, Aki Ra and his work made an
indelible impression on me. I
strongly suggest Cambodia for any travelers if you want an educational,
beautiful and fun vacation. Or if you can’t make the trip you can donate to the
orphanage here: http://www.cambodianselfhelpdemining.org/
After buying bracelets made by children at the orphanage, we
left for the nearby silk farm, where we learned step-by-step how silk is made
and how it helps preserve Cambodia's tradition.
Grabbing ice cream after our tour, we bought one for Chamnan
and took the opportunity to ask him questions we had been speculating about.
How old was he? 30. Did he have kids and could we see pictures? Yes, twin girls
and a boy, and yes. Does everyone learn English in school? Yes, from a very
young age it is required. Do Cambodians in general like their government? Yes,
the majoritylike the king and the prime minister, (more now than they used to
because he’s being stronger on border conflicts with Thailand). Do Cambodians
like the US? Yes, everyone wants to move there. Why/how do they possibly like
the US after what we just saw in the genocide and landmine museums? At this,
Chamnan just smiled and said, “It is in the past. We don’t need to think about
that. Cambodian people are forgiving. We are happy and thankful for what we
have now and we do not think about what has been done to us in the past. We
move on.” Brianna and I must have looked skeptical. After all, it’s a pretty
hard thing to forget when people are still getting injured and killed in the
aftermath. “Maybe in the war the United States was not good to Cambodia, but
that was a long time ago,” Chamnan said, seeing our expressions. We were
impressed. It really wasn’t that long ago at all. We climbed back into the tuk
tuk thinking that people at home should embody this attitude. Everyone we spoke
with in Cambodia was so incredibly kind and helpful. In general it is the
nicest, friendliest country we’ve been to. The population is young, because of
the genocide, and the economy is growing and the country becoming more modern,
(something that probably would have happened much faster and earlier had the
Khmer Rouge not been in power). There is so much to do and see, the land is
beautiful, the cities are advanced, the food is fantastic, the history exciting
and complex, the people are lovely and the culture is unique and fascinating. I
can see why the Canadian couple at our hostel uprooted themselves.. When we
left, I still had so many questions and so many ideas for articles we could
write if we had time to arrange interviews! One week split between two cities,
and a day on a bus, was not enough… I can’t wait to come back and spend more
time, hopefully soon!
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