Capturing Cambodia in 7 Days

My time in Cambodia was brief, but the best parts of can be summed up by the beauty, history, and people I discovered along the way. 

Although I only made three main stops, Siem Reap-Ankor Wat, Phnom Penh-Killing Fields, S-21 Prison, and Southern beaches, I could easily see the beauty of the country. 

I journeyed into Cambodia and the following day my first stop was Ankor Wat. It was truly amazing. The pictures only show a part of the impressiveness of the ancient ruins. 

As I wandered hot and tired through more ruins I still thought back to the ancient history of the city as well as the simple awe of the construction and art.  Detail was everywhere!

Spent the day with other travelers staying at the same hostel. 

Another moment of true beauty was the beautiful beaches in southern Cambodia.  I didn’t even go into Cambodia planning to go so far south, but wow am I glad I did.  I got to experience a cool little hippy town on the beach, as well as walk along some of the white softest sand and bluest waters I’ve ever seen.

Koh Rong!  Beautiful Beaches!! 

As well as the history kept within the walls of Ankor Wat, my second stop in Phnom Penh certainly gave me a large dose of history.  

I visited the killing fields and S 21 Prison in Phnom Penh.  To fill those of you in that were quite oblivious, as I was before coming, Cambodia has a painful past, and only with the past few decades. 

History of Killing Fields

The Cambodian genocide of 1975-1979, in which an estimated 1.7 million people lost their lives (approximately 21% of the country's population), was one of the worst human tragedies of the last century. The Khmer Rouge, headed by Pol Pot, combined extremist ideology, ethnic animosity, and a disregard for human life to carry murder on a massive scale.

To understand Cambodia and appreciate the delicacy of the situation, one probably has to know something of its history. Pol Pot (Saloth Sar) was a significant player in formulating Cambodia’s recent history. The majority of people in the world recognize Cambodia as an underdeveloped country just like any other. What the majority does not recognize are the atrocities that people in this country had to experience in the 70s when the Khmer Rouge was at it’s height of savagery.

Pol Pot was a man without conscience and he lacked the most basic human values and preyed on the innocent and naive citizens of Cambodia. All of this murder was done in the name of building a communist regime.

In the years that the Khmer Rouge was in power (around 5 years), almost 1/3 of the country’s men, women, children were killed. Many were tortured for long periods of time, sometimes for more than 3 years. For years there was mass-murder in progress and the world didn’t even know about it until it was almost too late. Much of what we understand about the Pol Pot regime was depicted in the movie “The Killing Fields.” By talking to natives of Cambodia that lived near the killing fields we were able to hear first hand accounts of the atrocities that went on at Cheung Ek. It is chilling to hear about the bloody past that this country had gone through, with millions of people being executed in the public, starved to death and severely tortured. For a better understanding of what had happened, perhaps it’s best that you further your investigation by reading the many reports that are available on the internet. If you are interested in reading more about the testimonies of Khmer people who lived during the Pol Pot regime please proceed to “The Death of Pol Pot”.

http://www.cekillingfield.org/index.php/en/history/summary-history.html

I spent some time walking through graves, over bones, and listening on audiotape to the history and stories form the genocide. The simplest way to tell about my experience is to share what I wrote while I was there.

Through genocide "You destroy the strings of humanity.  And you destroy the family not just physically, but emotionally."

        –quote from a survivors story and reflection. 

“My heart cries for the millions of lives lost.  Over 3 million people died through the Khmer Rouge and 1 in 4 people in the country.  My heart is also pained by the ignorance and blindness of our world. I admit I was completely unaware of these deaths before coming to Cambodia.  Considering this, my view of the country becomes more meaningful.  One week can leave a lasting impression. One day walking through bones and graves lasts a lifetime. It awakes compassion and motivation.  It drives me to act out of love, to reach out to those in need, to understand and seek after the stories and pasts of other people.  One day has reminded me of my obligation to educate myself, not to ignore painful events in the world now or look away from past histories, but to let them touch your heart and impact how you live your life.”

             

Background of S21 Prison

“Tuol Svay Pray High School sits on a dusty road on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In 1976, the Khmer Rouge renamed the high school S-21 and turned it into a torture, interrogation and execution center. Of the 14,000 people known to have entered, only seven survived. Not only did the Khmer Rouge carefully transcribe the prisoners' interrogations; they also carefully photographed the vast majority of the inmates and created an astonishing photographic archive. Each of the almost 6,000 S-21 portraits that have been recovered tells a story shock, resignation, confusion, defiance and horror. Although the most gruesome images to come out of Cambodia were those of the mass graves, the most haunting were the portraits taken by the Khmer Rouge at S-21.” http://www.killingfieldsmuseum.com/s21-victims.html

S21

“In the hottest of climates I have near chills after walking through the very walls Cambodian prisoners were kept and tortured in. I looked into the faces of people whose lives were stolen away, children, men, women. The photographs are gruesomely captivating, it's so hard to imagine the pain and cruelty of the world.  The emotion behind each face, each life, has an indescribable force that pulled me in and I can scarcely imagine the pain and torture of their lives.”

Seeing the history I have in Cambodia, and  later in Vietnam, has been very moving. Honestly it makes me appreciate the countries more, as well as appreciate my blessed life in a new light.  After seeing these histories I am happy to visit these countries in a much much great state of peace and now moving forward and progressing.  It also motivates me to learn about the international conflicts currently.  I don't want to remain so centered in my own life, but instead understand more of the good and bad that is happening throughout the world.

If you have a chance to travel and see new places and countries I encourage you to not only see the sights and enjoy the beauties and culture, but look for more of the histories.  You can see the country, city, or region with more insight and intellect.  I've certainly felt it was worthwhile to see more of the history of war torn areas, and actually being in the place has really moved me.  So not only am I traveling and seeing great sights but I'm learning about history, the world, and being motivated to continue. Exploring, discovering, and learning. 

Lastly one of my favorite things to capture was the glimpses of everyday people going about their lives in Cambodia.   

 This young lady was just one of the children we meet running around, hustling, selling and interacting with foreigners.  They certainly can hold their own in conversation, and are far from lacking in personality.

 One of my most favorite memories was a young girl selling bracelets on the street in Siem Reap.  She was saucy and bouncing with energy, it’s hard to capture her personality but she was quite the 14 year old comedian.  Even in a country that has so little, there are people that continue to let their lives be lead by                                                                                                           their extraordinary personalities.

So my journeys started off well and I really loved the beauty, history, and people I came across in Cambodia.