While we never really knew exactly when our river boat crossed the border from Vietnam to Cambodia there was a discernable difference. The amount of traffic on the river very quickly diminished, as did the traffic and activities on the banks of the Mekong. The houses became more permanent looking and more colourful, and the only obvious commercial activity was low level fishing. We tied up in Phnom Penh during happy hour and were surprised at the amount of neon and pulsating bass sounds. Quite exciting. In the morning formalities happened, visas issued, and bribes paid but we didn’t have to do anything except look at a guy who wanted to be sure we looked like our passport photos. He had a nice line in banter for those of us who have moved on in appearance. We had a day there doing the sights on cyclos, bike rickshaws. I felt a bit guilty at first being peddled around by someone smaller than me, but got over it quickly given that he was making much better than the average wage. Then we sailed away up a river that cleverly changes its flow direction twice a year. We were now only 6 passengers having left 19 English people in the capital. This river joins a big lake to the Mekong and during the rainy season flows from the lake and the other way during the dry season. Ideally we should have sailed across the lake to Siem Reap but it was too shallow so we went elsewhere after having a look at the lake and then u-turning back to the Mekong. All of which we knew about in advance.
Along the way we did lots of cultural stuff. Visiting very local villages and intruding into the lives of the inhabitants, who seem remarkably relaxed about it all. The best one of those had never been visited by a biggish boat before, and when we turned up all the locals were seated ready to watch the action. Our crew were very adept at these landings where the boat just nudged into the bank, and after a bit of fun to get mooring lines taut and digging a few steps, a gang plank would be organised and off we went. In this case we walked around from the boat but other times we had rides in an ox cart (not very comfortable), a tuktuk (fun), and a boring bus. Because all this was new to the village the crew had set up an onshore bar for us and the local police chief, which also served large amounts of evil looking soft drinks to all the youngsters, and a very loud sound system. It seems Cambodians have a liking for body rattling and ear hurting music. It is wedding season and you can easily sort out where a wedding is happening long before you see the venue. Weddings are big, long and noisy, and involve many changes of clothes for the bride and groom. It seems like part of the cost is met by gifts from guests, with reciprocal rights going with the gift. I have photographic evidence of how smart I looked when dressed in the most formal and traditional of groom gear.
Cambodia is very much a Buddhist country having changed from being Hindu about 1000 years ago. I know the timing because being a tourist in this country involves visiting many temples, monasteries, occupied and not, and receiving detailed explanations of what the buildings and all that comes in them are about. We even had a lesson in meditation at one monastery and l learnt it is very uncomfortable trying to approximate the lotus position while sitting on a hard floor. Before leaving our boat all 6 of us were blessed and sprinkled with holy water by a couple of cheerful monks who got gifts of Coca-Cola and Sprite. The people living all those years ago in the Hindu times came up with a very clever system for making holy water. In a couple of places we have seen they carved likenesses of a series of gods into the rock of a river bed and that means (still) that the water flowing over is blessed. Even better you can wait for it to flow down to your village and get it there, rather than trekking up the hill to the spring.
After getting off our boat we went to Siem Reap which is where Ankor Wat and the many other amazing old temples are. I just love those big smiley faces carved into the sides of the towers and you cannot be anything but impressed by what was achieved by the Khmer people so long ago. Often famous tourist sights are not as good as the photos long seen before you get there, but that is not the case here. The scale of what was produced is hard to appreciate. I always think of the organisation required to create these places – the number of people required, how you feed them, where all the raw materials came from, how they were moved, where the slaves came from, and the wealth expended.
And then there is the very near past in Cambodia. It’s only a bit over 40 years ago that Pol Pot and his band of murderous zealots were removed from power. I find it hard to understand how a well educated person like Pol Pot could conceive of such a stupid and horrendous theory of running a country, and then finding a big number of supporters who agreed and got control. When asked, each of our guides told us how many of their family was killed by the Khmer Rouge and who survived and how. I am not an expert about this, but it seems if you had any intellectual qualifications or aspirations, or wealth, you were a threat to the great dream of a subsistence peasant society and therefore best killed. But only after being tortured to reveal any others who needed killing as well. In one instance we were told that the murderers still lived in the village where they caused the death of others, and that is not uncommon.
The present dictator of Cambodia, Hun Sen, is an ex-Khmer Rouge and has had the job since 1985. Coincidentally, I think only 5 people were ever convicted for 1.5 to 3 million people killed in 4 years. You do wonder just how a country copes with all that. Part of coping is having no choice, and politically Cambodia is pretty much your standard dictatorship masquerading as a democracy which means any public dissent is a go to jail card. I am told there are elections due soon and that there are opposition parties. Some are allowed but only to window dress the elections and anyone who is really in opposition is already in jail. Hun Sen is apparently getting his son ready to be democratically elected in his place one day.
Day to day life seems pretty calm and friendly. People are very polite and patient as seen in the traffic, where there is none of the frenetic filling of any available space seen in most other places. Even the people trying to sell stuff to tourists are fairly relaxed and not too persistent. Last night a tuktuk driver launched into a spiel about shops he could take us to and when I told him no no no he smiled and said ok and started the bike. There is plenty of tranquility.
We have been in Siem Reap for 5 days of which 4 were doing the required tourist stuff, and today is for whatever we like. It’s a tourist town and there are are obvious commercial victims of covid to be seen, but it’s unusually clean and tidy and a good place to end the tour. There is a major difference between it and all the other places we have been on this trip – here you flush the toilet paper instead of using the bin. There is a place in the middle of town called Pub Street which is self explanatory, and it’s fun to have one’s evening drink in comfort by the footpath and watch the action. And then find a nice place to eat where, maybe, the wine by a glass is acceptable. It had happened once and hopefully might happen again tonight.
Tomorrow it’s off to Singapore for a few days and then home.
Merry Xmas and all that.