I left the North in a mission to get to Cambodia only to make a last minute decision at the bus station to get some beach time in first. Cambodia is also known as Scambodia, so when there wasn't a headache-less way to get across the border an island I had just read about in Thailand called for a visit. This is how I ended up beach bumming at Koh Chang and sharing a bunglaw and cocktails with a girl I met in the bus. The island itself is huge! In my two days there I only had a chance to beach it, rent a kayak to the islands, get a Thai massage, and watch some AMAZING fire shows along the beach. Besides suffering from post traumatic stress disorder upon discovering that I was dinner for a lot of bed bugs in one of the bungalows, Koh Chang deserves a big thumb up.
From those (mostly) refreshing days I headed to the beaches of Cambodia. When I had thought of Cambodia prior to my trip I never imagined such beautiful sandy beaches. Again, I met another solo female traveler and we opted to split a room on the river tucked behind the beach. The two of us stuck together like glue for a few days; reading and eating fruit on the beach topped with an island/snorkel tour for a day. The beach we stayed at was Otres 2. It was a more mellow beach that still had access to the more frequented beach restaurants a sandy walk away-perfect for vacation from travel.
From Otres we headed to the little town of Kampot located on a river and well known for its sunsets and cusine. My roommate, Kristin, stayed with me for one night before she headed back to a big music show on one of the islands. Since Cambodia (unlike Thailand) drives on the right side of the road I decided to do as most do in SE Asia and tour the country side with a motor bike. I convinced a couple I met at breakfast to tag along with me in search of some scenery and salt. We found just that, with some rock-formation-mountain-things off of a dirt road before they parted ways and I found some fresh and far-too-small crabs and coconut water to enjoy along the beach a few kilometers from Kampot. In route to home I stumbled (more accurately-rolled) into some salt fields where the famous French Kampot Salt is cultivated. It was pretty extraordinary to see how expansive the system was for a normal household item.
That evening I hoped on a river cruise to watch not only the sunset, but also fireflies. For those of you following any social media of mine you know that this is where my nostalgia for the Eastern Shore really set in. Crabs, sun setting over water, nighttime fishermen like you read about in The Lord's Oysters, and the mating dance of fireflies. Although the day and experience was amazing, I have to say that the Eastern Shore takes the cake in all of those categories.
From Kampot I headed to the history. Prior to heading up to Phenom Penh I read a book and watched a movie on the killing fields. It was really useful to have more knowledge of the emotional trauma endured before heading to the sites where it all started. A little background knowledge is good here, because I know the genocide of Cambodia was not something I ever studied in school:
After some of the bombing in the war in Vietnam rolled over the borders of Cambodia a gourilla group called the Khmer Rougue was able to make their way into power in the vounerable country. The Khmer Rouge was exenophibic and exeterminated any and all educated people and their families to avoid any internal resistance. The rest were sent to work in the fields with little food and care. In the events that passed over the three years of the regime over 1/4 of the population of Cambodia was killed. It is something one can still see today, with nearly 40% of ther Khmer (Cambodian) pollution under the age of 16. Perhaps while they are so giggly in the land of eternal youth.
The capital Phenomn Pehn is were they play tribute to the events of the past at the S21 Prision and the Killing Fields, where if they weren't harshly imprissoned they were taken and slaughtered in the thousands. As hard and as heavy that this was to take in- it gives me a little hope because on a global scale such tributes are raising awareness and hopefully will empower future generations to be less naive to what happens behind closed borders.
Needlesstosay, I was very thankful to have a friend from Nature's Classroom now living in Phenom Penh to fall back onto after feeling so vounerable from the day on top of nearly getting extremely sucked into a huge scam running out of the capital. I found my happy place with Ox after some good street food and playing soccer under the bridge with some lively locals.
I left that bloody history behind to go further back in time and explore the famous ancient ruins of Angkor Wat in Siem Riep. I stayed at a wonderful hostel that allowed me to book a sunrise tour with other solo travelers. This was great for picture sharing and hanging someone to admire the master piece with. Ankor Wat was a city, but is really famous for a number of temples. We did the small circuit to the most famous and, in my uneducated opinion, most extrodinary structures. The stones used to construct these masterpieces are meticulously stacked on each other and elaborately decorated with all sorts of designs, people, sceneries, faces, and animals. The details were far more impressive than I could begin recognize. My favorite part of the temples that we saw were the massive trees that have started to dominate some of the temples. There some trees that reminded me of the redwoods in California (because of their size) just weaving roots between the walls and bricks of the old buildings. After the destruction that some of the areas suffered in the Khmer Rouge regime this was a very redeaming feature to see.
I ended up going back by bike the next day for sunset to see more of the detail. I It was a great way to end a day of finding a yoga class at a spa that allows you to hang out in their saltwater pools. Life is sure rough out here.
Clearly, I loving my trip so far, but ironically enough I am finding my excitement about Latin America continuing to grow. Some of the best people I have met and shared time with have been from the lower Americas. Their attitude and enthusiasm is making me excited to explore that part of the world more. To start traveling is like entering a ring of infinity... There is no getting it out of your system once you start.
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