54-Cambodia

The monsoon rains come down hard here in this unique Southeast Asia country. The huge Tonle Sap Lake in central Cambodge swells every wet season and the Mekong and other rivers drain into the sea.
While the pride of Cambodia is the incredible temples of ancient Angkor Wat, more recent history is the brutal reign of terror inflicted on Cambodians by the Khymer Rouge, who held power from 1976-1979 when over 2 million died of starvation,disease & murder. It will take generations to recover from that brutality but people here seem mostly happy & overwhelmingly young.(Over 40% of the 13 million population is under 15)
As someone who has traveled to Thailand & India, Cambodia appears to be a mixture of both. Thailand is the nearby large neighbor & both are about 95% Buddhist with similar Southeast Asia cultures. India is represented not only in cultural carvings on the ancient temples and plentiful Indian restaurants but in carefree & careless attitudes.
With a large population many people are 'underemployed' & as a tourist one is frequently asked to buy books,drugs,rides,'boom-boom', etc...."Hello sir, do you need a ride? Drugs? I have good smoke...Hash? Heroin? EX? Yabba?...Ladies?..Boom-Boom?..(walk away 2o ft..next guy...."Hello Sir? DO you need a ride?")
As in India(less in Thailand) I have also noticed a careless attitude towards littering/trash as people think nothing of throwing bags/litter on the ground & occasionally burning plastic/rubbish..When people live in poverty they don't think about environmental concerns & of course, rich nations produce the most waste...Guys here love to gamble too as there are numerous sport gambling shops or inpromptu dice or card games on the sidewalks...
My journey into Kampuchea started by bike from Poipet. Lonely Planet calls the small border town a 'cesspool' & while I think that too harsh, the muddy roads to Siem Reap were horrible for many kilometers. We could have stayed in Sisophon for the night but we(biking partner Charles) pushed on into darkness until we came to a tiny town called Preah Netr Preah. Thankfully there was a young man who spoke English & invited us to sleep at his Micro-credit office building for the night and insisted we sleep upstairs while he & his co-workers slept on the floor in the office. What kind hospitality our first night in Cambodia!..Biking on the roads is always a great expericence(check my pics) and 'Hello!' is a frequent response as children,farmers, a& merchants wave & smile.
Charles opted to go north & visit his 'god-daughter' who works at a school for one of the many N.G.O.s here while I continued to Siem Reap the next day(after 1,200km & 12 days of biking I was ready for break!) We met later in SR & my time there was mostly spent exploring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat(previous post)
After several days I decided to head south by Bus to Phnom Penh( I am leaving the bike in Cambodia w Charles as a donation to the work he does with young people here)
Phnom Penh is a' city on the go' with the streets crowded with scooters & construction going on. Many tourists & bars/restaurants are along the Tonle Sap River but I opted for the 'backpacker' options at the Boeng Kak Lake known as a 'hippie' hangout w 4$ rooms..
My main tourist visit has been the S-21 Tuol Sleng/Kymer Rouge Prison where up to 14,000 ordinary people were imprisoned & evertually executed. Hell on Earth would be the most accurate description after visiting & reading a book by one of the few survivor accounts.
Phnom Penh is hundreds of years old but most buildings have a French design influence & the building around the National Palace are stunning...
I have been here several days now as I am trying to get a Burma/Myanmar visa from the Embassy here. It was closed for several days due to the local P'Chum Ben holiday when respects are paid to the Dead through offerings made at local wats/temples.
I have plans to keep going south to the towns of Kampot & Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand next. Happy Trails!
htpp://www.laughingmanlives.shutterfly.com (breathe)