Cambodia- Part 1

Well, I finally have something in common with Angelina Jolie. I love Cambodia.

 

I'll be the first to admit that when Brent booked this trip I said, "what's in Cambodia?" (old temples, it's hot). When I read about Cambodia I said, "and why would we want to go there?" (recent genocide/civil war, it's hot). And after I saw two TV specials on Siem Reap (where we were headed) I still wasn't thrilled. It's humid. And there are mosquitos. And did I mention it's hot? It's a developing country. Is it safe? How will the boys do? Am I going to be uncomfortable (yes, but not in the ways I was anticipating).

 

 Luckily, I am usually wrong when it comes to these things and Brent has proven his excellent vacation planning/tour guide skills once again. God bless Cambodia and the poor but kind, friendly people who are proud of their home. Thanks for showing it to us!





Grant brought his Indiana Jones hat along. We watched The Temple of Doom a few days prior and it scared the twins to death.

Cambodia used to be under French rule. One plus to that is perfect French pastries every morning at our hotel. 

Across the street from our hotel was a temple and a memorial honoring those who perished under the communist Khmer Rouge who orchestrated the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s. Over four years, 2 million people were killed.

 

These little girls would move the shoes around while people were inside the temple. Most tourist attractions have begging children at them.

Inside the temple.

Some young monks. 



Statues for sale.

Then we went back to our hotel to meet our tuk tuk driver.

On our first ride! Mr. Ra was awesome!

 

Our first stop was the silk worm factory. Here we were learning about the life cycle of the worms.

When they make a cocoon, they spin silk.

Hundreds of cocoons.

Boiling the pods to remove the silk.

Spinning into thread. These worms only eat mulberry leaves and their silk is yellow. There were so many tedious steps to this process- boiling, combing, bleaching, spooling, etc.

 This woman was making a scarf. The process was incredible to watch. I couldn't think of a need for a scarf or pillows, but I had to have a bit of this silk so I bought a little flower pin.

 

There aren't many gas stations around. Most people drive tuk tuks, motorcycles or bikes. If you need gas, you just pull over and get a liter. 

We visited another artist studio (affiliated with the silk farm). These women are painting pottery. This organization taught/employed under privileged adults to learn a life skill that could help support them in the future.

All hand made. And no air conditioning.

 

 That evening we hit our first temple- the most iconic- Angkor Wat.

Brent has wanted to see this for years.

 

The towers are supposed to resemble lotus flowers.

Family selfie!! 



 

Such a neat place.

We stayed until we were kicked out.

And afterwards Hayden couldn't quite make it through dinner.

Day 2 started with the highlight of the trip for me- the South Gate of Angkor Thom.

Gods and demons stretched across the bridge.

I have lots of pictures of these guys because the boys kept saying, "look at that one, he's funny, he's creepy, he's silly", and on and on :).

We got out of our tuk tuk and walked across the bridge. This is the back side.

You could ride an elephant.

 

Just past the gate is Bayon Temple (built in the late 12th century). Look for the faces. There are supposedly 216. 

This picture makes me laugh. Brent looks like he's 7 feet tall!

More faces.

At nearly every temple, Hayden declared, "now this is definitely the Temple of Doom!".

As in Korea, my favorite (and most helpful) word to learn for these little celebrities was kaunophloh- twins.





Children under 12 weren't allowed in this temple called Bauphon due to all the stairs. Cambodia doesn't know about my mountain goats, but honestly, I don' think they cared about missing this one for a snack and a break from the heat.

I took pictures while Brent explored.

Then I had my turn. This is the view from the top.

This is the Terrace of the Leper King.

 

And Elephant Terrace- see the elephants? 

All the tuk tuk drivers waiting on their clients. Many of them, napped in a hammock like this guy in the red.

Grant got a scarf and pretty much wore it all week.

We were hot and hungry, so we headed back to town. We saw the elephants again. 

 

And some monkeys. 

The boys picked up some new pants, so they showered and dressed themselves for the evening.

Local "stores".

How most Cambodians get around.

One of the gates to Preah Khan.

 

 

Lots of photo ops.

Some temples are somewhat overgrown and left that way.

 

Flip it around & it's an Oklahoma rock!

 Daddy insisted on two more small temples Bantay Prei and Prasat Prei before dinner...

...Hayden was all templed out.

Driving back into town and we stopped to see the sunset.

 

 Mr. Ra- our driver.

 



Dinner at Haven. This was one of the several training restaurants set up in Siem Reap to teach young adults (from orphanages, safe houses & very poor rural areas) quality work and life skills and to provide support as they transition to the real world.  The goal is to give these adults a chance to step out of the poverty cycle- much like the silk factory and artist studios mentioned above. PS- The chicken schnitzel was amazing...who would've thought?!

New day, new adventure awaits....

Waiting for our driver. This man was heading to the market.

The hotel manager was showing G all the different ways her could wear his krama (scarf).



This day, we did a small group tour. First up was a bike ride through a small village where we visited a school and a market. Every house we passed giggled at this sight ;). 

Colter got to ride with one of our guides and Hayden with me.

 

This is our other guide showing the boys the kindergarten classroom at the local school.

The kids loved to yell and wave hello!!

Our guide spoke to us about the corruption in the school system. Some families don't send their kids, instead you may find them begging at the temples or markets or working to help their family. Teachers have way too many kids in a class plus they are underpaid and often take bribes from the children(!) so they can pass the tests.

And in true Angelina style, we're ready to adopt a little Cambodian. Unfortunately, adoptions are closed between our two countries at this time- we looked.

Next stop was the market.

These muffin-like treats were yummy.

Lots of food for sale....

We (Brent, Grant & I) tried a fried cricket. Honestly, it was fine. It tasted mostly of the lemongrass and peppers they were fried with. Nice and dry. Not squishy. 

This child dubs mashed potatoes as his "worst enemy".

Conceptually, one was enough for me!

Waiting on her daddy.

Trying sugar can juice. It was very good, but I was nervous about the ice that was put in the bag. 

And this picture may not show it, but it was 100 degrees and we were so hot. The boys were excellent. When we give thanks at dinner, we always include in our prayers blessings for the people who are not as fortunate as us. I am thankful for the opportunity to put a place and some faces, with that phrase in my children's mind. These people have next to nothing. It was a very humbling experience to witness a part of this world for a short 5 days. At times I felt awkward walking around with my little privileged American family, my coveted light skin (means I'm an indoor girl), my status based primarily on where and when I was born. I knew when this day was over that there was a pool, cold drinks and air conditioning waiting for us. I could go on and on. I never wanted to leave Denver, but if these are some of the life lessons we can teach our boys, it's been worth it.

 

Ok, that's enough for one post. I'll post what we did after the bike ride and the rest of the trip soon.