Thursday, July 19, 2007

Food for thought

Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It's been six days since I've eaten. If anyone needs to diet for any reason, I highly suggest the "Montezuma's Revenge." It curbs your appetite and makes you run faster than you think that you could ever run! Anyway, today was the first day that I ate something that wasn't crackers so I'm finally feeling quite energetic enough to write.

I love Cambodia! This is by far, one of the top favorite countries that I have visited! The people are incredibly friendly and the culture of this country is what really makes it stand out. Although one thing that I do not like is the ""bugs as food" factor. During my six hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, I sat by a really friendly woman who kept offering me all her food. Everything from chicken jerky, beef jerky, shrimp chips to breathe mints. I politely kept saying no since I don't know how to say "I'm a vegetarian in Cambodian." Now on our last rest stop, we stop at a little village that sells all kinds of food, including their main delicacy, roaches. Of course this was the perfect photo-op so I took a picture and went on my merry way. Now, remember the friendly woman who was sitting next to me who kept offering me her food? Well, we get back on the bus and she has a plastic bag filled of these roaches! And what does she do? She offers them to me. I think that I must have turned green because she started laughing at me! So after I regain color, I notice that everyone on the bus is eating them! I try to gain my composure until I watch the woman next to me and the process of eating them. They rip off the tail legs and head and bon appetite. I had another two hours on this bus sitting next to this woman! All I could do is stare intently out the window and wish that the ride was over. BLAH!

Anyway, besides the adventure of my bus ride, I do want to muse a little bit about Phnom Penh and Cambodia. There is a lot of history and sadness in this country, some that I really wasn't fully aware of until I got here. Sure, I knew about the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields but I did not know the full story of it. Tuesday was my day of knowledge and I am still shaken up by it.

There were two tours that I did, one to the Killing Fields and one to Toul Sleung Prison (which was where they tortured people. Side note, Toul Sleung used to be a high school so imagine being on the premises and seeing remnants of a playground to only know that this is where they ruthlessly killed people).

During Pol Pot's power from 1975 to 1979, he killed over two million people and the population of Cambodia during that time is five million people, you can only imagine the atrocities that occurred. He abolished everything from currency, government, schools, declaring it Year Zero. There is still so much sadness that can be felt when you look into the eyes of anyone that is over twenty seven. The wounds are still fresh. Being at the Killing Fields, I will share one thing with you. On the trails throughout the area, the muddy walkways are dense but not only with nature growing through it, but also with the remnants of the clothing of the people that died there. At first, I did not know what I was stepping on until closer inspection, reality kicked in and so much sadness filled my heart.

The sadness that I felt has still lingered in me, three days after I have experienced it but to know that I have been here to learn more about it has only given me better perspective of this country and what they have had to deal with. By getting to know the country and the people here has offered me a new outlook on life. The people here are very friendly. Today after I went through some of the temples (Angkor Wat and Bayon), my tuk-tuk driver, Mr Chet, who was incredibly friendly, asked if I wanted to stop by at the children's hospital since he had to drop something off. So I spent some time there playing with the children and I even, haphazardly, gave a little girl a french braid. It was a pretty pathetic braid but spending the time there was nice. I even set up an appointment to donate my blood since they really need AB positive for people with dengue fever. Don't worry, the company is a very reputable company that I have already done my research on via the Internet. I wish that there was more that I could do but I think that the time that I am giving versus just being an American tourist is something that makes me feel that I am making a small effort.

Anyway, I just really wanted to share with you my journey here through Cambodia because I feel that this is the place where my soul-searching has lead me too.

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