Tag: Cambodia

S-21 Tuol Sleng

Travel

So let’s recap here….

April 9-May 4, China travel in Beijing and Xian

May 4-May 22, South Korea travel, Seoul, Busan, Gyeong-Ju

May 22-June 20 (Today) Cambodia travel, Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.

Currently, I am in a bungalow about 70 meters away from the ocean. It feels good to be by the salt air again, it always has been a natural environment for me, and I suspect it will continue to be so…

Cambodia thanks you for coming

It’s been almost a month since I’ve stayed in Cambodia, and the trip has been thoroughly enjoyed and experienced. I’ve traveled in a circle around the whole country, met some amazing people doing good works, made many new Cambodian friends, experienced an ancient history and a more recent history that had a severe effect of the people.

Tuol Sleng S-21. A place where lots of people were interrogated and killed during the Khmer Rouge rule from 1975-79.

One cannot come to Cambodia without knowing about the Khmer Rouge. The “Killing Fields” and the genocide that occurred post Vietnam war in the seventies in Cambodia are well known and are visited tourist sites in country. Estimates are about 1.7-2.5 million of the existing 8 million people at that time were killed or died of disease. It was a horrific time in the history of the people.

Coming to understand the truth of how such killings can take place is depressing, numbing and stirs up anger.

It is good though to see some of the sites that still exist today like Auschwitz and Tuol Sleng, because they reaffirm what we DO NOT want to see happen again.

Unfortunately, today there are people being tortured, being held against their will, having their rights taken away. We do what we can in our own power to prevent such injustices from happening, and to practice accountability and oversight.

Blood on the floor, 30 years later.

When in Cambodia, I talked to a good many people, but the Khmer Rouge period was hardly mentioned. While it is a time in history that affected the whole country, the Cambodians would rather forget that period happened. I don’t blame them, many people died and those that survived were psychologically affected. Maybe that’s why Cambodians love to watch horror films here so much.

Some people have yet to be tried, and some are being tried finally after years of still living. There are still Khmer Rouge in the current Cambodian government. They are proposing making an amusement park next to Pol Pots grave, for “tourism.” Pol Pot was the driving force behind the Khmer Rouge. I say Screw that.

It’s a downer post I know, but it had to be written sometime.

Cambodia has been wonderful to visit. There is much happening here, and there is hope for the future development of this nation. More and more people are becoming educated in the arts, sciences, business and hopefully will use these skills for more than just providing for their own way of life, which is very easy to fall into here. Corruption wafts around…Especially the 4 x 4 Lexus vehicles one sees around town…

But besides all the corruption that exists in this country, there is a friendliness that is bestowed to the foreigner. Whether it be genuine or not, it is given and I have struck up good conversations with many Taxi tuk tuk drivers, restaurant workers, business owners, internet cafe employees, guesthouse keepers, merchants of the markets and youth and children. If you come to Cambodia, it won’t be difficult to get around and be given assistance into what you need.

I’m leaving the country in a couple of days, Thailand calls and it shall be a good time I imagine. Already I have prepared to stay at the best Hilton in Bangkok for a couple of nights thanks to my acquired hotel points stays. I’ll text you while I’m in the pool 70 floors up in the air.

Cheers!

Shawn

To all my friends

Personal Update

To all my friends..

Thank you for keeping in touch with me while I travel. It’s really quite a bit easier to keep in touch these days as a traveler. Anyone can text, call, skype, or email. This wasn’t always the case. People sent postcards and saw each other when they did. 🙂

I remember going to slow internet cafes in 2002, there were no cell phones that worked internationally and expensive phone cards could be bought every once in a while to call home.

Now, you can buy a sim card for cheap, call in country to anyone you need to get in touch with and Skype call to your friends off your phone for 3 cents a minute. It works well for the traveler.

So Wanna see some pictures?

Getting some climbing in at a Japanese guesthouse.
In a village
Well for children at school to drink at

I spent about 10 days in Siem Reap, soaking in the culture, making friends with the local Cambodians and expatriates, visiting some of the rural villages and of course, Angkor Wat was enjoyed for a couple of days.

Travel for me isn’t just to “see” places and do “cool” activities. You can go see the Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and the Great Wall and while they are amazing feats of engineering, the reality is that they are all overcrowded with tourists everyday. I did enjoy seeing them all, but after a while, most of the famous monuments of this world start to look the same.

For me, travel isn’t even travel. Travel is living for me. At some point in your travel life, you evolve from a tourist to what I term a “global citizen.” We are all on this planet together, let’s learn from each other, and help each other as needed. The world is large…There are over 260 countries, tens of thousands of languages, a vast array of cuisine, music and environment. A wealth of ideas, businesses and family structures. Relationships, love and marriage looks different everywhere.

One thing to factor in this life is the physical ability we all may or may not currently have going for us. For me, as a man going onto 30 years, I am still quite active and have all my physical and mental abilities intact and strong. While I still have use of all these faculties, I plan to use them while I can and do “adventurous” things like travel around Asia. My “creature comforts” have not settled in yet, though I expect they will in time.

Once you have your own family, these circumstances change yes. Once you get over 40, you may begin to have some physical issues. One of the top things people said to their caregivers while on their deathbed, was “I wish I lived out my dreams and did what I could when I was physically able to.” If you wait till retirement, unfortunately, it may be too late. Live your dreams now. You may think it’s difficult now, but you have to think differently. Anything can happen.

I have seen much of the world already, I recognize I have a unique vision and voice, and my current goal is to expand and sharpen that vision, build partnerships with other like-minded individuals and groups for future collaboration and support, and to just simply give some love, however possible, to a country that is limited and being tied down.

Sambath, a good friend I made. He started a school to bring education to 1400 children.

There are others in the world, who are committed to seeing people helped. Simple things like basic education are lacking in a country like Cambodia. Teachers will get paid $40 a month, and they may only be interested in the paycheck, not the real education of the kids. If the kids suffer from abuse at home, who can they turn to? Will the education they receive from the state really do anything for their future? Likely not.

I met a man named Sambath and he showed me his school he started. Kids in Cambodia go to the state school from either 7am-1pm or 1pm to 7pm.

They then can go to an additional school in their free time. This is the school that Sambath created. In it, kids have specific focus tracks like english, computers, sports, agriculture or teaching. 700 kids come in the morning, and 700 kids come in the afternoon. There are about 30 teachers, some of which are foreigners.

I visited the school and enjoying seeing “real change” in action. Here, children could really have an opportunity to build specific skills beyond what the state could provide. They were happy on the campus, they had fresh water from the wells at the school and materials and resources to learn from. I played some soccer with the kids and had a blast. Reminded me of when I played soccer with kids in Mexico back when I first starting doing volunteer trips.

Water anyone?

I am continuing to be blessed while here in Cambodia. I have connected with people from YWAM here, which was an organization I used to work for. I had stayed with contacts in YWAM in the town of Battambang for 4 nights, and when I left Battambang for Siem Reap, I ended up running into them again! The funny thing is, I was hanging out with another YWAM group, and so I connected them together! Funny how things work like that, but they’ve happened so much in my life, I don’t react as crazy as I used to, I just smile slightly and go about my way.

Thanks for reading

My buddy Samboan taking a break while enjoying a cool beverage.

Ywamers driving down to Phnom Penh

one most amazing day at Angkor

Travel

I woke up in the morning with a dream that had given me a strong message. While waiting for my Tuk tuk driver to come pick me up from the Jasmine lodge, I enjoyed the morning sun and the high 70’s weather slowly rising to higher temperatures.

Sun is shining, the weather is bright...

We departed, I had my pack set, water, check…Nice ripe mango, check, Cambodian avocado, check. Fuji apples, check, rambutan and mangosteen fruits, check…bread, some funds, camera…Scarf for neck, sunglasses for eyes, small pair of scissors to cut fruit with..let’s do this!

I came to the gate, paid my entrance fee and we started to cruise down a street that was bordered by a big forest. I started to smile, for I was about to engage in an adventure and exploration that would likely make an imprint on my mind for life. When given those opportunities, I try to make it a beautiful memory.

Already giving the thumbs up as we enter~

We entered into the open, WOW! I could see Angkor Wat, the large moat surrounding it, the sub-tropical rain forest spread everywhere. Where was I??

let the forest engulf you..

Here I was…Angkor.

Angkor is spread out throughout many miles. There isn’t just one temple, there are many and they are all over. I decided I’d let my Tuk tuk driver Vandee be the navigator since this is his job quite often and he’s getting to know me and my interests, (like when I’m looking up at the forest going, this is amazing!) so I’ll let him be the judge of what he thinks I will appreciate.

I got to Angkor Wat first, Vandee tells me to meet him on the other side. I begin to look at this magnificent structure and the vastness surrounding it. I walk slowly… I got all day and this is a day to simply explore and let it unfold.

I step on large stones across the moat, I try to understand the significance of this location, this temple as it was utilized before, this design and it’s symbolism. I enter in…

I’m greeted by a couple of guys who say, “here light incense for temple before entering.” He hands me some incense sticks, tells me to say a prayer for family, friends and good luck with girlfriend. It can’t hurt, and I’m a praying man, so I close my eyes, say a prayer and stick the incense before the Buddha Shiva. They offer me some green plum berries from the grounds and I chat for a bit. They give me some chili salt to go with the sour berries and it’s nice. They think it’s funny I enjoy them. Fruit from the temple grounds, brilliant…Whoa! Did I just see a monkey run by outside??

Time for me to go inside….

I look at the path ahead of me. It’s stone, wide and goes directly to the temple. I can imagine what my experience would be like if I walked down this path ahead of me, sprinkled here and there with some fellow Korean and Chinese visitors. But, if you know me, you know I don’t always follow the path everyone else is on. I go on the path not many people tread, and find that path most if not always very rewarding.

So I veered to the right as I admired the walls and intricate designs and noticed a trail head. I started to walk and immediately noticed some of the massiveness of the trees here. I continued to walk slowly…Smelling, breathing, listening…Looking.

self portrait 1

The forest caught my attention and I wondered in awe over the life there, the big trees, and how lots of water encourages all sorts of growth.

I entered the temple~

Amazing, unique and intact.

self portrait 2

So I walked out of Angkor Wat after a good hour or so and headed to meet up with Vandee. Wow! Check out that tree!

I got back to Vandee and we drove to another temple site. There I saw my first massive stone face that had been imprinted in my mind over the years….I saw some unique ruins, saw some more amazing trees and met some very sweet little girls. I couldn’t resist purchasing some bracelets and flutes from them.

Stone face with even more beautiful faces down below 🙂

I've never seen a triple trunk tree this big ever. Amazing.

self portrait 3

Nice cambodian family who works in the temple

Then Vandee and I trekked over to “Ta Phrom.”

Tuk Tuk driver taking a rest
"Ta Phrom"
Hello Tree
Nature moves in mysterious ways...

I had some lunch…Mmmmm, avocado and apple sandwich..Some water, fruit. Vandee didn’t want any, he said he already had eaten. But I offered three times, just to be sure.

Vandee took me to some other temples~

Man these steps are STEEP! Can't do this when you're retired! SP 5.

Yes, there are steps beyond what you cannot see in this photo. Crazy steep!

It was an amazing day, truly one of the most amazing days of my life. This vast land was magical and I enjoyed the day thoroughly. Trekking through this garden, I’m reflective of how the earth used to be when it wasn’t inhabited by as many people. The forests were big, lots of animals, clear water abounding…Makes me wonder how heaven can be. Today in some ways was like heaven. It was just a perfect day. I hope someday you will be able to travel here. It is most definitely worth it.

Photo by "Vandee"

I close off with a photo that defines my day and Angkor for me. Thanks for reading~

The End.

Welcome to Battambang

Travel

So after 4 nights in Phnom Penh, I hopped on a bus 5 hours north to Battambang,

So what’s so hip in Battambang?

Who wants some fruit?

Not much really, but it’s a semi-populated area that borders many villages and surrounding rural areas. A university I used to work for has a campus here with a youth development center and an AIDS orphanage, so I made arrangements to stay at their guesthouse for the weekend.

Local Deity welcomes you to Battambang

The drive up was pleasant enough. $6.00 gets you practically across the country. These prices have got me thinking Vietnam, Laos, Burma….hmmmm focus focus!

Actually, Indonesia is starting to form as a definite plan to me since my family used to live there prior to WWII. My Oma (Grandma) lived the first 40 years of her life there. She is still alive at 100 today. I know she would love for me to talk about the climate, the food and people I meet there. I actually grew up eating a lot of rice and Indonesian food and spice. Yum!

I don’t have much to report on as far as significant events from the past three days. I visited the World Vision field office here in Battambang, which employs 200 persons, mostly who are working in our projects doing agricultural development, health care, education etc. I visited the AIDS orphanage, but many of the kids were in school at the time. Some sweet little boys though. Their families can’t provide for them, especially if they are sick, so they pass them to the orphanage for some time.

I’m learning how people come to be in their lives here in Cambodia. It is most definitely a nation that operates on significantly less money than the US. Of course.

The typical Cambodian makes 500-800 dollars a year. Good salaries, are 1600-2000 a year. The best jobs in the country are actually working for International aid organizations. They pay about 150 a month, and are consistent. Though you could make that much as a government or police officer, you may not always see it. Corruption floats around everywhere. Here’s an example…Most of the guesthouses in Battambang are empty with guests, but there are a LOT. There’s no way they can stay afloat as a business. So how do they exist? Simple…You take all the money you corruptly received, write down you had a sold out guesthouse at X amount, and there you have it…”Dirty” money converted to “clean” money.

It feels good to travel, and to meet new friends and see the Cambodian world. I plan to go to Angkor Wat after this and make my way back to the southern part of the country to rendezvous with friends. I finally had my first stomach upset, and I know what did it…Stupid street sausage, what was I thinking!? Anyways, I am experienced in handling these things, so I drank a lot of water and stuck to rice, bananas, and some vegetables. Two days later, it’s all good. I did arrange to have amoxicillin before I left the US, just in serious case scenarios.

It’s so easy to travel. Talk to you later, I’m off to go the restaurant Angelina ate at when she came here and adopted one of her international kids. Good times~