3:00 PM
Siem Reap, Cambodia
I came to Cambodia with almost no expectations. I didn't really know what I would see or wouldn't see, or if I would even enjoy this place I knew very little about. I have this problem of going places and doing very little previous research about them before hand. Some people might call this stupid, but I like to refer to it more as adventurous. ;) But whatever little expectations I did have for Cambodia, they were blown away. Both the culture and people are rich with things to offer to any type of traveler. I only got to spend two weeks there but I would have gladly extended my stay to explore more of what Cambodia has to offer.
My first week was spent in a small town called Samraong. No one, and I mean NO ONE has ever heard of this place. Samraong is comprised of lots of small villages here and there and one small market in the middle. This made up the whole of Samraong. Nothing special on the outside. The company I'm with, Greenway, was the only source of Western influence for a few hundred miles around. When walking around town you felt a bit like a celebrity, with all the locals around you either staring at your white pasty skin like you were an alien, whispering "Barang" (which means foreigner) as you walked by or smiling the biggest smile like you were fucking Santa Clause and this was their first real American Christmas.. or a mix of the two. Every child in sight yelled and waved "Hello!" as we walked by as it was the only English they knew. Although very poor the people and atmosphere was warm and welcoming. I quickly grew to enjoy Samraong and Cambodia all together.
Learning about their culture and working in the orphanage, even though it was for a very short period of time, was an eye opening experience. Through my time in Southeast Asia I've definitely seen poverty, but not like this. This kind of poverty is the 3rd world kind that you see on the Discovery channel. It was borderline malnourished African children covered in flies kind of poverty. The homes were old wooden shacks being held together with rope, old rusted nails, and sometimes even trash fashioned to cover holes or hold rotted wooden beams in place. Their rooves were sometimes made up of thatched woven grass but more often sheets of metal covered the homes positioned in a way that most of the water in the rainy seasons won't leak in. There is no electricity or running water in these areas. Most families bathe in the streams or ponds in the area, which isn't much in the way of hygiene as the pollution is pretty bad. There is trash everywhere you look. The focus on any type of sustainable practice is definitely a foreign concept to these people. Sometimes its hard to take in the overall beauty of the country when you look down at your feet and the roadside and its littered with beer cans, soda cans, crumpled up paper and plastic, and even ironically but not surprisingly, trash bags filled with more trash scattered across the roadsides. The only real way I saw of any form of trash management was that many families would collect it and burn it, which in many cases can be just as bad as just piling it up and leaving it there. Its a sad sight to see. Now if it were you or me in living in these situations of poverty we'd probably off ourselves in a hot minute. But these people seem happy as fucking clams. It's a bit mind boggling and I almost envy them for being able to be so happy under such low living conditions. Especially considering their recent history.
Now, if you know anything about Cambodian history (which you probably don't because I had no idea before I visited the place) is that these people have been through a lot fairly recently. In the mid 70's there was devil of a man border-lining the douchebaggery of Hitler. His name is Pol Pot and over a period of about 5 years he massacred over 2 million people in what were practically death camps with his band of loyal followers the Khmer Rouge. From what I gather its set the country back a good 20 years at least, in the form of its economy, industrialization, and even culture. Pol Pot was determined to wipe out any semblance of any other culture or race throughout Cambodia and make a pure super race of Cambodians. Some pretty fucked up stuff and very Hitler/Aryan-esk. Many of the older generation Cambodians I spoke with had lived through this seeing as it was only about 30 years ago, and many had seen people they knew and loved, friends and family, dragged into, hurt, killed and ultimately engulfed by the atrocities during these years. Some pretty eye opening shit. Its perplexing how open, friendly, and jubilant Cambodians are with their lives after what they have been through as a common race.
The skulls of the vanquished. Seriously though, those are
dead people's heads. Fuck you Pol Pot.
My week in Samraong was spent between Khmer language classes, learning Cambodian culture and volunteering in a local orphanage in the area. Although I only spent a short few days in the orphanage with these kids I felt a connection with them very quickly and as lame and cliche as it sounds they did as much for me as I was doing for them in that short time. Maybe its because I was an orphan myself and adopted at a young age, or or maybe its because usually kids suck, and are annoying, drooling little monsters, or maybe because deep down inside somewhere in my horrible black abyss of a soulless hole, generally refereed to as a "heart", I'm a softy. But these kids were the antithesis of horrible little monsters. They were vibrant happy little creatures with more energy then a coked out Energizer bunny. It was a real pleasure being able to help out at the orphanage while I was there. But before I knew it my week in this tiny, dirty and dusty little paradise was over and I was packing my bags and heading to Siem Reap, one of the biggest and most famous cities of Cambodia.
The first few days/nights of Siem Reap were spent wandering and carousing the various markets and shops as well as frequenting the hustling and bustling Pub Street which has more bars and restaurants packed into it than you would think could actually fit in an area this small. After a few nights of too many red bull vodkas and dancing on tables and bar tops with locals it was time to really take in the sights and see what Siem Reap had to offer.
First on the list was the fabled Angkor Wat. If you don't know what it is you'd be best to look it up. Its the largest religious monument in the world and over 1200 years old. A massive and beautiful ode to the grandeur of the past kings and monarchies of Cambodia
This is Angkor Wat. Duh.
I arrived at this colossal beast of a temple just before sunrise, around 5 AM, along with what had to be a few thousand fellow tourists brandishing all sorts of ridiculous touristy outfits and cameras from small handhelds, to phones, to the kind of giant cameras with tri-pods and lenses that stick out 3 feet that you thought only National Geographic could get a hold of. Looking onward was quite the site as the sun slowly rose into the sky, illuminating the temple grounds inch by inch. Five giant stone towers extended upwards towards the sky guarded by 30 foot walls topped with statues of Buddhas and mythical creatures staring down at you menacingly. The inside walls are strewn with hieroglyphics depicting war scenes, beautiful women, kings, ancient writings, intricate patterns and things long past. Quite the site to see. During sunrise everyone is gathered in front of a pond that stands off to the side of the temple, as it offers the best pictures and view as the sun gradually eclipses Angkor Wat. I snap a few Instagram worthy photos (kidding.. but not really) and opt to check out some of the less populated temple grounds before the masses flood every nook and cranny.
Now as you can imagine this place is awesome. But there is something that makes my experience better than 99% of any other human's to grace the fields of Angkor Wat. A friend had casually mentioned to me that Tony Hawk was in Cambodia at the same time as I was and how funny it would be if I ran into him. Yeah right dude. I have about as much chance of meeting Tony Hawk as that as banging Kim Kardashian and Mila Kunis at the same time.
Well would you look at that?
Anyways, as I was taking in the scenery a dirty looking man in mid to late 40's in tattered jeans, a blue Billabong shirt and some old black vans walked by me and something in my brain clicked. I turned around and quickly piped up.
"HEY! Are you Tony Hawk?"
He responded with a fairly unenthusiastic "Yup"
"Man! That shit is crazy, I heard you were in Cambodia but I never thought I'de run into you!" I responded.
These are easily the dumbest combination of words I could have possibly strung together in a situation like this. But who could have prepared for such an anomaly! If you don't know who Tony Hawk is go die. I've spent a good portion of my life digitally eating shit and button smashing to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on Nintendo 64 so I was practically stunned with shock and awe. FUCK! But I didn't want to be THAT annoying guy groveling over Tony FUCKING Hawk and no one else seemed to realize who he was, so with a few more parting words we went on our ways to explore the ruins. At this point even if Angkor Wat was a huge disappointment (which it totally wasn't) I wouldn't even give a shit because I had met Tony Hawk the legend. My day was made and it was only 6 AM.
The rest of the day consisted of checking out the surrounding temples, catching lunch lakeside, and ended with sunset at another temple positioned at tip of a hilltop overlooking Angkor Wat and the surrounding landscape. Quite a site to take in.
With a few more days of visiting war museums, silk farms, temples, markets, and floating villages my time in Cambodia came to an all too quick and disheartening close. I found myself being slightly jealous of those that I talked to who were exploring more of this amazing country. But alas it was time to go and before I knew it I was back in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok waiting in terminal 2 for my flight out to China to start my next adventure. I'm sure I'll see you again one day Cambodia, until then.
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