Cambodia
Thank you for re-broadcasting Scott Carrier's piece on Cambodia. It
was an excellent outline of the themes that travelers are confronted
with there, and brought back a flood of memories for me.
I went to Cambodia alone last summer as part of an extended trip
through Southeast Asia. Friends and family cautioned me against it,
but travelers I met in Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok assured me that
if I was careful I would be fine. The rewards were well worth the
risk. The coutryside is lush and beautiful, and the people are
extraordinarily friendly despite the hardships and tragedy of their
daily lives.
Here are some of the unforgettable, only-in-Cambodia experiences I
had that await your listeners if they go:
-- Being invited by new Cambodian friends to stay in the National
Park after closing and drink Angkor beer while the full moon rises
over Angkor Wat.
-- Spending an afternoon sitting on the back steps of Angkor Wat
talking with teenage Buddhist monks curious about everything American.
-- Watching millions of bats swarm out from under the eaves of the
National Museum in Pnomh Penh at dusk and disappear over the Mekong
River.
-- Bribing Pnomh Penh policemen just to get back to the hotel, and
being awakened at night by automatic weapons fire in the street
directed at someone who refused to stop and pay.
-- Talking with my guide in Pnomh Penh over dinner about the
nightmarish experiences of his childhood and the hope he has for his
son's future.
-- After touring Tuol Sleng prison, the irony of vibrant green rice,
blue skies and the smiles of children along the road to the Killing
Fields, the piles of skulls in the memorial there, and walking among
washed up human bones in the paths.
Cambodia is not a place for the faint of heart, but if one of your
motivations for traveling is to explore the mystery, tragedy and
beauty of human experience, there's no better place to go.
Sincerely,
David
Minneapolis, MN
{ Previous Letter
| This Week's Index
| Next Letter
{ Main Letters Page }
