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Cambodia. Considering the horrors this country has experienced over the past few decades it is any wonder people smile at all. Yet, from the moment you cross the boarder and travel along the roads and waterways of this fine, green, open plain of a country, that is all you see; ear to ear grins of children just waiting for their piece of the white man. Wave, children, and the freak show may just wave back. But don't get too close, rumour has it they are white because they feast on the bones of younglings.
Monsoon season. The fields are drowned, the oxen can wash away the flies and the jungle is... dense enough to finish you off if the tigers don't get you first. Or the spiders. Or the unknown that lurks therein. Breadcrumbs will do you no good here.
It isn't long until the maniacal Khmer Rouge regieme and its insane killing spree hits you slap bang between the eyes, making the Vietnamese/American war almost seem like a 'slight inconvinience'. Quite what Pol Pot, the obsessive, genocidal Brother Number One was thinking when he cleared out the cities and sent the masses to work the rice fields is difficult to say. But those that weren't killed through grusome tortue methods (their main crime being their intellect or religious practice - basically, a demonstration of free will) or shot for little reason other than it gave the brainwashed KR (child) soldiers a way to show their alligence for fear of persicution themselves, perished at the hand of starvation or disease in the rural paddys. Some estimate as many at three million Cambodians died as a result of the four year oppression. Yet hundreds more continue to suffer each year as a result of the unmarked land mines that litter this beautiful countryside. Want to hear worse? How about this - the KR were still fighting in the remote hills (with some pretty heafty Russian and German WW2 artillery) until 1998 - and some are still in government today. We have to ask ourselves, would we still be able to smile?
(Take a look at the website for The Cambodian Landmine Museum - www.cambodianlandminemuseum.org - and if you're feeling generous, make a donation to this worthwhile cause.)
Yet, on the flip side, these proud people have much to be thankful for. Aside from the thrilling Alton Towers rollercoaster-esque bus journeys (the only things not green here are the pot-holed roads), there is the food, Angkor, and of course the will to rise from the past. The symbol of Cambodia, the beating heart of the nation and home to the largest religious structure in the world is Angkor. This vast collection of ancient temples, monuments, statues and city walls call you to abandon your piddling Stone Henge, turn your back on the Great Pyramid and say a teary farewell to the Great Wall of China, as here is architectural inginuity in all its wonder. Enfused with the advancing (albeit now largly cultivated) jungle, this truly is a path of discovery, wonderment and awe. Rising high above the ground, each structure has its own theme, its own story, its own significance in the religious followings of the Angkorians journey from Hinduism to Buddhism. Plus, it makes one hell of a good photo.
Although, some may argue the true wonder is the friendly people. It is difficult to feel like a lone traveller when someone is waiting on every corner (and street inbetween) ready to talk to you. And as a nod to my home country, it has to be said they all like talking to the English as we apparently have the clearest accents, easier for learning from. Australians sound 'lazy' and the Scots... well, forget it! Their words, not mine.
It must be said, I was dubious about coming to Cambodia, the threat of comparing it to Vietnam left it with the potential to disappoint. But now the stakes have been upped and future destinations have much with which they must contend. But Cambodia has offered at least one travelling insight - these magical countries of South East Asia cannot be compared, they cannot be rushed, and it may be said that they cannot be bettered.
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