Ancient Civilizations - Siem Reap, Angkor Wat and Cambodia

Deja vu!  Angkor Wat or Chichen Itza?

Fascinating how so many cultures rose to great heights, with hundreds of thousands of constituents and remarkable technological advances – only to fairly abruptly abandon those complex societies and vanish from the face of the earth.

 

Somehow I thought Angkor Wat would be one of a kind, but it immediately reminded me of  temples and architecture half a planet away in current day Mexico – the grand pyramid of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan.  The heat was as tropical and the flora thriving there was similar – bougainvilla and hibiscus in a mass of overpowering jungle.  The major temples both sit in a grand landscape - with ball fields and astronomical buildings in one, and libraries and altars in the other.  Both have snakes entwined on their structures -  the cobra, and the rattlesnake.

However, this was a Hindu/Buddhist temple (there are arguments as to who came first, but the toppled heads of the Buddha bespoke a Hindu takeover).







Another type of statue supplanted those of the Buddha as well  - the ‘linga’ or phallic statues.  Must say  when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all - apparently you can visit a mountain temple with literally hundreds of massive peni thrusting skyward...I passed.  




 

The earliest temples are dated around 900, like the one to the right, although the civilization rose in power in the late 1100’s and reached its zenith in the 1200’s.

Weaving in and out of the ruins, we didn't have time for all 76, and hit the high spots - me with a gleeful grin that seemed permanent.

 

 

 

 

We arrived at Ta Prohm through the jungle - the back way (Vuttha said that he could park the motorcycle inside the grounds this way - that the tourist police would stop him coming in the front).  What a treat!  Slipping along the outskirts of the complex was delicious - arriving to this sight.  Built in the mid-1200's, the tree seen overtaking the structure is 300 years old!




 



This place was Magical






           

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most amazing things to me were the ceilings - how did they get these enormous blocks of stone to form the high ceilings - the blocks resting together, unsupported?  Or, for that matter, how did they cut the blocks so perfectly that they rested together seamlessly...

And then we were on through the magnificent gates of Angkor Thom to the faces of Bayon.

The scale and artistry is Mind-boggling

Just as mind-boggling was Vuttha's cleverness!

 

 

 

 

       Gargantuan Faces!!

                                                                                         And a darling little temple boy

There was one more temple we needed to see before the end of the day - about an hour's trek up the road to Banteay Srei - the women's temple, renowned for it's delicacy.  

Beautiful filagree and scrolls     abounded on almost every        structure.                                      

The intimacy of the courtyards -
and the monkeys - were enchanting

 

My excellent guide, Dam Vuttha told me that many of the parchments of early history were stored in the temple libraries and simply turned to dust, and that the Khmer Rouge also burned historical records of Cambodia in the 1970-1991 'civil war' when intellectuals were slaughtered. 


 However, there are carvings on some of the temples – especially Banteay Srei ("citadel of the women"), which tell of two major periods – that of the ancient temples (before 1000) and the society of “the greatest king” who commissioned Angkor Wat and the surrounding 76 temples still standing in the UNESCO site, 9km in length.

Vuttha also said that there were several reasons postulated for the abandonment of the civilization, home to an estimated million people.  It seems as though there were invaders, shown in the friezes in Thom – the Cambodians are shown with long earlobes driving the Cham out (while we were there, some women from Phnom Penh asked him some questions and when he showed them Cham – they all said,” Ah Cham” – I had to google Cham to understand who they were. 

I hope that the current education system in the US does a better job now than when I grew up – in total ignorance of Southeast Asian cultures. Vuttha said that the civilization got so big that water became a problem – and that people began dispersing to other parts of Cambodia.

The next time I visit, I will have done more reading on the area, and ask Vuttha to school me more.

With major appreciation to Vuttha - a very special person.

 

Siem Reap - Repercussions

I’m really feeling it now – on the flight to Manila, the stewardess wouldn’t sit me in an exit row because I’m over 60 and a senior!  The older I get, the more  I ascribe to the Buddha’s teachings – especially that karma will get you in the end, and that for every action (or non-action) there are consequences – 99% of them unforeseen.   

And so many regrettable. 

The choices we make live long after we are gone with the ripples of repercussions.  I’ve certainly felt this on an individual basis, but am here referring to the bigger political-social scene.   In the Philippines, who knew that Imelda’s shoes (aka her voracious materialism and greed) would force the first People’s Revolution and plunge the country into economic despair, toppling the “Pearl of the Orient” to blood red in the global ledger.  Most countries in Southeast Asia have similar stories, but some are more striking regarding humanity gone amok.

In the 1960’s, Cambodia was a fairly stable and functional country until the
US-Vietnam war caused such friction. 

 In 1973, the US pulled out of Vietnam and many in Cambodia thought that democracy would gain hold, and that the former king would play a big part in the new government.  On April 12^th, the US left and on April 17^th, residents of the capital Phnom Penh were rousted from their homes and told that they had to leave for 3 days because the Americans planned to bomb the city .  

 Thus began the reign of terror of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.   A war against the intelligentsia, within 3 years 30% of the entire population was killed - between 1.7-2.5 million people – the educated and artists.  According to his youngest daughter – now a 24 year old student in Phnom Penh - Pol Pot (for "Political Potential") was only the  "driver of the car" – the car itself was supposedly China's Mao Tse Tung.  This daughter promises to make it up to the Cambodian people when she graduates, but I don’t know how that is possible. 

In 1979 Vietnam overpowered the Khmer Rouge and saved Cambodia from Pol Pot, establishing the People's Republic of Kampuchea - and a guerrilla war existed from then until 1991, when King Sihanouk was restored to the throne. But, the prime minister, backed by Vietnam, is a former Khmer Rouge soldier and opposition was quashed during the 'free' elections.  In 1998 - only 15 years ago, the Khmer Rouge  was finally eradicated.

Things amaze me:            
1. Imelda and her offspring currently hold congressional and senatorial political office in the PH,
2. the Prime Minister of Cambodia was a soldier in the Khmer Rouge and
3. US school children don’t even study this ‘civil war’ of Cambodia to understand how things work globally. 

The impact of China on all countries of Asia is huge – China wields a big stick and going against a giant has consequences, but - as I began this writing,  every action – or non-action – has consequences.  

 

 I visited a small killing field in Siem Reap (most are in Phnom Penh) –adjacent to a temple and monestary, where monks were bathing -  not much was there – except a glass-enclosed kiosk filled with skulls and bones – thousands of fragments of lives from a mass grave filled with bodies and trash. 

 

 

 

I had been reading the signposts on the temple and a faded tourist history with maps, when I turned and saw the skulls.  My heart stopped and I gasped loudly.  You can read about things in far away places, but they mean little until you really 'get' what events transpired.  And you don't find the meaning in 5 star hotels and beautiful tourist resorts.

A 10-minute drive away was the equally minimalistic and impactful War Museum, where I saw my first Kalishnikoff – incredibly heavy weapons.  And I now understand why shrapnel kills and landmines are deadly.

In addition to Russian weapons were lots of US ammunition and tanks from the Vietnam War – the US involvement in the war was totally avoided by my guide, and I could only wonder what a Russian tourist’s  guide would have said about the US - my guide said not a word.   

 

The destabilization of Vietnam has had enormous consequences on Cambodia as many will tell you - many Cambodians hate Vietnam and view the current Prime Ministeras that country's puppet.    

Bones were found in the tanks because unwilling soldiers were chained into them – returning alive only if they were victorious.         My guide, Thom (which means “big” - until last month when he contracted malaria and lost 50 pounds) was a consequence of Pol Pot’s actions – whether or not it was dictated by Pol Pot himself, or ordered by Mao. 

At 12, Thom’s family tried to flee to Thailand, but the border patrol stopped them – Thom was separated and has never seen his family since (he is now 37 years old).  At age 14, he was captured by the government, issued a Kalishnikoff  and told to kill his countrymen.  (My motorcycle guide, Vuttha, told me that during this chaotic time, he did not attend school, but hid from such soldiers – both sides would simply kidnap schoolchildren – girls and boys above 10, and force them to fight.)  At 15, shrapnel from a land mine blew off most of Thom’s left arm.  He described to me how they had no medical supplies and sawed it off with barbed wire.  Neither was there any pain killer – the pain was excruciating – he screamed for them to just chop it off, but they continued sawing.  Thom was a growing boy, and twice, his bone grew through the amputated arm – two additional surgeries were done to cut back the protruding bone.  Thom is grateful to be alive and has three sons, who are taught nothing of their country's recent history in school – the Prime Minister must be ashamed of his past and schools are not allowed to teach that part of history.  Thom, however, says that he will make sure that his sons know the truth when they are older.   Much is made of the Holocaust and “Lest they Forget” but we humans seem eager to forget and are lazy – even re-electing officials who were formally and publicly punished for their crimes.  I’m all for forgiveness – but give them something to do other than running the country!

And, to think that this happened less than 20 years ago is staggering to me.  If you want to read an excellently written book of a personal account of an 'intellectual' - a public works engineer who somehow survived, read "Stay Alive My Son" by Pin Thay. 

  

I purchased it for $5 when I was noshing on nachos at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Siem Reap.  A man came up and "handed" me a well-thought-out flyer, stating that he could not speak English and was a land-mine victim, but needed to support his family.  He carried a basket of books around his neck - I had seen the book at the War Museum and remembered the title - his eyes lit up when he recognized it - I waited for change and he just looked at me - sigh - of course he couldn't reach into his pocket to give me change - so I took the change and thanked him.  I began reading at my table through rather misted eyes.

To read what Cambodia had been and to think of the most educated people being executed and see the Cambodia of today, is sobering.  And this happened when I was in my 40's!  It is one thing to think intellectually about this, but another to experience it by talking to the people who have been so scarred by the inhumanity of a few, and amazing to me that this happens again and again.   As the writer Thay says in the book, when everything is stripped of you, there is no will and you just submit and accept.   Or, you die, as 2 million people did.  We Americans have no idea of 'life' and strife as much of the world knows it.

But, the Cambodian people I met were just delightful - they delighted in speaking English with me.   I was lucky to meet a wonderful guide, who agreed to take me to non-tourist places, along with the more touristy ones.   

We went to local eateries where he knew people and he ordered for me.  Not things I would have thought I would like, but I did.  Cambodian cooking is milder than Thai, but still has many spices, as opposed to most Philippine cooking that I know.  And, although I knew that Thailand and Cambodia loved crickets, I hadn't seen their procurement.  Lights are placed behind hard plastic sheeting, and a barrel partially filled with water is placed at the bottom of the plastic. 

At night, the lights are turned on and the crickets fly at warp speed into the hard plastic, stunning themselves, and fall into the buckets, where they drown.  Once the apparatus was explained to me, I began to notice hundreds of them on our journey.  Quite clever.

We also waited for a man who was returning from fishing - he carried wooden mesh crab pots and had a catch of fish, crabs and huge sea snails.





The things I will remember about Siem Reap are the wide, tree-lined avenues

 
perfect for bike riding;





the night market where I bargained for harem pants and sarongs;









The many religious temples, tombs and memorials

 

 

and the artisan center 

                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the best was riding on the back of Vuttha's motorcycle through the countryside and seeing things through his first hand narrative of life.  

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                           

  

Cambodia today is rebounding from the repurcussions of the Khmer Rouge regime, but has so far to go, and is wounded with scars that others cannot even imagine.  I hope to return to this land of atrocities and miracles since it was one of my favorite experiences in my life.

Thank you to the lovely people I met and especially to Vuttha who made it personal.





 

Kota Kinabalu - Sabah, Malaysia - on the island of Borneo

 I am thankful that my Philippines visa has required me to leave the country every 59 days - it has forced me to see more of Southeast Asia than I would have otherwise. 

One place I never would have ventured to is Kota Kinabalu or “KK” – the cheapest, closest flight to another country from the Philippines. 

 Actually the island of Borneo is closer to Palawan than Manila (6 hours versus 24 hours by boat). 

The Philippines and the province of Sabah, Malaysia share the Sulu Sea. So proximate are the land masses that in February the Sultan in Mindanao PH claimed Sabah as his and sent armed soldiers – rather reminiscent of Ireland – age-old conflicts over“ownership of the land.” Malaysia seems well-organized and strong enough to prevent this Mouse that Roared potential. I hope so. 
 
Ecologically too – our flora and fauna is similar to that of Borneo – we are separated from the PH by the invisible Huxley's Line - you can see it as a dotted line - encircling Palawan and leaving the rest of the Philippines. 


 






A different invisible line separates the island of Borneo into three countries – KK lies in the province of Sabah, Malaysia – Bali in Indonesia and the third country is the sultanate of Brunei. 
 

KK is decades ahead of Palawan regarding infrastructure, organization, planning and self-reliance – this four day trip was a real eye-opener for me.  The taxi driver spoke excellent English and was knowledgeable about the city – we talked about KK’s electric (hydro-powered) and he pointed out places for me to hike, discussed the annual Dragon boat races, the Sunday market and the price of living in KK as higher than in the PH. 



The tourist center in KK

Whoa!!  Clean Public Bathrooms?!

My friend Simon, regional director of the Special Olympics Asia-Pacific, went farther – comparing the PH and Malaysia and the countries that colonized them:  Malaysia by the British and Philippines by the Spanish - the Spanish as patrons who taught the populace to be beholden and gain their money with an outstretched palm; to believe in siesta and manana and a heavenly afterlife.  I’ve heard this before and it feels so racist that I reject it – but whatever the reasons, Malaysians in KK seem a lot more together than the Pilipinos I know in similar sized towns.  And, odd to me, the Sulu Sea fisherpeople who came from the Philippines and settled in Sabah, are looked down upon as almost barbaric by the Sabah Malaysians - a very different culture.

Simon took me to dinner in what first appeared to be an aquarium (and I was delighted).   

Colorful fresh fish

 

Looking closer, prices were evident on each tank - and away from the marine life, tables were arranged - everything in the aquaria was dinner! 






  I did not have rockfish or horseshoe crab, but did have some delicious and spicy fish with fresh seaweed.




Clams



Enormous horseshoe crabs - um, no thank you

            





Simon also arranged for me to visit schools and a Sabah SPED facility.  And I learned a lot.  Sabah has 32 government-run SPED centers for a near 4 million population.  They partner with Special Olympics and use specific methodologies for teaching and disciplining. 

 The behavior of the 35 children with autism at the center I visited was amazing – self-motivated and interactive – very unusual.   

In contrast, Palawan has about 1 million population and one public school with one class for autism – about 12 children are in the class.  

There are only 2 teachers with SPED credentials on the island  of Palawan – and I am one of them!  (However, I did hear that a new school is bringing a credentialed SPED teacher, so there will be three now - only two in the classroom).   I asked the teachers in KK about SPED laws in Malaysia and they told me they are well known and also heavily enforced – another major difference.  Perhaps the most noticeable difference was the “can do” attitude of the Special Olympic community organizer and of the SPED center director – watching them plan an event was great – as I told them, it was Inspiring  and illustrated  the potential for the PH, and depressing because we have so far to go.

The “20 minute” walk to the Dragon Race semifinals took me well over an hour, but it was well worth it – cheering-on each rowing team (although just like watching Ashley’s college crew races at Lehigh, you have to pay attention because it’s over so quickly...but, as opposed to Ashley's heats, I was lucky to get plenty of pictures of this
ocean race)



Their coxswain and his drum - pretty heavy!

Cheering on Their Team!

 

And on Sunday, I hit the Gaya market before my noon flight – one of the more delightful markets I’ve attended – everything for sale from blue and yellow gouramis to 7 types of rice to papaya trees. Beautiful people, beautiful dress, beautiful clean public toilets – I’ll be back!

PS – Already scheduled the next trip – a birthday celebration for my college roommate, Janet Herbruck, and me – May 2014 - to visit E. Sabah’s wildlife – Sandakan’s orangutans, pygmy elephants and bat cave.