An eye opener

January 3^rd.

Today I visited two more ancient ruins the first one being Bantay Srei. Even before we could get off the van kids were raiding us to buy things. None the less, I was easily amazed by all the intricate carvings. This area was pretty small compared to the Angkor ruins. To the righ musicians playing beautiful Cambodian music. I went closer to listen and learned a sad part of history. The music was played by land mine victims. Some of their faces were deformed, completely scarred, missing eyes, and had missing limbs. It was a depressing sight to observe. Northern Cambodia is still filled with millions of land mines to this day. About 30-40 mines are accidentally triggered each day. This was one of Princess Diana’s main concerns she helped with. As we walked to a bathroom site some mine victims just sat a bit off the dirt road gathering pity money for their disfigurements. They didn’t even need to beg or say anything, people just gave money. Cambodia is still suffering and dealing with past trauma from the 70’s with genocide and horrible acts inflicted by the Khmer Rouse. If you were educated, you were killed; the rouse believed the country should only consist of farmers among many other requirements. They basically had a small holocaust in place. According to Seng Hak their motto was, “It’s better to kill 10 innocent people than to let 1 enemy go free.” Disgusting.

Driving to the Bantay Srei ruins we drove past many villages. Along the way you could see wells with signs posted that someone had donated money to have a well dug. It costs about $120 to make one…Only 22% of Cambodia has running water, an even higher percent doesn’t have electricity. I dislike using a bidet and bringing my own toilet paper with me, I’m spoiled at home. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a village along the road. Their living conditions were so horrible. Makeshift bamboo huts, living near their livestock, dirt everywhere, naked children running around, and dogs with diseases exposing raw skin. It was so primitive and unsanitary I didn’t want to believe people really lived like this. We greeted the people, who were very friendly and all smiles, bought some things from them and left. I had a whole new appreciation for the saying, “You better eat all your food, there are people in Africa who’d love to eat that.” Along the way we came across some water buffalo, many items the locals sell are made from their horns and also all the abundant palm trees. Cambodians can’t and don’t leave any resource unused.

The last ruin we visited was Ta Prohm. It is a remarkable site where the trees and the monastery intertwine in many intriguing ways. Some strangling figs were an incredible sight. This was a ruin sight that was left in its natural state, just pieces laying everywhere. In the very center is this unique area where you can pound your chest and it creates an incredibly loud sound! Our last visit for the day was a hike up to Phnom Bakeng at sunset. This was a beautiful and calming view of all Cambodia. In the distance you could see Angkor Wat. LOTS of tourists were here. Everyone sat calm and collective just watching the sun set. Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat are the two ruins where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider. Our guide Seng Hak has met her and her son.