Cambodia 2016

Trip of a LifetimeAugust 18th -September 9th

Map of Cambodia

KampotOur first meal together

Typical Khmer Meal

Ben & Tom relaxing at a sidewalk café in Kampot owned by Americans.

Longhaan fruit protected Khmer style

Main street in the sleepy seaside resort of Kampot

Ben by a typical Tuk Tuk

Typical Tuk Tuk ‘taxi’ in the background. Kampot is about a 45 minute ride in one from Phnom Penh. Within the cities fares were usually between $1-3.

Hotel Riki Tiki Tavi Breakfast PorchSince our flight had arrived early in the morning and check-in at a hotel in Phnom Penh wouldn’t have been until early afternoon, Ben felt it’d be better to leave the city immediately and travel to Kampot by van. Kampot proved to be the ideal place to relax and recuperate from the almost 24-hour flight.

Riki Tiki Tavi RestaurantGreat food and the friendliest staff!

Typical Khmer Market

Fresh Poultry

F l o w e r s , fl o w e r s e v e r y w h e r e !

Kampot: Sothy’s Pepper FarmThe young woman with us was a “travelling” volunteer from Europe. She’d previously volunteered in Vietnam and said she’d only been in Cambodia a few weeks. After working on the farm here for another few weeks she planned to move on to another site .

Pepper on the vineDepending on when they’re harvested, the pepper corns will be either white, black, or red.

Jackfruit growing on the pepper farm

Dragonfruit

Mobile Street Vendor

Kep: A Sidetrip out of Kampot

Kep is a a coastal tourist city located southwest of Phnom Penh. It’s particularly known for its seafood, especially large crab.

　　　

Kep Crabs! Eek!

Kep Crab Pots

Typical Kep Dugout

Riki Tiki Tavi Hotel in Kampot

Hotel Staff at the Hotel

Phnom Penh

• Although we’d flown into Phnom Penh, arriving early in the morning, Ben thought it’d be better to take a tuk tuk to Kampot, since we’d otherwise have to wait several hours before being able to access our room at the hotel he’d booked and also because he correctly felt that after our 24 hour flight we’d need time to relax & recuperate, with Kampot being the ideal location.

Independence MonumentThe Independence Monument was built in 1958 to commemorateCambodia's independencefrom France in 1953.

Streetside dental clinics could be seen throughout the city, often several in a single block. They all typically had one of these ‘shingles’ hanging overhead.

Market.

Sidewalk coconut vendor

Ben’s artist friend

Three of Ben’s Peace Corps friends in front of a mural by his friend, depicting the famous Khmer singer Ros Serey Sothea.

Ben’s friend’s studio in the family’s home

Phnom Penh Wat

Wat Wall Art

Offerings of Food

Shrine to Buddha within the Wat

School Children in their typical uniforms

On the way to the folkloric dance performance we passed the Royal Palace nearby.

Aspara Khmer traditional dance show

In Phnom Penh Ben suggested we take in the traditional Cambodian folkloric dance show, which the Peace Corps had arranged for his group of recruits a year earlier. The performance was exceptional.

This dance is called “The Grasshopper”

Mondulkiri @ the Tree Lodge

The owner’s family & some staff live at the restaurant and are shown here relaxing in the dining area inside.

This cabin was our lodging for the several days we spent at Mondulkiri

This gecko which usually only comes out at night is called a Tokayand is here climbing down theside of the Tree Top Restaurant.

Life is beautiful!

The Elephant Preserve at Mondulkiri

MondulkiriMondulkiri --"Mountain of the Mandala“– is a province bordering Vietnam to the east and south; it is the most sparsely populated province in the country despite being the largest in land area. The Mondulkiri Project.“My name is Mr. Tree. I have signed an agreement with the indigenous elders to rent a large area of forest to protect it from logging. This area is now an award winning elephant sanctuary. I hope you will come and visit the 6 elephants living at the Mondulkiri Project. Unlike other nearby sanctuaries the Mondulkiri Project is not owned by a foreigner. We empower locals by providing them with jobs at our sanctuary. We do not believe in having Western tour guides or Western volunteers taking paid work opportunities away from locals.We are a community development project, with monies raised being used to protect forests for our elephant sanctuary and to support the local hill tribes with employment, medicine and food donations.

Robin, Ben and some of the other visitors to the preserve had the chance to help bathe several of the elephants.

One of the preserve’s 6 residents – it was pointed out that the hole in her right ear was the result of abuse by her handler.

Bridge over Troubled WatersThough it might not look so, the water was flowing pretty quickly and the bridge was old, rickety, and swayed. Once you started across there were no handrails to help maintain balance and it goes without saying that it was pretty scary. That’s Tom pulling up the rear.

A gingerly crossing!

After the first crossing Tom found some poles to use as walking sticks. They helped maintain balance and were useful on the steep, muddy trails as well.

Can you tell Robin’s having fun?

The elephant is taking abanana out of Robin’s mouth!

Tom feeding the big girl!

Our room in the Tree Lodge...$13/night, private bath!

Preparing to Leave Mondulkiri for Battambang

BattambangBattambang province in north western Cambodia, was founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire. Battambang is the leading rice-producing province of the country. For nearly 100 years it was a major commercial hub and provincial capital of Siamese province of Inner Cambodia (1795-1907), though it was always populated by Khmer, with some ethnic Vietnamese, Lao, Thai and Chinese. Battambang remains the hub of Cambodia's northwest, connecting the region with Phnom Penh and Thailand.The city is situated on the Sangkae River, a tranquil, small body of water that winds its way picturesquely through the province. As with much of Cambodia, French Colonial architecture is a notable aspect of the city, with some of the best-preserved examples in the country.

Going Batty & Monkeying Around

• Phnom Sampov outside of Battamberg. Also called the Killing Caves since they were used by the Khmer Rouge as a burial site. At sunset millions of bats emerge from the cave in swarms.

Nearby neighborhood Wat.

Outdoor shrine at the Wat.

Having lunch with Johnny, his wife Night, and Anna. They are some of Ben’s closest friends in Cambodia.

Ben with Night, Anna, and Anna’s grandmother.

Robin showing old photos of Ben as a baby to his host family and neighbors.

The ‘welcoming’ party at Ben’s site Ben’s host family & several of the neighbor children. Ben’s host sister and brother are seated on the left. Our tuk tuk driver is seated next to Robin.

Village WatCandid of Tom, Ben’s host sister Sokha, and her youngest daughter Sokate leaving the main pagoda in Ben’s village.

The school at Ben’s site7th grade building where Ben teaches health, personal hygiene, and nutrition is on the left above; The primary school (kindergarden through 5th grade) building is adjacent to the secondary school and is on the right above.

Ben’s friends who are pharmacists for the clinic in which Ben works.

Roadside stands, often in people’s front yards, sell gasoline by the bottle.

Boat Trip from Battambang to Siem Reap

The trip, which was billed in the brochures as a leisurely ride down a serene, picturesque river, turned out to be something akin to the “African Queen.” The trip took about 6½ hours with the boat passing through “floating villages” and ending with the crossing of the Tonle Sap (largest freshwater lake in SE Asia). The boat was packed and included foreigners and locals who used it as a floating bus from Battambang to their riverbank village. Once there, dugouts would paddle out to pick them and their cargo, wares, & belongings up. One family had a sack of live ducklings among, which was a surprise puppy that climbed out and into Robin’s welcoming arms!

Robin & her little friend

Even in the poorest villages you’ll find beautiful, well-cared for temples or Wats, like this one along the river.

Unloading passengers

Had to switch the boat into "all wheel drive" to push through the water lilies

Life on the River

Unloading passengers

Christian Church on the River

Siem Reap

Siem Reap is widely renowned as the gateway to Angkor Wat, the millennium-old temple ruins of the Khmer Empire. Set along the Siem Reap River, this small provincial capital boasts hundreds of sightseeing opportunities such as well-preserved colonial buildings, unique museums, traditional markets, cultural performances, and verdant parks. This small but lively town close to the northern shore of Tonle Sap Lake has seen phenomenal growth as a tourist destination in recent years.

This was taken right outside our room.

Chateau D’Angkor La Residence

Wat Siem Reap

The Tuk Tuk here is loaded down with goods to sell around Siem Reap neighborhoods.

Ben & fellow PCV Jessie @ the Battambang Market.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat --"Capital Temple“-- is a temple complex that is the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 1,626,000 m2; 402 acres. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation.

Monkeys at Angkor Wat

We didn’t see any of the legendary Angkor Wat monkeys while at the various temple sites, but on the way out, we saw a large group of monkeys in the road along with several small groups of tourists.

We’d awoken at 4 to take a tuk tuk out to Ankor Wat to catch the sunrise, much as people do at Stonehenge. Unfortunately it was too cloudy and overcast for us to see it.

While it looks like a lot of visitors, Ben pointed out that during the high season in January or February a crowd this size would be considered small.

Angkor Thom, another of the 100 or so temples at Angkor Wat

Tom, Ben, & our Guide

Temple Bayon withour Tour guide Yon

Hybrid Buddha/Vishnu Sculpture at Angkor WatAngkor Wat has a rich history of both Buddhism And Hinduism, as shown here in this statuedepicting a combination of Shiva/Vishnu (body)and the Buddha (head).

Some of the many wall carvingsFound at Angkor Wat.

Ta Prohm Temple, part of the set for the movie Tomb Raider

Robin buying a few silk scarves at a fair trade store in Siem Reap

Real lotus flowers at ourlast meal in Seam Reap.

Robin at a bus stop on the road back to Phnom Penh. Here you could buy a wide variety of protein rich ‘delicacies’, including scorpions, roaches, crickets, and tarantulas.

Wat Langka, last stop in Phnom Penh

លាកម្ពុជា !