Cambodia and Vietnam - Part 3

A few more photos of Cambodia before heading to Vietnam

We saw many monkeys in and around the temples.

Foot Massage-the fish eat the dead skin. Jim was very interested, but decided against it.

We also didn't try out the margaritas-frozen margaritas without ice?

Traditional Cambodian Aspara dancers

One of the most disturbing things we saw were the floating villages on Lake Tonle Sap. The Cambodians have been living and fishing this way for a couple of centuries and the Vietnamese left their homes more recently for a safer life here. It is dreadfully poor, unhealthy, unsanitary and our visit left us all with a feeling of despair.  

This area is also a part of Lake Tonle Sap, but the people live here only during the dry season, surviving by fishing. When the rains come, they pack up their houses and belongings and go to the mountains where they grow vegetables until they return to fish again.

Cambodia and Vietnam Part 2

With the final end to the wars and conflict in Cambodia and the naming of Angkor  as a World Heritage Site, Siem Reap’s tourism industry has quickly grown. The city has gone from one hotel and a few restaurants in 1992 to hundreds of hotels and restaurants, including many five star hotels.

We visited Angkor Wat, La Prohm Temple, and Bayon Temple, all within the area of Angkor, three of hundreds of temples in the area. It is estimated that Angkor probably had about one million people living in that area around the 12^th century, while the population of London  at that time was around 30,000. It seems as though a shortage of water was the reason for the decline of the population. 

The jungle taking over La Prohm Temple

Can you find Jim outside of La Prohm Temple? (He is wearing a hat)

Vishnu greeting us at Angkor Wat

 

 

 

About to enter the temple of Ankgor Wat

In Bayon

One of the demons outside the Bayon walls. (the one on the right!)

 

 

 We visited a silk farm that is part of the Artisans d’Angkor. Silk weaving had almost vanished, but the ancient craft is being revived and supported and is slowly finding a place in today’s society. The thread from one silkworm is about four hundred meters long. 

Cambodia and Vietnam Trip-Part 1

We were excited preparing for our Southeast Asia trip, having heard wonderful things about visiting Cambodia and Vietnam, but also a bit apprehensive. Vietnam doesn’t exactly evoke pleasant thoughts for any of us, and Jim’s last “visit” certainly wouldn’t be described as “wonderful”.  In fact, he recalls bullets coming at him!

The conference was excellent, as were the tours and tour guides. One of my favorite activities was a four hour bike ride through the countryside, visiting a village market, a Buddhist temple and school, and seeing the local people in their market and homes. The children always came running to greet us, and we waved and said hello at least fifty times. 

We read about the gentle Cambodian people, and we found that to be true during our short stay. Despite the poverty, past atrocities, and current hard life, we saw much hope in and around Siem Reap. 

One of the hopeful places is the Angkor Children’s Hospital. Ron Ablow, a pediatric radiologist who spends one month each year at the hospital and is a big part of the success of the facility, gave a tour to a small group of “guests” (spouse, friend, partner, child,etc) of the conference. They see five hundred children a day, educate the moms in cooking, hygiene, medical care, basically “public health” that is not available elsewhere. And it is all free. Satellite clinics are being started in outlying areas so the children can get care closer to their homes before they become so ill. A team of doctors from California had been there a short time before to perform about a week of heart surgeries. It is truly a remarkable place. 

Another success in Siem Reap is Artisans d’Angkor, a school for young people to learn the old Cambodian skills of silk weaving, stone carving, lacquering, and other crafts. The students become self-supporting with their crafts, many returning to their villages and others staying on as teachers. 

Tourists get around Siem Reap in tuktuks.

A village market. No begging, just villagers in their daily lives.

The children ran from the schoolyard to greet us.

The inpatient ward at Angkor Children's Hospital

One of the students at Artisans d'Angkor