Experiencing Cambodia

Our 12-hour flight with Thai Airways went OK. When we landed in Phnom Penh, our guide (the first of three; Vann, pronounced Ran) and driver (Mr Pal) collected us and whisked us off on a city tour; pagodas, the royal palace, the Mekong river; afterwards a very welcome shower and siesta at the Raffles Hotel. The next day was a grimmer pair of visits to the 'killing fields' and the Khmer Rouge central prison and torture centre. This Maoist group killed two million people between 1975 and 1979, which is hard to believe, given the courtesy and gentleness of all the Cambodians you meet.

Days 3-4: travel to the west, in and around Battambang. We travelled a few miles on the 'bamboo train'; wagons consist of wood and bamboo panels, together with pairs of steel wheels. One young man drives each ‘train’ using a lawnmower-type engine. This started as an ingenious solution to the challenge of getting fruit and vegetables to market from a little village, but is now on the tourist trail.
We arrived at a traditional village house nearby dating from 1907, where we were to spend the night. We were a little surprised to be greeted by our hostess in very correct French, then remembered that France was the colonial power until 1953. This house was built of teak, with bedrooms upstairs, and an open space below for living, working, and (often) cooking. We dined on an excellent fish amok (a type of mild coconut curry); breakfast was a very typical soup and rice noodles.

Day 5: A trip by small boat from Battambang to Siem Reap, two fairly large cities, along rivers and the Tonle Sap Lake. The lake’s area doubles in the rainy season (May to November), and we saw many houseboat villages, complete with plants and animals; a floating village by the lake has many houses on stilts that looking rather like wooden skyscrapers.

Another day, we camped near a sacred waterfall. In the afternoon our guide took us to an isolated temple in the jungle, riding pillion with three young men on ‘motos’, along sandy trails and across stone pavements (pure moto-cross). Suddenly, looming out of the forest, was a life-sized carved stone elephant. That night, we slept well, despite the chattering cicadas. According to our guide, a local saying has it that Cambodians are like crickets, chattering all day, while the Chinese are like soldier ants, working endlessly.

We weren’t looking forward to the planned 25 km hike along the plateau the next day. Fortunately we hitched a ride with our motor-bike friends, which shortened the journey. With our guide’s help we could talk to villagers and other passers-by. The people in these villages have chickens, pigs, and a few cows, and grow coconuts, tropical fruits, and vegetables. Along our path we could see lots of areas of ‘slash-and-burn’, but resulting in fields of poor sandy soil. Later in the morning we chatted to two old ladies carrying a bundle of twigs. We learned that one was an herbalist, shaman, and a Buddhist nun (the ‘twigs’ were roots for medicines). She was delighted with an offering from Liza of less than one dollar, and sent us on our way with a blessing: May the spirits of the forest, the soil, and the water guide and protect you! Days 10-14: We drive on frequently terrible roads to the province of Ratanakiri in the northeast. It is a highland region of forests, and rushing streams. Today cashew and coffee groves, and rubber plantations are getting more common. The tribes have quite distinct languages, animistic beliefs, and their own customs (small huts for teenagers had some appeal, sacrifices of water buffalo less so). We had a couple of canoe trips to visit more remote villages. Their woodland cemeteries nearby have carved effigies of the dead, nowadays often with shades and mobile telephones. There was time for an elephant ride, a Khmer massage, and a visit to astonishingly low-tech gem mines.
Finally back to the capital for 24 hours in our comfortable hotel before the long flight to London.