Landing in Cambodia last night took me into a entirely different culture. The Cambodian people in the urban environment that has grown up around the historical site of the Angkor Wat temple and the other temples are quickly moving into the 21st century. They are not there yet but they are trying very hard. Clearly, with out the temples we would not have visited the area so we can only assume that other rural areas are much further behind. We were staying in one of their two five star hotels in the city of Siem Reap. The people who met us could not have been more gracious. When we entered the hotel there were about eight people in a welcoming party who clasp their hands together and bowed as we entered. I did my best impersonation of royalty greeting their subjects. In reality it was somewhat embarising. The hotel then hosted a dinner poolside repleat with a traditional show which reminded me of a scene from the "King and I". I have included a picture of the show and another among the cast members after the show. They even knew enough not to ask me to sing.
This morning we headed out to see the purpose for our adventure, the temples of Angkor Wat. These temples were constructed in the tenth thru the thirteenth centuries. They were abandoned because of hostile neighbors and the entire population moved to Phnom Penh. These temples were forgotten until a French explorer discovered them in the 19th century. Once discovered there has been a significant effort to reclaim them from the jungle which has been trying to consume them. As a frame of reference for movie fans these temples served as locations for Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider movie. Teams from all over the world are on site restoring various temples. One of the biggest conundrums is how to deal with the trees that have inserted themselves into the temples. If you don't cut down the trees they will continue to deconstruct the temples. On the other hand some of the trees are actually holding the buildings together. If they are cut down the temple will fall. Simply killing the tree and leaving it in place is not an option since the ground is saturated with the most voracious termites you can imagine. They will not attack a live tree. It is kind of a Mexican stand off.
The pictures I have chosen cannot do service to the countless man years that were used to construct these gems in the jungle. While the size and scope of the temple projects is enormus, it is not until you get up close to see that almost every surface imaginable has carved into it some intricate design or the likeness of a god or deamon. This is when the marvel truely starts to etch an appreciation for the people who created these lovely hommages to their gods.
It is impossible to concieve of these buildings being constructed one thousand to seven hundred years ago. The size of the stones which weighed up to 5 tons when coupled with the craftsmanship is inconcievable. The joints between the stones were so tight you cannot insert a slip of paper.
The society that surrounded the area in its heyday numbered 1 million. This is when the population of Paris was only 30,000. Today Cambodia is comming back. Most recently they endured the "killing fields" of Pol Pot, which lowered the population to about 4 million. That war ended in 1979. Since then their population has grown to 14 million. Needless to say, they have a very young population today. We are told that they have a very high infant mortality rate with 58% of children dying before the age of five. They also have the lingering effects of the war with about 4 million land mines still in the ground. They are activly working to rid the country of the mines and are scheduled to have the job done by 2015. Today one in every 350 people has a limb missing or is blind due to land mines.
A lot to talk about. I will save some for another day at sea.
Tomrrow Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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