Lia Suhn Hao-y (Goodbye) Cambodia

Well after a rather hectic time in Siem Reap visiting the ancient temples of Angkor, we thought perhaps it was time for another boat trip so we headed off to Battambang via the Siem Reap River, across the western side of Tonle Sap Lake and up the Stung Sangke River. The ferry was an over sized longtail and could be described as a water version of a local bus as it stopped wherever anyone wanted to get on or off. In this country it’s possible as there are whole villages located on the water (called floating villages), even the schools are floating. The 5hr trip took 9hrs as the river was below the normal levels required for the larger faster vessel and the boat was pretty full of passengers. We only had 1 ‘rice’ stop which was unusual as normally the buses stop for rice top ups every 2 hrs. The locals here eat rice like the old F250 chewed up petrol and go about as far before needing a refill. While the locals eat rice the tourists search through the seaweed, squid and cuttlefish flavoured packets of chips looking for the forever elusive (non-existing) plain salted potato in the hope that one maybe left over from the war. Oh we do so miss our Smiths chips!!!

Cambodian life on the water

The life for the locals living on the water is far from the luxury we experience on Dreamweaver although they all seem to have satellite TV which we don’t. Their power comes from batteries which they have to get recharged each week at the local recharge station which is the lucky boat connected to shore power or has a generator. The “house boats” are generally tied to each other and migrate (towed) up stream of both rivers as the water level rises during the wet season (July – November) an extra 5m – 10m. The Tonle Sap Lake acts as a huge sump, collecting water not only from upstream rivers but also from the Mekong River downstream which backs up during the wet as the water cannot escape through the delta in Vietnam fast enough. This is why Cambodia is one of the most fertile regions in the world, why the Angkor Empire reigned for so long and why damming the Mekong in Laos would mean disaster for millions of Cambodian people.

Moving home

Arriving in Battambang in the rain we were inundated with tuktuk (pronounced took took) drivers again, as we tried to get off the boat which was via a narrow plank from the bow connected to a steep set of steel stairs rising up to the street level (literally we had to walk the plank to get off). Luckily we found a local who spoke good English, had a great sense of humour and knew a heap of Aussie slang phrases.He got us in when he yelled out come on mate let’s hit the frog and toad. He took us to the Vietnamese consulate first where we organised, paid and collected our visas within 15 minutes, easy peasy compared to our first attempt in China and a quarter the price. Next we went to a hotel he recommended which was first class; we took the penthouse top floor with huge garden balcony overlooking the town/city for US$17/night.

Battambang (disappearing stick) monument, depicts the origins of the city name and surrounding area

The next day we headed off with Kim our tuktuk driver/comedian to see the sights and what a great day it was, we learnt more in one day about Cambodia, Pol Pot, the Angkors, Buddhists and Hindu beliefs than we could ever have dreamt. 

The AK47 naga monument

First we saw the city architecture from the French Protectorate days and a Naga monument built in 2005 from AK47 rifles and other weapons left over from the wars, then a ride on a bamboo train “nori”which runs on the only railway track in Cambodia. The train is assembled by hand and is propelled by a small petrol engine with a v-belt connected to a pulley on the rear axle. The brake is a length of wood which is levered down on to the rear wheels. When 2 trains meet along the way the one with the least number of passengers  or lightest load must give way which entails full disassembly and removal from the rails to allow the other to pass.

Only moderately less comfortable than the local buses and about as fast

Next we went to another Angkor temple built earlier than those in Seam Reap and same same but different in  some aspects, after that spiritual moment we felt we should give something back to the local people so decided to help one of the poorer farmers we met along the way. He was traditionally ploughing his rice paddy to be ready for the up-coming rain. This was  not a good idea as you all probably know the colour red and bulls don’t mix well and in this case the plough was pulled by 2 big bulls as you can see from the photo things started off OK. You will have to see the video to see the final outcome. Not pretty but totally hilarious and thankfully no blood.

Lending a helping?? hand

On we went to our next destination while sampling some lotus fruit Kim collected from a roadside lotus pond, quite nice, the fruit pod looks like a shower rose. We decided to hire the service of 2 motorbikes with drivers/guides to ferry us up and down the 1km steep hill track to a temple and cave (known as the killing cave) which is where a lot of local people and monks were murdered by the Khmer Rouge and their bodies dumped down a cliff face which leads into the cave, not a pretty sight and again another reminder of man’s inhumanity. The view from the top of the surrounding paddy fields and hills was stunning.

The view from Sailing Boat mountain, the story behind the name ties in with the disappearing stick.

Off we go to the capitol Phnom Penh, another bus trip another adventure; this one was only a 2 rice stop trip so quite bearable and our front row seats gave us a bird’s eye view of the traffic chaos that unfolded before us. The buses drive down the centre of a two lane road playing chicken with each other, whoever is the biggest physically claims right of way with the smaller pushing back into the right-hand lane with total disregard for anything smaller again, motorbikes can easily be forced off the road altogether. Our tolerance to buses is obviously improving as we are now becoming quite adept to tuning off to the Asian love songs which are played at full volume incessantly for the duration of the journey, if we ever show signs of enjoyment please shoot us quickly and relieve our misery.

The view from our balcony in Phnom Penh you can see the Mekong junction at the end of the spit which is now covered with water

The room we found in Phnom Penh was fantastic and the staff were great, it was where all the best restaurants were located and had uninterrupted views across the road to the river and boardwalk, we were almost directly opposite the river junction where the Mekong River meets the Tonle Sap River causing it to flow backwards upstream towards the lake. The boardwalk is a narrow version of the Strand with heaps of people and activity every evening but as you can see not in the mornings. It was great to just sit back on our balcony with a beer and/or rum and watch the goings-on. One afternoon we looked up and there was an elephant walking past, we could have jumped on its back.

Surprisingly it works

While here we checked out the sights, firstly the” killing fields” and the Khmer Rouge prison S21 where the worst of the atrocities took place between 1975 and 1978, unfortunately because of local political interference and international embarrassment at what happened the perpetrators have not and most probably won’t ever be convicted for their obvious involvement in the crimes committed against the Cambodian people. The government here is intentionally keeping the people uneducated to prevent any opposition forming, so that the people’s only focus is survival by whatever means possible. Despite the severe hardship they face they are by far the best people we have met throughout Asia,even with a lack of education English is widely spoken and understood so communication is easier.

S21 prison was a school which they closed, the cells are 2m long x 800mm wide and each prisoner was chained to a steel ring grouted into the floor within the cell. Only 7 out of 17,000 survived.

Next we went to the Royal Palace which is a smaller version of the Thai Palace although it still possesses many ancient and modern artefacts and buildings. The royal family here are predominantly figure heads only, having very little to do with the running of the country, same same as most other monarchies.

The Silver Pagoda (home of the Emerald Buddha) at the Royal Palace, the floor is covered in sterling silver tiles each weighing 1.5kg 

We also paid a visit to the local “Kingdom Brewery”which is a private company that brews a local pilsener using German ingredients, it’s called Leopard. We had a personalised tour with the brew master who guided us through the whole production process and then helped us polish of a few, well, OK a lot of samples including an as yet unreleased dark ale which was bewy lubberly!!

 

Kim our driver in Battambang hopes to make it to OZ one day

Well we have certainly enjoyed our stay in Cambodia and could easily spend more time here, but have decided to move on to beat the impending wet season. In the week we have been here in Phnom Penh the river has already risen 1 meter and every day the clouds get thicker and darker, luckily for us however there’s been no rain.We will certainly return and check out the provinces further south and west or just sit back anywhere in this country and enjoy the local people, food and cheap beer. Its certainly worth a visit if you ever get the chance.

Bye for now,

Beers and Cheers from the Kingdom Brewery tap room bar

J&J