Mixed Feelings, Visiting & Writing About Cambodia

I’ve been avoiding visiting Cambodia forever. When we were traveling around the world in 2018 we decided to skip it. My major concern was one of principle. Cambodia has elections every five years. A few months before every election the opposition party candidates are rounded up and thrown in jail for a few months, sometimes for years, so they are unable to campaign. The major opposition party has been banned since 2018 with help of the Supreme Court. Just last year they disqualified another up and coming party from the elections. Consequently, the prime minister has held his position for close to 40 years, with another five years ahead. His has ordained his son as head of the ruling party. Are you nervous yet?

As I write this I’m in Kuala Lumpur, just back from three days in Cambodia. We stayed in Siem Reap where the famous Angkor Wat temple is located. Our decision to go was simply that we hadn’t been there yet and it was very close to where we were going to be. I was able to let go of my concerns about the corrupt government, plus Laurie really wanted to go.

Siem Reap has a brand new one billion dollar airport and highway courtesy of China. So as America invests in bombs and wars the Chinese focus of international infrastructure. I’ve seen this so many times traveling. A deep water port in Sri Lanka, high speed trains in Laos and Indonesia, more than one hundred billion dollar investments in Malaysia, solar, rubber and industrial manufacturing plants in Thailand, and a new port in Peru. And those are just places I’ve travelled to.

Cambodia is a country located in Southeast Asia, bordered by Thailand to the west and northwest, Laos to the north, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest. It’s hot and humid. The people we met were genuinely friendly and helpful. And that struck me. Imagine living under a system where no other political parties are allowed. No chance of change. And the Cambodian people have resigned themselves to this way of life. And it’s no surprise, but the story is heartbreaking. Prior to the current political climate the country was terrorized by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge who held power briefly in the late 1970’s and killed close to two million of his fellow citizens (The Killing Fields). Pol Pot was the first to turn Cambodia into a one-party state. It took an invasion by neighboring Vietnam to oust him from power. Prior to Pol Pot the US invaded and bombed Cambodia as part of the Vietnam War. A sad, sad story. And if you’re not aware of the history It’s worth a few minutes of your time to read up on it. Yet Cambodians welcomed Laurie and I with smiles and open arms. Some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met.

The country features a diverse landscape, including the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest in Southeast Asia and the Mekong River which flows through the country. It’s hot and humid most of the time and that’s OK with me. We decided to do a brief three night visit and see Angkor Wat, the famous temple.

We arrived at the brand spanking new airport which was not busy at all, just our flight. The visa on arrival process is cumbersome and needs some kinks worked out. Probably the best is to secure the visa before you go. We stood in line, got to counter #1 and then were told we needed to download an app and fill a form online. If you don’t have a phone with Cambodian cell service this complicates things. We did get on the airport wifi but it was so slow we couldn’t fill out the form. I inquired at counter #8 and the guy just blew us off, at which point I responded by saying “What should we do now, just fly back to Bangkok?” He waved us off again in the direction of the original entry point where we asked another man about what to do. He gave us a tiny paper form which we completed and went back to counter #1. They took our passports. At this point I imagined we were really going to be sent back to Bangkok because I got wise with the guy at counter #8. We were then shuffled to counter #4 where we forked up $40 USD for two visas. Still no passports. Shuffled next to, you guessed it, counter #8. The guy who originally brushed us off where I had quipped “back to Bangkok?” He stood tall, expressionless. When our visas made it down to his counter, he took them one at a time, opened them, inspected them, stamped them and finally hit them individually on the counter with a loud smack. No words, no emotion, not clue as to whether we were supposed to get them now. I cautiously approached and retrieved mine, hoping that I was not on some list somewhere for being a wise guy.

Our driver was waiting with a sign with Laurie’s name on it. We got into a 2001 Lexus 350 SUV. Our drivers name was Tak, a young guy in his thirties, who started to learn English around age fourteen. The used Lexus SUV’s are the preferred vehicle and are all over Siem Reap, Cambodia. The cars come from the US. He paid $4000 USD but with his ten year 14% loan he’ll end up paying about ten grand in the end. What a racket. He took us to our hotel called “People by the Community” or simply “The Community”. Tak had a blue shirt with the logo as did all of the tuk-tuk drivers and hotel staff. There was a sense of team, of community. The hotel was really nice and was around $33 a night. A dollar a day goes to support a local school. The hotel does not offer bottled water but has invested in two purification stations for the tourists. A nice touch.

A guy named Bunny, who we believe is the manager, sat with us and told us all about the hotel, the area, Angkor Wat, and the team at the hotel. We had dinner at the hotel and it was adequate although a little pricey. We got a good night’s sleep and woke early for day one of the Angkor Wat temple tour.

In the morning we took a tuk-tuk to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. We treated the driver to a coffee there. I love surprising people. We hired a guide and headed out early to avoid the crowds. Maybe I’m late to the party here but I’m just realizing that guides talk nonstop. Not really what I’m looking for. We attempted to give him a break so we could have a break. We did a short meditation at one stop. The first day we visited three temple complexes which was plenty, as we were exhausted from the constant chatter.

For dinner we scouted out veg restaurants in the area. We decided to try a place called Peace Cafe. Peace Cafe was a five or ten minute walk from our hotel, away from the downtown area, in a local neighborhood. It had a large outdoor dining area with many different option for seating including a huge funky slab of tree cut into a big table where you could see the rings. Another option was a large platform where you could sit cross legged or maybe lay down. We opted for the standard table and chairs. Peace Cafe is awesome. The menu is specifically no onion – no garlic veg and vegan – exactly what we long for. The food was amazing. The staff kept busy cleaning or keeping an eagle eye on all the patrons to the point where if you even looked at the ceiling fan they were running to turn it on or off. If you looked over at any of the servers they ran right to your table to assist you. And the food, wow! We ended up eating here three times in three days. Amazing. This place is on our personal list of the top ten restaurants that we’ve eaten at around the world. That list is coming soon in a blog post 🙂

In addition to our tea hobby, Laurie and I have a hobby of taking cooking classes in many different countries, so naturally Peace Cafe offered one and we signed up. It was as amazing as the food and service. One of the owners did a private class and we made fresh spring rolls, papaya salad, and amok (khmer curry). We prepared everything from scratch and got to eat it all afterwards. It was all so tasty. We highly recommend it.

Day two we scoped out a few more temple complexes without a guided. It was such a different experience. Time to slowly wander around the temple ruins and grounds at our own pace. Most of the other temples other than Angkor Wat are not really crowded, especially if you go early. We did notice that the organized tours were trying to cover a lot of ground. For instance, at Ta Phrom temple, made famous by someone named Angelina Jolie/Tomb Raider, the organized tour stopped for a quick photo, staged at a famous spot, shot from the movie. We strolled the area for an hour. We spent the better part of the rest of the day visiting two additional temple complexes. It was fascinating and fairly quiet. Remember, whenever you visit places like this there are going to be tons of tourists. When you try to capture a photo it will most likely include tourists. If you use google photos for editing you may be able to erase those tourists 🙂

On our final night there we ventured downtown to the center of Siem Reap to another veg restaurant, Banlle, which was good. On the ride back to the hotel we got a look at the incredible night life. Night markets, tons of tourists, neon signs, souvenirs, and a street called Pub Street. You can imagine the loud music and partying, but of course we headed back for a good night’s sleep as we were heading back to Malaysia the next day.

Well the temple exploring was not over yet. Mr. Bunny at the hotel suggested that on the way to the airport we should stop at another temple complex, Bakong, on the way to the airport area. Wow, we practically had the place to ourselves and took plenty of time to explore. We took so many photos with no other tourists in them. Angkor Wat is famous, but we found the other five temples we visited were more interesting. If you ever visit Siem Reap, take the time to explore the entire area, not just Angkor. There is so much more to explore and see.

Siem Reap was a great choice for a three day taste of Cambodia. We really enjoyed the hospitality of everyone at People by the Community Hotel. They welcomed us with open arms which in and of itself is amazing, considering what they’ve gone through for so many years and the fact that we’re American. They are some of the most patient, happy, forgiving and content folks I’ve ever met. There is no way we can make up for what we did to Cambodia decades ago, but maybe visiting the country and getting to know the people is a good start. As always, feel free to reach out or comment here. Love you all. Peace.