In Cambodia, art, hardship ebb and flow

By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:02/24/2007 10:06:08 AM MST

Southeast Asia In the final installment of a three-part package detailing his trip to Southeast Asia, Tribune reporter Christopher Smart visits Siem Reap, Cambodia.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia - Lounging at a sidewalk café in Siem Reap, a tropical city of about 100,000, it's hard to equate the Cambodian people with either the Khmer dynasties that built the temples at Angkor Wat or the murderous Khmer Rouge that sought to destroy every aspect of this society.

Cambodia is a place of wonder and horror.
The ancient temples of Angkor are among the man-made Seven Wonders of World, and stand today as monuments to the Khmer dynasties that date back to the ninth century.

You can wander through these giant sandstone marvels for hours, days even, awed by their architecture and mystified by their unending passages and their Hindu- and Buddhist-inspired stone carvings.

And, of course, this country of 13 million, tucked between Thailand and Vietnam, was home to Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge - authors of the Killing Fields and other atrocities of the 1970s that claimed 2 million Cambodian lives. If you have a mind to, you can visit the Killing Fields. Many visitors do.

This little country is still trying to shake off the aftermath of armed conflicts that - one after another - swept through here for a decade, during and after U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

Cambodia is beautiful, but poverty-stricken. Next to Myanmar (Burma), it's the poorest country in Southeast Asia, despite the tourism boom around Siem Reap. The casual observer might reach the conclusion that if these people didn't have coconuts and landmines, they wouldn't have much of anything.

But a closer look reveals an undying spirit, and it keeps Cambodians smiling through each day. Maybe it's their belief in Buddhism, which instructs life is defined by suffering. Or perhaps it's a sense of their magnificent history. Whatever the reason, it's difficult not to be captivated by these polite people who wear quiet dignity in the face of sobering hardships.

Among the pleasures of traveling through Southeast Asia is staying at small, locally owned hotels. In these pensions, travelers are adopted as if they are special house guests. Visitors get a close view of the people and their culture than they might at large resort hotels springing up near Angkor Wat.

At the little place where I stayed, a pretty, young woman behind the desk greeted me enthusiastically. "Good morning, Mista," she offered with a big smile. "How you today?" Now that's the way to start a day.

In the evening along restaurant row in the Old French Quarter, you might bump into a couple of young Dutch women trekking across Asia. At a sidewalk table, you could buy them cold Angkor Beer for 25 cents a glass and fill the tropical night with laughter under a shimmering Cambodian moon.

Upon your return, no matter how late, your little hotel team will be waiting for you, as they were for me, making sure I got tucked in OK.

The next morning I was greeted like this: "Good morning, Mista. How you today? You have happy night last night!"

Getting around Siem Reap is quite easy by tuk-tuk - motorcycle-powered rickshaws. Just walk out the door of your hotel and half a dozen of them will offer to take you anywhere in town for 8,000 riel (about $2).

You can get to Angkor Wat and back for about $10. Or you can hire an air-conditioned car and driver and tour the entire area for about $40 a day.

The Landmine Museum is a little closer to town, although off the beaten path. The small attraction was birthed by Aki Rah, a Cambodian pressed into armed service as a child by the Khmer Rouge.

It is an important, if chilling, stop. Some 3 million landmines still dot the landscapes of Cambodia. Three people are killed or maimed each day, on average, when they trip over them. Nak Hajt, a 19-year-old guide at the museum, lost his right leg 10 years ago. He was outside his small village playing with his 10-year-old brother and 12-year-old sister when one of them tripped a hidden explosive. His brother and sister died.

This is the legacy of the Vietnam War and its destabilizing impact on Cambodia. Amputees are everywhere in Siem Reap. Few have prosthetics. Some become musicians. Some become artisans. One young man, who sold books from a push-cart near a favorite hangout in the French Quarter, had lost both arms to the elbow. Somehow, he managed to smoke a cigarette with his stumps. Others beg.

Earning a living in Cambodia is tough, even for the healthy. My tuk-tuk driver, who called himself Thomas, left Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, because there was no work there. He dodges authorities with his unlicensed cab and is happy to take his customers anywhere for practically nothing.

For about $4, he drove 12 kilometers south of town to giant Lake Tonle Sap. There, boats are for hire, making possible a visit to the floating village of Preak Toal, where people spend their entire lives on small house boats. Children even attend small schools on the water.

During the wet season, the village moves up the swollen Sangker River toward Siem Reap. In the dry season, the floating town is miles downstream. Inhabitants of the floating village cannot afford to live on land, and send pre-schoolers paddling out in tiny saucer-shaped floats to beg passing tourist boats for money.

Although there are other sights to see, most come here for the temples. Angkor Wat is the most famous, but there are a dozen temple complexes in the area.

It's possible to visit most of them in a day, but it's not a good idea. There is too much to take in, and a slow tour over several days is the ideal way to get a full appreciation of these intricate sandstone wonders.

The earliest temples, known as the Rulos group, were built of brick in the ninth century. But more than 1,000 years ago, the Khmer rulers harnessed elephants to haul giant sandstone blocks quarried from distant mountains to build cities like Angkor ÂThom.

You could easily spend half a day at Angkor Thom, believed to be the center of a community of 100,000 in the 13th century. Its gates were designed so one could enter riding atop an elephant. Some tourists do exactly that.

Each of the various temples has its own wonder and history, as one Khmer dynasty replaced another, century after century. But you'll want to visit the pyramidlike temples of Angkor Wat more than once. Surrounded by a huge moat, its giant towers symbolize Mount Meru, the center of the Hindu universe.

Built by King Suravarum II in the early 12th century and dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu god and preserver of the cosmos, its many facets are mesmerizing. Among them are eight stone-carved galleries that represent great kingdoms and fierce wars between good and evil.

There are excellent books with great photos of Angkor Wat and the other temples. To make the most of your trip, read up and hire a guide before arriving at the temple grounds. (Freelance guides lurk at the temples; some are better than others.)

Return on subsequent days without a guide to peruse at your leisure, with a reference book. The temples and their histories crack a glimpse into the past as you explore the sandstone relics.

High atop Angkor Wat, you gaze down dim corridors beyond ancient stone images and out into the brilliant green Cambodian landscape. Sitting quietly, you can almost feel Khmer history - the rise and fall of great empires and the harshness of war. And your world becomes a different place.

csmart@sltrib.com
Siem Reap, Cambodia
* WHY GO? The Temples of Angkor Wat are among the seven man-made wonders of the world.
* HOW TO GET THERE: Fly to Bangkok, Thailand, and on to Siem Reap.
* WHAT IT WILL COST: Round-trip airfare will cost $1,300 and up. Once there, lodging and meals can be as low as $50 per day. You can do it in style for $100 per day per person.
* NOT TO MISS: Angkor Wat, the temples that are the crown jewel of the ancient Khmer dynasties.
* WEATHER: Hot and humid. Pack lightweight clothing.
* WHAT TO EAT: Siem Reap has many good, modestly priced restaurants. Eat anything that's cooked and nothing that isn't. Be sure to try the fish steamed in spicy coconut milk.
* WHEN TO GO: The most popular time to visit is winter. Avoid large crowds at Angkor Wat by visiting in the fall. (The rainy season runs through October.)