Cambodia with a smile!

After more than three lovely weeks in Vietnam, it was finally time to move on to our second Southeast Asian country, Cambodia. So last Sunday, Amit and I boarded a rustic motorboat in Chau Doc (a city near the Vietnamese-Cambodian border) and set off for the border crossing on the Mekong River. After a few hours boating through the remainder of the Vietnamese Mekong, we arrived at a building on the river's edge that housed Customs and Passport Control... luckily, this time Amit only used one passport, so we didn't get hassled or have any trouble. Once on the Cambodian part of the Mekong, it was like the Communist cloud that had been hanging over us in China and Vietnam lifted, and all of a sudden, the people began to smile at us! The Cambodians we passed during the rest of our boat trip waved at us and jumped up and down on the river bank... actions I'd like to interpret as our informal welcome to Cambodia (although perhaps they were just excited to see weird-looking foreigners!). What a difference compared to the generally dour disposition of the people we met throughout China and Vietnam. One of the even more heartwarming aspects of this experience was the noticably greater poverty that we immediately saw in Cambodia. Many of the people outside the major cities live in shacks or huts made of palm fronds, corrugated metal, tarp, cloth, and whatever other materials they can find. There are no beds (the kind with mattresses that we're all familiar with); the people sleep on straw mats on the floor or hammocks in their home or shop. Many times, those with business related to the river (fisherman and transporters of goods/people) live in their boats (i.e. they don't have another home... the boat is their work and home). But despite the appearance of extreme poverty, the people smile much more than others we've met throughout Asia. It truly makes you feel welcomed as a visitor! When we finally got to Phnom Penh, we took a tuk-tuk (a covered cart pulled by a motor bike) from the bus drop-off point to our hotel, and we were disappointed to find the hotel was more expensive and less attractive/clean than we'd experienced in Vietnam. But we decided for convenience, we'd tough it out. On a related note, let me quickly tell you about our accommodations in SE Asia. As you probably remember from South America, we stayed almost exclusively in youth hostels, renting dorm beds in co-ed rooms of 6-9 people. In SE Asia, these are much less common. Instead, the cheap accommodations are "mini-hotels," which are somewhat akin to motels (although they usually have indoor hallways). The rooms are simple and stark, although usually clean and serviceable. The reception desk typically doubles as a travel desk, with information about local sight-seeing and transportation to other popular regional destinations. There is an over-abundance of these mini-hotels, so we've mostly had our pick of the litter, and because of this, throughout Vietnam and now in Cambodia, we've been arriving at our destination, scoping out the hotel options, and choosing our favorite (rather than booking in advance). Sometimes it doesn't exactly work out, like in Phnom Penh, where we were disappointed with our hotel. But we've been lucky overall, and have enjoyed our privacy, as opposed to the communal living forced upon us by our budget in South America. Much of our time in Phnom Penh (pronounced P'nom Pen in Khmer) was focused on touring the sites related to the Cambodian genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge. Our first stop in the city was the Tuol Sleng Prison museum, which contains educational exhibits on the history, politics, and tragically, the inhumane torture and execution of 1.7 million people by the Khmer Rouge, a revolutionary Communist group that violently took control of the country between 1975 and 1979. The prison, formerly known at S-21, was mentioned in an Associated Press article today about the recent trials of the war criminals from the Khmer Rouge... you should read it! Our second stop was the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, slightly outside the city, where the Khmer Rouge took the prisoners from S-21 for execution. This was a very moving experience, similar to visiting a concentration camp in Germany. The mass graves (i.e., pits) have grown over with grass, and a beautiful memorial (albeit a bit creepy, with hundreds of skulls on view through glass panels) has been erected, for the 17,000 people killed at this particular killing field. The serenity of the experience makes you realize how precious life is, and how devastating it is when millions of innocent people are killed in the name of a ridiculous and unattainable social ideology. Overall, while we didn't find Phnom Penh a particularly beautiful city, we had some very moving and interesting experiences, and we did see a few beautiful sites (see the picture of the National Museum and Palace to the right), ate at some great restaurants, and enjoyed a terrific introduction to the Cambodian people! A few side notes to add out of context: First, we have had the opportunity to eat a lot of strange fruits while we've been in Southeast Asia. I'm including several pictures in this post so you can get a sense. These unique fruits are available for sale everywhere, and the locals snack on them all the time (rather than our typical processes, packaged snacks). Second, Cambodian currency is a very strange phenomenon. They have their own unique currency, the riel, but for most things they actually use US dollars! Out of the ATM machines come US dollars, all of the prices in restaurants and shops are in US dollars, and when you receive change from a payment, you will usually get the large change in US dollars and the small change in riel (4000 riel = 1 dollar). Very odd to be all the way on the other side of the world, in a very foreign country, and have the most commonly used currency be our own! And third, I'm happy to report that we recently found out that we will not be assessed a Thai customs fee for the custom-made clothes we shipped to Thailand from Vietnam. The hotel in Thailand emailed us to tell us that the package arrived, fee-free, and they would hold it for us until we get there. Hurray!!! So that's all for now... look forward to a very exciting post soon to come about our visit to Angkor Wat, where we've spent the last few days. Love, Dena & Amit

Two boys on the Mekong River, waving to us from their boat Little boys smiling and sticking their tongues out at us A devastating display of children killed by the Khmer Rouge in Tuol Sleng Prison museum The tower of remembrance at the killing fields Amit, placing some incense and flowers at the memorial for those who died at the killing fields The killing fields at Choeung Ek, with several mass graves (pits) visible Amit with our tuk-tuk driver, Hung... check out the Cambodian smile! Me, in front of one of the buildings in the Royal Palace compound A few fruits stands near the market, displaying all of the crazy and delicious fruits we've been eating in SE Asia Amit eating a spiky fruit that is probably related to a lychee (we don't actually know the real name) Plates of the tiny tropical bananas, mango (2), and jackfruit