I Heart Cambodia

"Don't you know the history of this place?" a serious-looking security officer said as he approached Kim. She was gazing, awestruck at the enormous roots of an ancient tree which had grown up through the dense sandstone walls of the ancient temple named Ta Prom.

"Not really," she admitted.

"Historically," the officer said, "this is where Tomb Raider was filmed."

So it goes. The Cambodians love their country, they love to smile and they love to talk. They talk to everyone, anytime about pretty much anything.

We met several hyperactive Cambodians who just wanted to meet us, tell us about their country and learn about America. They want to know how many brothers and sisters we have and if we have been to California. In the same breath they’d tell us about how much they love dancing and which family members they lost in the brutal Cambodian civil war.

Then came the main attraction: The temples of Angkor, one of the wonders of the world. They are huge complexes of buildings carved entirely out of sandstone. Every inch of stone is intricately carved with faces, patterns and multilayered battle scenes depicting cultural legends. In theory, it is stunning to walk through these old corridors and feel the peace that emanates. In reality, we were not the first Indiana Jones wannabees to discover these temples. About fifty million people have gotten here first, and it seems many of them were still milling about taking photos of themselves in front of every inch of the moldy architecture. Everywhere at Angkor there are tens of thousands of tourists pouring out of tour busses wearing matching pink polo shirts, squawking at swarms of each other through bullhorns and running wholeheartedly amok.

Kim, admittedly, enjoyed it when some snap-happy Japanese teens snatched her from deep meditation and began posing with her as if she was a Disney character. Dan’s sense of humor evaporated much faster when his left eyeball was nearly removed by a careless umbrella-wielding Korean.

Long gone are the days where one might simply sit and appreciate the temples. The Angkor experience has now evolved into a cutthroat game of us versus them. One cannot simply “show up” at the temples, for that would mean being crushed by stampedes of eager tourbussers. One must strategize and schedule “temple experiences” at particular times of the day. Once inside a temple, one races through the ruins, hurdling over small “curious” children and pushing “unwitting” elderly persons down stairwells, allthewhile “soaking up” the precious atmosphere of the ancient ruins. The temples are not fun, and they are not for the weakhearted. They are for people who are compelled to take photos with themselves in the foreground. They are for people who wish that Disney Land had no rides, no shade and all the dressed-up characters were tearful amputees.

But seriously. Everything we saw was excellent. The temples are so amazing and so powerful that even sharing them with thousands of other people does not negate their beauty. The best temple we saw was called Beng Mealea. Our excellent friend Peet Hayes told us it was his favorite, so we hired Mr. Ohda, an energetic tuk-tuk driver for the 2-hour jaunt to the temple. Thankfully, the tour buses didn’t make it that far; we shared the ruins of the ancient temple with maybe ten other visitors. We were left to climb through, on, over and around what was left from this ancient civilization. Vines and tree roots were actively pulling the place apart brick by brick. Dan followed some shoeless children through a crevice in the temple walls and across some precarious ledges. Kim meditated patiently in the shade of a tree which had grown up right through the rubble. We felt the power.



A note on the video: our first cut was full of gratuitous shots of tourists swarming around us, but in the end, we felt like remembering the temples of Angkor as pristine, beautiful; a secret. In a few years we’ll look back at our video and hopefully convince ourselves that we didn’t edit out 19 minutes of obnoxious tourists. Probably not, now that we’ve written this paragraph. Alas.

The city of Siem Reap is a full-blown tourist trap in the best sense. There are restaurants and bars serving every taste, nationality and fashion trend. One might crunch a taco and drink margaritas at a Mexican restaurant, cross the street for Johnny Walker shots at a punk bar, then stroll to the patio of an island-themed restaurant and sip shmansy cocktails flavored with exotic juices and Malibu rum. There’s shopping for knock-off items that are so knocked-off they even have spelling errors. Pumas (Pmuas), Adidas (Adida), cheap massage joints, crappy Vietnamese restaurants, sumptuous Pakistani-style Indian restaurants, organic smoothies and salads (at The Blue Pumpkin ) and even some supposedly authentic spots to sample local fare like “Cambodian curry”.

After a week in Siem Reap it was finally that time again. We loaded our iPods with Martin Scorsesi movies and country music (Dan and Kim, respectively). We dosed Kim up with a cocktail of motion-sickness pills. We stepped into a massive, air-conditioned bus, and sped south towards the wild, thriving Cambodian capitol city, Phnom Penh. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Love
Dan&Kim

beth posted on 2008-02-26 at 10:03 am

Wow! Thanks all I can say! The trees are amazing and the temples are beautiful. I'm so happy you get to experience this. I'm glad you found a spot off the beaten path. (Oh yeah..and Katerina is just jealous! ha! She's flying out of the country today...so she can't complain....well. :) Ha!) peace and love

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Kim posted on 2008-02-07 at 4:11 am

Ok, I just want do defend myself. When Dan says that I loaded country music onto my iPod, you must know that it wasn't the horrible stuff they play on the radio these days. It was Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings... and we all know that their stuff is classic. Old school country music is awesome.

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Nash! posted on 2008-02-06 at 11:32 pm

"If there is, in fact, a Heaven and a Hell, all we know for sure is that Hell will be a viciously overcrowded version of Phoenix..." - Hunter S. Thompson (1939 - 2005), Generation of Swine

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Auntie Wendy posted on 2008-02-06 at 9:52 pm

Phenomenal, amazing, intriguing, and so much more. Words can't possibly define how unreal the ruins are. How did they build around the tree roots, or vise versa? Kim, you left here a young beautiful girl and some of these pictures of you show a young gorgeous woman. Who is this famous model? You two have made this vicarious vacation ever so enjoyable. Again and again, thank you for sharing. Love to you both!!! xxxoooxxxooo

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Melanie posted on 2008-02-05 at 11:42 am

Hey Dan and Kim, Mom mom (Terry, your mom's bff :-)) told me about your website. I am amazed! This is an adventure that people only dream of experiencing!! Your pics are absolutely beautiful as always.:-) Wishing you lots of luck and love for the rest of your trip..stay safe. Melanie :-)

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Mom posted on 2008-02-04 at 6:26 pm

Great photos! Cambodia is a place I want to visit. These temples are magnificent.Be well and looking forward to the next adventure. Phnom Penh. Hugs and kisses. xoxoxoxox

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Mark Rosen posted on 2008-02-04 at 2:05 pm

WOW!!!!!Dan, your Dad sold me a condo a month or so ago...and he told me about your web site and adventure...all I can say is WOW!!! My wife Patty and I live up in Alaska...and I thourght I was always searching for adventure...but you have beat me out!!! Would love to meet you when you get back to the states.. Mark

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jenn posted on 2008-02-02 at 12:47 pm

You're photographs out-beautiful any other guide/coffee table/etc book out there! I lalalove your www., too! Thanks! ~jenn PS Kim - you have fantastic hair.

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Vannasin Chidgakhan posted on 2008-02-02 at 5:38 am

Dearest Dan and Kim
Thanks very much for beautiful picture,vedio clip and nice www.
I'm so happy to saw you and kim in the picture and vedio clip.
May I wish u and k so happy for ever in ur life
Best regards
Hope read ur sweet sms from u and k again.
Sleep well,with ur love.
Vannasin.

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Anna posted on 2008-02-01 at 4:55 pm

and I heart your pictures, videos and you guys!! thanks again, always, for allowing me to get some breathtaking shots of the world beyond... hope to be able to see it in person someday... thanks, guys!! stay happy healthy and safe!

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katerina posted on 2008-01-31 at 5:46 pm

oooh, that one came so soon on the heels of the one before ~ love it! as always, it was awesome and thanks again for rubbing it in our faces...

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