Cambodian Travel feedback1

Caroline Surtees 15th february 2007 - by email to Andy at AboutAsia

My husband has for years wanted to see the temples at Angkor Wat and we have recently returned from a short visit to Cambodia to do this. We were so fortunate to be introduced by a mutual friend, to AboutAsia.

We only had four nights which we spent in the Auberge Mont Royal in Siem Reap, a delightful small hotel very close to the centre of the town but only a very few minutes walk from a ‘green lane’! We could have stayed in grander places but this suited us very well indeed.

In spite of only having three and a half days, thanks to Andy’s very thoughtful itinerary (and he was such a help in planning this, so very patient and kind) and to a very concientious guide, with an excellent command of English, we felt we received a very good introduction to Cambodia, which gave us a small understanding of the terrible times the people of this country have been through.

Naturally we saw some truly amazing temples, about which our guide gave us the history and explanations; it is so hard to believe that these enormous temples were built so long ago and I found the bas relief carvings on all the surfaces of the stones of particular interest. However, having had our fill of temples, we spent a very relaxing morning on the Tonle Lap lake seeing how so many local people live;, their houses either on ‘stilts’ or floating to cope with the rise and fall of the river which feeds the lake. We even went on scooters to find our car at one stage, which was certainly an unexpected experience, particularly due to the pot-holed and worse, terrain on which we had to travel!

We so admired these people and the stoical way in which so many manage their lives. Those severely injured by the mass of landmines, many unexploded still to be found in the ground and continuing to mame, are a lesson to all of us leading our easy lives. So many are given the chance to learn an art in the form of stone or wood carving, painting, weaving etc, to enable them to return to their villages and make a living. A viist to the landmine museum was not at all what I had expected, for as well as a vast assortment of these terrrible weapons with explanations of the awful damage they can do, were several very young people each with at least one limb missing, also learning how to manage their lives wth the help of overseas volunteers visiting the town for just a few weeks. I felt this could be a wonderfully fulfilling task to travelling students.

Also we were fortunate to visit an orphanage, full of children from babies up to young adults, whom had been found in the villages. Here they live, go to school in the town and have tuition in so many other fields. We watched them having a dancing lesson; this traditional Cambodian dancing is lovely to watch and it was so interesting to see these children learning the dances we had seen done by adults the previous evening. This orphanage is run by a westerner, with his local assistants, who were outstanding in their dedication and love for the children, never seeming to have time off, was so impressive. Here again there could be an opportunity for a young person to help out but he is not interested in them for just a few weeks but might be persuaded to give a gap-year student the opportunity to feel very worthwhile. The children all looked so happy in this wonderful place giving them such a happy home and preparing them for the future.

Even after seeing all this, we managed to have a good look around the market selling everything it seemed, from fish to silk and of course we were tempted and succumbed to this experience for the benefit of our children and many grandchildren.

February 2007

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