Where in the World-Episode 3 - La Fuji Mama

You guys are pretty smart! As a couple of you correctly guessed, we were in Cambodia! Siem Reap to be exact.

At the beginning of our stay we hired a guide and driver for the day and went out to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Wow. It was like stepping onto a movie set. Very impressive. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

After the ruins, we went to the killing fields. They are very small compared to the ones in Phnom Penh, but worth the visit. Very sobering.

Our guide mentioned that his father was killed by the Khmer Rouge when he was 11. By the end of the day we felt comfortable enough to ask a few more questions. He has very awful clear memories of that time. All of the women were kept in one area, the men in another, and the children in another. He said even the children were made to do hard labor, living on about a handful of rice a day, and not being allowed to wear shoes (only a black tunic type outfit issued them). The conditions sound horrendous. He talked about how angry he was, that he wanted to kill them for killing his father. He also talked about how many Khmer Rouge officials now hold high ranking political positions here in Cambodia, and how scary that was.

Then we went to a school that was sponsored by France, and then the EU up until about 6 years ago, but is now self-supporting. They bring 18-25 year-olds in from rural areas and teach them traditional Cambodian arts/crafts such as stone and wood carving. We got to walk through the school and see the different processes. One of the classes teaches deaf mutes how to do silk paintings. They communicate through Cambodian sign language.

One sad fact about Cambodia is that there are still land mines. In fact, Cambodia is riddled with them. Our guide said that the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) estimates that there may be as many as four to six million mines and unexploded ordinances in Cambodia. Can you imagine?

On our second day in Cambodia we hired a taxi driver for the day and went back to Angkor Thom to specifically go to the temple, Ta Prom, that they jokingly call the “Tomb Raider” temple, because part of Tomb Raider was filmed there.

It was spectacular. It is one of the only ones that has not had really any restoration done on it, so the jungle has literally taken over.

They say that it looks as the other temples probably would have when European explorers first stumbled upon them.

After that we drove about 35 kilometers outside of Siem Reap to an extremely small town called Roluos. We drove to one part of town where the paved roads stopped and then drove as far as was possible on the dirt roads. Then when they got bad enough, we hired two motorcycles (they call them “motos”), and rode on the back of them for about 45 minutes on very bad dirt roads. On either side of us were rice fields, jungle, or water canals.

We finally reached a teeny tiny village that was made almost entirely of bamboo and palm fronds. The houses where on tall stilts, so to get into them you had to climb stairs. During the rainy season (it’s the dry season right now) the water can get very high there and they then navigate the village by boat.

We then hired a long boat that took us out to a village (it may just be a continuation of the village, I’m not sure) alongside a flooded forest called Kompong Phhluk. The village was completely in the water, out on a lake called Tomle Sap Lake. The village was far out enough that it would be either impossible, or would take a very long time, to swim out to it.

The people had enclosures in the water where they had live fish, and one enclosure that contained live crocodiles (they eat them).

It was amazing.

I asked at one point if I could take a picture of the school children and they got really excited. Mr. Fuji took a picture of me with them and then I showed them the picture, and they were literally climbing over each other to get a look.

Most schools here work in two shifts, a morning shift where 1 group of students attends from 7 to 11am, and then an afternoon shift where a 2nd group of students attend from 1 to 5pm. There are not enough schools or teachers to have it any other way.

We then got back on the motos and drove back out and met up with our driver. The entire time, from the time we went in on the motos until the time we drove out, we did not see any foreigners. It was an incredible experience.

Our driver was parked at a home, and a woman held up a dead snake to show me. I asked about it, and her husband (I think) explained that it was a cobra that they had just killed. They have had chickens disappearing for the past couple of days, and then someone finally saw the cobra this afternoon out by the toilet, and they were able to catch it and kill it. Cobras are very common in this area, and tend to be a big problem and very dangerous! The Cambodian people love to eat them, and believe that they have healing powers, using their skin and especially their liver to make medicines.

After that we drove to a small grouping of temple ruins in Roluos, which were beautiful, and then drove back to the hotel.

For dinner that night we had a meal of a variety of meat barbecued at our table. Most of our meats were normal, such as chicken and fish, but we did have some crocodile and python!

The rest of our time in Siem Reap was spent exploring the town itself, going to the local market, and enjoying the salt water swimming pool at the hotel.

Where Am I Now?

Here are your clues!

1. I am in an area that consists of a group of 99 islands (though an extra 5 temporary islands are revealed at low tide), with only one island having any real settlement.

2. The main language spoken here is Malay.

3. The islands are rich with animal life, including monkeys, snakes (such as cobras and mango vipers), bats, and eagles (for which this place is named after).

Good luck!

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

gleek March 22, 2008 at 8:29 am: somewhere in indonesia? wow, i would never be that close to a snake. i have a huge snake phobia :( sounds like you’re having a great time!

Jean March 22, 2008 at 2:29 pm: Oh, wow! Thanks for sharing these amazing photos and stories! I’m gonna say you’re in Langkawi. If I’m right, google gets the credit.

Christine March 22, 2008 at 4:49 pm: OK. This one is too easy for me. Your description (99 islands with 5 temporary) is what I wrote in my blog in October when we were there. You are in Langkawi, Malaysia. Nice place. You are covering some ground! Hey, do you have a price for the most right guesses? LOL. Have fun, and if you have a chance, go and have dinner at the BonTon resort, you will see 100-old malay houses there… really nice. (see my blog at http://myadventureinchina.blogspot.com/2007/12/old-malay-houses.html)

Melissa Hodgen March 23, 2008 at 11:25 am: Once again, looks amazing. I love those temples…a little bit like Indiana Jones, but one reminded me of Davie Jones from Pirates.
I can’t believe they have so many cobra’s! I’m such a whimp when it comes to snakes.
I was going to guess that you’re going to Thailand, but Christine seems pretty confident in Malaysia, so I’ll stick with her answer. Keep on trunkin’ and having a fabulous time!

Javajem March 24, 2008 at 7:09 am: Wow your pictures are amazing! How exciting to be able to see all these places! Enjoy your trip!

The Richards March 24, 2008 at 9:04 am: You’re really having an incredible trip! I’m totally jealous, I would love to be able to explore these parts of the world. Thanks for letting me vicariously through you! :0)

I was going to guess Indonesia until you said they spoke Malay – now I’m guessing Malaysia.

Quirky March 25, 2008 at 5:08 am: I confirm it’s Langkawi..hehe.Lang = eagles in Malay *grins*

Ok..so it’s not fair cos I’m from Malaysia. Say I’m right..haha

Great blog.Found yours from Mary Ann’s :D

Kasia March 26, 2008 at 4:40 am: Your pictures are amazing! I love reading abnout your adventures!

Where in the World–Episode 3

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