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Neil Dana reporting from Siem Reap, Cambodia:Vietnamese Floating Village
One of the most interesting and appealing places in South
East Asia that I have wanted to visit for a long time is Cambodia.
Cambodia's recent history of the Khmer Rouge with Pol Pot and the
Vietnam War are scary truths that must be examined. It always horrifies, yet entices me what humans are capable
of, and to see and experience places around the world where abominably
inhumane things have happened is a very powerful experience. It always seems to cleanse my soul and remind me of the true
importance of life. In our
fast-paced, competitive lives, it is easy to pay too much attention to your
head and not your heart. Your
head is influenced by whatever you surround yourself with, and your heart is
your soul; pretty simple really, yet the human race as a whole is very guilty
of even recognizing its heart most of the time.
There is a lot of good in the world, yet there is an amazing amount of
greed and evil as well. I have also wanted to come to Cambodia to see the Angkor
Wat Ruins. The Khmer ruins date
back to the late 800's and are one of the most amazing ruins of all time, so
I've heard and read. Now, being
extremely fortunate, I was able to leave Bangkok and catch a bus to Cambodia.
This was a dream come true. I
had just figured out the night before that it was possible to leave Bangkok
for a few days, so I rushed next door to a hostel that had a Cambodia book and
figured out what was necessary. I
had to get a visa and catch a bus; no problem.
I arrived at Aranya Prathet, a town about seven kilometers from the
actual border town, Poipet. Once
off the bus, a woman on a moped picked me up and took me to the border.
A friendly "tout" came up to me and walked me to the visa
office, where I paid $25 for a Cambodia visa and then got stamped out of
Thailand and into Cambodia. The
only hassle was when I tried to change money to Riel.
The border guys were trying to make a buck off me, and after figuring
out the calculations, I skipped the money changing and hopped a minbus to Siem
Reap, which is the town adjacent to the Angkor Ruins.
I had the option of taking a pickup truck, but I would have to ride in
the back, and I have heard the roads are horrible.
So I opted out of that one and took a minivan.
The actual road itself to Siem Reap was horrible, with dirt
ruts and potholes all the way! One
of the bridges had broken, and we had to wait about an hour for some
Cambodians to fix it. I left
Bangkok at 9 a.m. and arrived in Siem Reap at about 8 p.m., with two small
stops for some food and drink. The ride was a nightmare, but the countryside of Cambodia
is unbelievable. There are rice
fields everywhere you look, and they are a vibrant green, which is such a
beautiful contrast to the red dirt roads and blue skies.
The roads are teeming with mopeds pickups, and huge, unusual tractors
that I have never seen before. They
look like dragster tractors. The
pickup trucks are filled to the hilt with all kinds of things; it is amazing
that trucks can carry that much. The greatest part of this country is the people.
They will just melt your heart. They
are so friendly and beautiful; it is truly difficult to imagine the Khmer
Rouge genocide ever existed. So, I figured for my first day in Cambodia, I would go see
the Vietnamese Floating Village and then head to the Land Mine Museum.
I didn't want to go see the ruins right away, because there are so many
of them. You have a choice to buy
a one-day ticket for $20, 2-3 days for $40, or a week for $60.
They are so far apart, you need to rent a guide, moped driver, or tuk
tuk, or get a bike, etc. I hadn't researched it enough to go blindly into it on the
first day. I had read about these
other two attractions that seemed very interesting, and that would also give
me another night to figure out my game plan for visiting all the ruins.
First of all, let me tell you that I hired Richard, a local
from Siem Reap, who is the moped driver from the guesthouse where I was
staying. He drove wherever I wanted to go for the entire day, and of
course he knows the area had plenty of recommendations.
There really is no other option, as you cannot rent your own moped here
due to rules against entering the ruins without a guide and an admission
ticket. Richard's brother
was killed by the Khmer Rouge, by the way: just a reminder that a vast
majority of the people you see all day, everyday, here in Cambodia have had
horror in their lives very recently. Once I
arrived at the beginning of the docks, I was so enthralled with everyone and
everything that I didn't even bother trying to find a boat ride for the next
45 minutes. I just walked around
looking at all the different vendors and people working: women selling fish, men chopping ice and putting it into an
ice crusher, little boys carrying around empty gas cans or large water
containers, men drinking and playing billiards, people putting gear into their
boats, and women cooking and eating. The
docks were crawling with people. These
“docks” were basically just the abrupt end of a dirt road, not docks like
at a marina you might find in the United States.
This is where the waterline is right now. In a month or two, when the rains get really intense, the
water level rises drastically, as is evidenced by the houses built on
5-10-foot-high stilts! After a while, I pursued finding a boat ride. There are many people with boats; however, the people who take you out on a ride to the village for sightseeing are part of a local organization. It's basically a way to ensure you don't go and only pay $1 to some guy with a small boat to take you out, and in doing so hurt the local tourist economy. Instead, you have to pay $10-$15 to a guy who is a representative for one of the many companies there, and he will give a percentage to the actual boat drivers. This whole town is really wired when it comes to raking in the tourist dollar. In fact, there is a hotel here that has rooms starting at $350/night, all the way up to $1900/night, no joke!! I do think this is good though, as tourism is one of Cambodia's main sources of revenue, and, in Cambodia, you can buy everything in U.S. dollars, which is a better deal for us. I saw many people who had changed money to Riel, and they were losing a bit on the local exchange rate. So, I
tried talking to a couple different operators and ended up paying $10 for a
two-hour ride out to the Vietnamese Floating Village. The boat was empty but for the driver, myself, and a boy who
was watching the engine and helping to avoid obstacles in the river.
In fact, I was the only traveler I noticed in the area.
I guess this isn't as popular a destination as the ruins.
So, off we went, slowly cruising down the narrow winding river, which
leads to an estuary that turns into the enormous Tonle Sap Lake. Right from
the get-go, the river was filled with boats and people.
There were people standing and paddling their canoes, some of which
were filled with all kinds of goods for sale, from food to bamboo or other
materials used for building. The range of boats was really interesting as well, varying
from canoes, to small motorboats, to small, moving houseboats, to stationary
houseboats, and to schools and a police station on stilts over the water.
You even see pigs, dogs, and cats on these boats.
There are women bathing their children, cooking food, and doing the
same basic things people do all over the world. It
is really interesting, because it is all on the water, and, hence, the pace of
life is much slower. When in
town, the tuk-tuks and mopeds zip by, and the streets are bustling with energy
and dust. Out here on the water,
people revolve with the natural movement of the river, and the river barely
moves. On the
water, there were Cambodians and Vietnamese people. The Vietnamese people wore distinctive, pointed hats, which
were always easy to recognize. It
is nice to see the Cambodians and Vietnamese getting along with good
relations. I was talking with
Richard, and the only people he said the Cambodians detest are the Thai
people. They have been fighting
since their history began. In
fact, it was the Thai Empire's Kingdom of Ayuthaya that sacked the Khmers back
in 1431. So, as we
puttered down towards the lake, we stopped at a fish farm on the water that
also turned out to have crocodiles. There
was also a girl who had a python or boa constrictor at her disposal.
This seemed to be the spot where all the tourists end up, seeing as
there were souvenirs there and drinks for sale.
It was the most mellow souvenir shop/crocodile farm I have ever come
across. After that, I got back onto the boat and headed around the
village some more. It literally
is a floating village, and everyday, these people live off of the water and
trade the goods that people bring in from town and the lake.
These people have moved into the water because there wasn't enough land
available for them, and they have created a vibrant community.
This is their life, quite, tough, and poor, yet peaceful and very
scenic as well. I feel
very fortunate having come to Cambodia, and seeing this village was only the
beginning of a series of incredible experiences. After the boat ride, I reluctantly jumped on the back of the
moped, wishing I had more time to hang around the docks, and buzzed away from
the floating village. I only had
a short stay in Cambodia, and there were so many other places I wanted to
visit, which brings me to my next stop: the
Land Mine Museum. |
