It\u2019s strange how you can drive for five hours and be in a completely different place. A little under a week ago, we trekked through Vietnam and into Cambodia on a chartered bus. Luckily, the program reserved two seats for each of us since we are generally larger than the Vietnamese. I found the bus to be comfortable, although sleeping was not an option (and really isn\u2019t an option on any road trips in East Asia) because the roads are incredibly bumpy. Yahoo for developing country roads! When we got to Cambodia, we checked into the hotel and almost immediately went to our first historical site, a school-turned into a prison during the Khmer rouge rule. Cambodian people were\u00a0tortured\u00a0in order to get information of the whereabouts of their friends\/relatives (simply for the sake of killing them, too). The Khmer rouge completely ruined the country, killing millions of people in order to create a \u2018perfect race.\u2019 They also destroyed a lot of the\u00a0infrastructure of the country. Anyone with education was killed, maybe they would kill you if they didn\u2019t like how you looked that day. Education was a threat to the rouge, as you were thought to be more likely to attempt to try and stop the revolution. To say the least, it was terrible. There I was, in the midst of a country destroyed by genocide. In the 70\u2032s \u2026 not that long ago .. \u00a0innocent cambodians were slaughtered in the room where I stood; you could still see the blood stains on the tile floors. Yet, no matter how long I looked at a picture of a now dead victim or the clothes they once wore, I could not comprehend the horror. \u00a0I couldn\u2019t imagine the situation or hardly believe something like that had ever happened. \u2026 and is still happening now somewhere in the world. The most haunting part were all the pictures of the\u00a0victims\u00a0tortured in the prison. We didn\u2019t know when these pictures were taken, \u00a0most likely as they entered the prison for the first time, or in the moments right before they were killed. Their eyes stared right into yours as you looked into their almost expressionless faces. Did they know they were about to die? Some of the faces were smiling .. some in a\u00a0suppressed\u00a0state of confusion or horror. Each was different.<\/p>\n
Although a somber afternoon, it was thought provoking. The realization of what our role as a generation became incredibly\u00a0obvious; that everything should be done in order to stop acts of genocide. I was so frustrated, wondering how we let this happen, how the U.S. was ignorant enough to not understand the situation and instead fund the Khmer rouge with weapons and money, too afraid of supporting the Communist government that was being overthrown by the rouge. America\u2019s No1 enemy were the communists; it was all about image. The U.S. also had just lost the Vietnam\/American war and, since the anti-war sentiment was so strong in the states, the U.S. government didn\u2019t want to get involved in another conflict, let alone the neighbors of Vietnam.<\/p>\n
In the morning, we traveled to \u2018The Killing Fields\u2019 \u2014 which is exactly what it sounds like. The area that was once an execution site for the Khmer rouge was turned into a memorial, luckily we had audio guides so were able to go through at our own pace. It was the most well done audio guide I\u2019d ever listened to, so I think we all learned a lot. Of course it was upsetting, but compared to the day before, it seemed more like a time to be reverent and reflect on all we had seen and learned. Afterwards, we went to a delicious\u00a0restaurant called \u201cFriends.\u201d It\u2019s an organization that helps poor, disadvantaged youth learn how to run a business, starting them at the restaurant. After seeing all the horror that had been inflicted on the Cambodian people, I was thrilled to see an organization that worked to better the future. My favorite part of the first two days was visiting \u2018The Center of the Dove.\u2019 It was about a 45 minute ride outside of Phnom Penh \u2014 again over the bumpy roads \u2014 as we traveled to the center. I honestly had no idea what to expect on arrival, I only knew the center was a sort of special skills school for the physically disabled with a concentration on victims of land mines that are still being discovered all around Cambodia (due to the Khmer rouge). There is an absolutely awful sentiment placed on those with disabilities, as some religions believe the loss of a limb\/having a physical disability means you were an awful person in a past life, thus life is very difficult for the disabled in both Vietnam and Cambodia. The Center of the Dove goes around the villages, encouraging those with disabilities to attend their program in order to learn a skill (carpentry, machinery, sewing, etc.) they can use in the real world; they don\u2019t have to pay a thing! It was genuinely one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen, and after the emotion of the two Khmer rouge sites, I was completely overcome by emotion while watching the students carve beautiful statues out of wood, designing and building their own specially designed (and cheap!) wheelchairs. Although we couldn\u2019t speak to each other, we smiled at each other as a way to show a sort of mutual respect and understanding. After that experience, I realized how much I take advantage of things like my ability to walk onto a bus, take a walk, ride a bike \u2026<\/p>\n
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The next day we headed for Siam Riep, the part of the trip I was most anxious for. After a short evening of exploration and a quick swim in the pool (I will not divulge certain information concerning things purchased at the amazing night market \u2026), I was out. We didn\u2019t do\u00a0much that night because we planned to get up at 4AM to go watch the sunrise on Ankor Wat. Waking up was difficult but it was stunning (although we kinda got jipped on the quality of the sunrise). We were out all day seeing the different temples around Ankor and I don\u2019t say this often, but I felt like I was in a movie. All the ruins seemed to be unnaturally beautiful\u2026 it was hard to believe I was even there. \u00a0Until I started throwing up from dehydration, it was a wonderful day. I especially enjoyed seeing monkeys running around a small temple we saw .. Jungle book anyone?<\/p>\n
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Cambodians are incredibly nice people. They don\u2019t try to rip you off like the Vietnamese do, they give you a good price and are willing to bargain. They, for the most part, don\u2019t shove things in your face, although we had a bad experience at a road-side bathroom break (Note: people in the states, I hope you all appreciate toilet paper and hand soap) when\u00a0we were haggled by a large mass of children trying to sell us fruit. I wish we were able to spend more time in Siam Riep, the trip was short and I could have stayed for another week. I definitely wanted to see more temples around Ankor park!
\nCambodia has such a heartbreaking,\u00a0beautiful story. A country ruined by genocide, it\u2019s amazing how much those people smile. Our guide told us that people smile\/generally seem happy because their lives are exponentially better than when they were under the Khmer rouge. They smile because they are literally are happy that they don\u2019t have to fight for their life; they are thrilled to be alive every day. It\u2019s such a neat experience to be around people who treat each day with reverence and happiness.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s strange how you can drive for five hours and be in a completely different place. A little under a week ago, we trekked through Vietnam and into Cambodia on a chartered bus. Luckily, the program reserved two seats for each of us since we are generally larger than the Vietnamese. I found the bus … <\/p>\n