Cambodia. 2/19/20

2/19/20

Mosquito stories going to bed, and mosquito story waking up.  I was getting bit up pretty bad in my room, and didn’t sleep so well.  The other guys were hearing the booming bass beat from the bars of Pub Street most of the night, so not much good sleep all around.  Just as I was getting into a good sleep, at oh about 4, my alarm went off for our sunrise foray.  When I related my story of mosquito to Kurt, he asked, “Malaria or dengue mosquito”. Funny guy.

At 0500, we met to have the van driver take us to Angkor Wat for the sunrise.  The traffic was like the road to Kennedy Space Center for a shuttle launch.  Bike groups, walkers, vans, tuk tuks and charter buses all lined up for the sunrise.

We staked out a strategic location due West of the temple spires on the ancient moat, lending itself to the silhouetted spires with the rising sun and a beautiful reflection off the lotus surfaced moat.  

The sunrise event seemed kind of pretty, and we had walked away, only to realize that the rising orange orb hadn’t peeked over the treeline yet.  We literally ran back to snap a few more photos, and it was very worthwhile.  

At breakfast at the hotel, I raved so much about the Cambodian “laska” that everyone else ordered.  It was equally good this morning. 

Rick and Mark S. Said good bye since they were staying in Cambodia and were going on a tour.  Kurt and I were off to a couple of local sites.  Both turned out to be very cool.

We took our first tuk tuk ride, and it proved to be most pleasant.  The morning temps were nice, and we were shaded with a breeze coming into the seating area.  A real ground level view of Siam Reep.

Our first spot was Apopo, an international agency which trains rats and then find land mines and unexplored ordnance.  

They checked our temperature with a digital thermometer, the first of any scrutiny over possible coronavirus as traveler.

Just some facts and figures learned on the tour:

After the “Khmer Civil War” and Vietnam war there were 6 million remaining mines/bombs in Cambodia has had 19000 deaths and 51000 injuries since, half being children

It is no wonder that this country needed some assistance in their mine finding.

One of the answers is an African giant pouched rat, which has been used successfully in many countries previously.  These highly trained animals can sense one trillionth of a gram of TNT, and has been trained to scratch the ground to indicate the hazardous explosive.  The rat we saw on demo was named Karmel. 

Each rat can cover a tennis court sized patch in 30 minutes, much more efficient and safely than a man with a mine detector.  To date, these animals have cleared 1 million square meters in Cambodia.  The rats are never in danger and are treated as highly regarded pets. 

Our tuk tuk driver waited for us and brought us to a pagoda (Buddhist monastery) that is also home to a small “killing fields” museum, displaying the horrific deeds of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, the 1.7 million deaths, and the nightmare that his regime created.  

The message was displayed in Cambodian art work and showed the rape, torture and brutality that was the trademark of the Khmer Rouge.  It is amazing that these acts of horror actually occurred in my lifetime.  

Skulls and bones from the local excavation were on display to illustrate the grisly brutality of the Khmer Rouge.  

Not only were 1.7 million people executed, because of these deaths and family separations, 200000 children were left orphaned in 1979 after the fall of the regime.  

The staff at the Khmer Mansion were so friendly, courteous and polite that it was almost sad to leave.  They made such a big deal out of our departure, and we even took a parting photo with them.  Cambodians are a truly warm and gentle people, and their customer service skills are fantastic.