#13 - Marci’s Tale of Laos and Cambodia

Our guide, Bun, & Steve

While Steve regales you with food porn and WTFs (finally), my Cambodia is about discovering history and culture. 

Most Americans who travel to SE Asia would likely visit Thailand and/or Vietnam, believing they have the best tourist infrastructure and also the best things to do and see. But for us, discovering Laos and Cambodia (actually called Kampuchea...Kay- poo-chee) is the winner so far. 

Luang Prabang is quite sophisticated for a town of 68,000 people who were cut off from the world until the late 90’s and have been Communist for a long time. I think this is the first Communist country we have ever visited (unless you count Hong Kong) and we were surprised. It is Communist by virtue that there is only one party, the Communist Party. But other than that, it is capitalist - people own land and property, they have wide open access to the internet, and there is scant evidence of Communism. There is religion, mostly Buddhism, but a bit of Hindu and Christianity. There is none of what we saw in Central Europe of the old Stalinist architecture or other remnants of a Soviet style influence, as their Communism is of the Chinese variety. We had wonderful meals in exquisite restaurants, and although we do understand that the Laotians cannot afford to sleep and eat as we can, they do have a slightly higher standard of living and income compared to Thailand and Cambodia. 

We then flew to Cambodia, to Siem Reap ( see-em reap), a town of 250,000 and a Mecca of tourism. Our guide Bun (Buhn) and driver Sok were incredible.  We spent two days touring temples, including the famous Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. But we also ventured further afield to visit Bayon, the temple of smiling faces, and Jungles temples, right out of Indiana Jones and literally where Tomb Raiders with Angela Jolie was filmed. BTW she is much beloved in Cambodia for her philanthropy. 

But on our journeys in our Toyota Land Rover, it was Bun’s telling of Cambodia’s history and his own personal story that was truly shocking and moving. He was born the year after Pol Pot came to power in 1974. He was the third child of a middle class family living in Siem Reap. They lived in a decent house across the street from the shop they owned. Then Pol Pot happened. This evil man evacuated everyone from every town and city forcing generations of families to leave their homes with no belongings and march 70 kilometers to the country, the strong ones carrying the children and the weak grandparents. They were told they were being moved for only a couple of days which was why they could take nothing. It was impossible not to listen to Bun and not think of Hitler rounding up the Jews. 

Pol Pot forced 100% of society to move to the country where no one had anything and therefore no one was better than anyone else....Communism in theory is not bad, but in practice it is horrific. There was no food, no houses, no work. Families resorted to whatever they could find to eat and survive, hence this is why today in Cambodia people eat insects and termites and beetles and crickets. It was all there was. If it repulsed you, you had nothing and you died of starvation and no one cared. There was no school. Pol Pot executed 85% of all the teachers, 90% of all the doctors and most people who wore glasses. Why? Because they were deemed to be intellectuals because if you wore glasses, you read. While in the country, one more child was born to Bun’s parents, so there were four children in all. I believe this youngest did not survive. Disease was rampant and medicine, other than herbal, was non- existent. 

Meanwhile, Pol Pot held strongholds in many places all over Cambodia. In order to protect his soldiers (mostly children with guns) he would surround his area with land mines, tens of thousands, so no one could attack. These land mines still exist today and although many organizations are working with metal detectors, special dogs, and recently, trained rats, to identify and remove these landmines, there are millions left. 

At one temple there was a band of musicians who all were severely disabled from stepping on landlines. Some had lost a foot or leg or hand, or more. They have chosen to earn a living as a disabled orchestra, rather than to beg. As I walked past I had to put on my sunglasses to hide my tears. No human on earth deserves to live as Bun and his family did.

During our time in Laos and Cambodia, I have been constantly reminded and ashamed by the American bombing and our secret wars, which almost no one knew/ knows about. It is impossible to say which atrocity is worse and far more impossible to understand how these wonderful people have made a conscious decision to let the past remain in the past, and to move forward and live next to a family that may have killed their grandfather, and to welcome American tourists who bombed the hell out of their country with open arms and big smiles.