Journey To The Kingdom of Cambodia

Last October 4-7, I had the privilege of visiting the country I had so long dreamt of seeing. The Kingdom of Cambodia, 

(formerly known as Kampunchea) isn't a regular tourist site for Filipinos. So being given the chance to go was only but an answered prayer. Finally! I had gone and tasted the Khmer culture even if it was just Siem Reap (Cambodia's capital is Phnom Penh) We arrived at past 9 in the evening in the Siem Reap Int'l Airport and was welcomed by our driver holding a sign with our family name on it. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand English. We got inside this nice van where a little kid was riding shotgun who immediately reminded me of (my son loljk) Maddox. He was peeking through his seat probably wondering where these strangers daddy brought came from. I leaned forward to take a good look at him, making sure our eyes met and said "Hello" to which he responded very clearly. The streets of Siem Reap look much like the province (in the Philippines). There's so much land but the streets are wider and there is a big distance from the sidewalk to the houses or establishments. We arrived at a strip of hotels wherein Khemara Angkor was ours and were welcomed by the hotel staff wearing funny costumes which resembled that of a jester's in the movies. While walking to our room, there was a sudden blackout. I had headed into the light when I accidentally ran into the bellboy and screamed like I saw a ghost. We all laughed so hard and he kept on apologizing. It was hilarious but we later on got to know them a little better. Right then and there I had established in my mind that the Khmer people really were as amazing as I thought them to be.

The next day, we were headed for an adventure because we were to be embarking on a journey to the ancient city of Angkor Wat. We had our first Khmer breakfast at the hotel buffet where I had their Cambodian fried rice. It was probably the healthiest and tastiest I've ever had! After, we met with our tour guide, Kadem at the lobby.

We first arrived at the ticket station which was very interesting because they take a photo of you and print it on your ticket which you have to present every time you enter one of the temples. ( How cool and techy is that, huh?)

First stop: Angkor Wat Gate

Surrounded by a man-made moat that the rain keeps deep enough. There are 55 statues lined up on each side. On the right, are statues of demons, and on the left, gods.

After, we visited the Bayon temples where it rained so hard which made the experience all the more better except photography became a lot harder. Bayon temples are famous for having 4 faces on each side of their structure. There are 54 smaller temples which represent the 54 capitals of Cambodia. Some of the temples in the city of Angkor still have the statue of Buddha which everyday, Buddhists come to worship to.

 And by the way, there are a lot of Elephants.

Then, we visited the most exciting part of the city of Angkor. Well, at least for me. It was the moment I had been waiting for-The Tah Prohm temple.

What made it so significant to me was that this was the place where the first Angelina Jolie movie I had watched was filmed back in 2000 ( released in 2003) - Tomb Raider. But Tah Prohm is more famous for its enormous trees which have been petruding through the temple walls.

We finished early and had lunch at Blue Pumpkin and the food was amaaaazing especially their Coconut shake and Coconut ice cream over Cambodian fruit salad! Yum!

We finished early and had lunch at Blue Pumpkin and the food was amaaaazing especially their Coconut shake and Coconut ice cream over Cambodian fruit salad! Yum!

After lunch, we visited the last of the Angkor Wat temples. By God's grace, it had already been sunny but the walk was long and tiring yet I continued to walk through staircase after staircase, temple after temple to see the legends of the Khmer civilization and it was absolutely worth it. It took my breath away. (I mean that literally too. Seriously, man! It was tiring!)

The wall carvings were beautiful. Each wall depicting different tales of kings and gods. The Khmer manuscripts engraved on stone were ever so beautiful and the people, oh my goodness. The Buddhists I met were lovely. On the way back, an old lady had been eyeing me since and asked her daughter to ask me for a picture with her. I was lost and had no idea what was going on until Kadem translated them for me.

My Angkor Wat visit was so interesting. I learned that the Thai were influenced by the Cambodians who were influenced by the Indians! All this time I had thought it was the Thai who influenced Cambodia because they're similar in so many ways. It turns out that the Khmers came waaaay before the Thai did.

Later in the afternoon, we were taken to a spa where we had the Khmer massage and it was the best massage I had ever had.

Saying goodbye to our tour guide was really hard because he was very nice and we, well, I had grown attached to him already after all the questions, the laughs we shared, and the hiding behind his back from all the butterflies. Yeah. The Cambodian people have such good hearts.

We spent the night at a buffet called "Khoulin" where we had watched a live Apsara show. I will never ever get enough of the Cambodian cuisine.

The next day was shopping day!

We rented a tuk-tuk, took a city tour, and went to the Old Market where my lola went panic shopping after which she got tired from and headed back to the hotel while I went to the National Museum where I learned a lot about the history of Angkor and Buddhism. After, we took a good nap before heading on to the night market where this time I became the impulsive shopper. Our tuk-tuk driver was very kind. I asked for his name. He replied "T". I asked "How do you spell that?" again, he replied "Just 'T'" HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH funny

On our last day, we took a look at the new market, which looked like Kalentong, to the old market again, then back to the hotel for checkout where we left our grandparents to take a look at other shopping or tourist attractions in Siem Reap. There was no more we could find and the person I was with kept going "Let's go back to the hotel." But I decided to take an ice cream break at Swensen's and go thrill seeking instead. We passed by this stall where the vendor was a man who had lost both his hands. We continued walking but the farther I got from him, the more my heart started to pound with compassion I stopped and said "Wait. I can't take this." and walked right back to him. He was so glad to see me come back and I couldn't even look up at him so I just  immediately browsed through the books he was selling not seem rude but he started the conversation and asked where I was from. He asked about me first before he started talking about himself which really warmed my heart so I paused and finally took a good look at him and asked for HIS story. He had a hard time explaining in English but he tried and I understood that this man, named Tok Vanna was not only a Khmer Rouge survivor but he was a land mime amputee as well. And I was starstruck. I wanted so bad to say so much but I couldn't because I was at shock because to me it was SUCH. A. BIG. DEAL.

I took my time and I asked him more about his life. I learned that there was a time in his life when he wanted to kill himself and someone stopped him. I told him that there is a reason it happened and he is alive now. He was selling so many books about the Khmer Rouge and he had recommended me the good ones by picking them up with what was left of his arm. It's amazing how he was able to do that and even flip the page, take it out of its wrapping and put it back again! I would take the book and insist on doing it myself but he insisted on doing it anyway!

I blessed him in God's name and after all the adventures in Siem Reap, decided to get back to the hotel. I was at last contented and felt that I was leaving Cambodia with a story to tell. Before even going, I had wished to meet an amputee somehow and the first few days felt to me like there was no way. I praise God because on the last day, on my last few hours of staying there, he had given me the chance to. And that He was a Khmer Rouge survivor was a bonus as well. God is good and gracious. He has placed a burden in me to continue to travel around the world and proclaim His name. I choose to spread His love across the Earth and I am so excited for the many more trips to come.

Helping Cambodia even in the simplest of ways!