Cambodia: Angkor Wat Day 2

The second day we traveled a bit farther outside the primary Angkor Wat complex. Our driver Serei picked us up and drove us through the Cambodian countryside; along the way we passed through a number of villages. The most striking sight was the level of poverty that ran rampant and was blatantly apparent everywhere I looked. Almost all the homes were thatched-roof huts set on stilts at least 10 feet high. There were open markets all along the roadside filled with exotic fruits, clothing, and other goods. The Cambodian countryside was beautiful; palm trees, rice fields, as well as mango, dragon fruit, and sugar cane farms blanketed the landscape.

The first two temples we went to were similar to the ones we visited the day before, but the third was the most interesting and intriguing of them all. Boeng Maelea is almost completely unrestored and has crumbled in many places. Trees and plants have grown up and around the structure. We got there late in the day which I soon realized would be the best time of day to be there. The light on the temple was stunning. On one side of the complex three different trees' roots were climbing down from the top, curling over the sides and down to the ground like spiderwebs.

A different kind of reminder of Cambodia's past was also present at this site. On the way into the temple, a sign was posted about the number of land mines found and cleared in and around the site. For a moment it was very disturbing to think about the idea of coming across something like that. The bleak past and struggling present of Cambodia surfaced again on the way back to the hotel when Serei began to talk about his family and the social infrastructure of the country. His father was killed by the Khmer Rouge because he was an educated French teacher. I believe there were other family members killed, but his father was the only one he talked about in detail.

The government has no money and is not generating revenue because Cambodia has so many debts to pay off. There was road work being done on the way to the temples, which Serei said the funding came from Korea. Most of the country's electricity is supplied by Thailand and 80% of the tourism profits from Angkor Wat go to Vietnam to pay off debts. There is an enormous amount of foreign aid in all areas going into Cambodia because they are unable to support themselves.