Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cambodia. Show all posts

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Silver Pagoda, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I visited Cambodia early in 2011 and during my stop in the national capital, Phnom Penh, I paid a visit to the complex housing the Royal Palace and the magnificent ‘Silver Pagoda’ which is located next to the Royal Palace.

Gleaming in gold, the Royal Palace is one of Phnom Penh's most splendid architectural achievements. It is home to His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk and Her Majesty Queen Norodom Monineath. The palace was built in 1866 by His Majesty Prince Bat Norodom, the great grandfather to the current King. The Royal Palace is built on the site of the old town. This site was especially chosen by a Commission of Royal Ministers and Astrologers because it had great geographical significance in relation to the King, who was regarded as a direct descendant of the gods. Credit: Tourism Cambodia… 

Among the images in the video are the Stupa of His Majesty King Suramarit and Her Majesty Queen Kossomak. A stupa (Sanskrit for "heap") is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing "relics", typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns, used as a place of meditation. Most of the images are of the ‘Silver Pagoda’ and some of the monuments surrounding the building.

The 'Silver Pagoda' sits next to the Royal Palace. The Pagoda's proper name is Wat Preah Keo Morokat, which means 'The Temple of the Emerald Buddha.' It has received the common name 'Silver Pagoda' after the solid silver floor tiles that adorn the temple building. The pagoda compound as a whole contains several structures and gardens, the primary building being the temple Wat Preah Keo Morokat and other structures including a library, various stupas, shrines, monuments, minor buildings and the galleries of the Reamker.

The brief video footage shows one of the wonderful Ramayana Frescoes that line the interior of the pagoda compound walls. The murals were painted in 1903-1904 by a team of students working under the direction of artist Vichitre Chea and architect Oknha Tep Nimit Thneak. Over the 100+ years since they were first painted, some sections of the frescoes have become badly damaged and worn. While I was there, a small team of artists were at work on the frescoes conducting the painstaking work of restoring one of the longest murals.


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Saturday, October 18, 2014

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

River scene, Cambodia
If ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ then thirty-five thousand pictures must be worth thirty-five million words! Maybe that explains why I haven’t been writing too many blog posts recently. Let me explain.

After four extended trips since 2008, that have taken me to America and Greece three times, France, twice, and England and Cambodia once each (as well a two week visit to Sydney, and six or seven month-long visits to Melbourne, Australia), I had amassed an enormous number of photographs and videos.

How many? More than 35,000 (4,000 of which are video clips). No, that larger figure is not a typo. Thirty-five thousand! Since my return in August from my last trip to Greece and France, I have spent more hours than I care to think about slowly going through my files and folders culling as many extraneous images as possible. I am now down to around 22,000 files. A few of them are now illustrating this post.

When I mentioned the number of files on my Facebook page, and wrote about the task of sorting through and deleting the doubles and the duds, one of my acquaintances left the following comment: “You can take so many pics you don't see anything.”

Largs Bay sunset, Adelaide
To which I replied, in part: “You are right of course…one of the problems/benefits of modern digital cameras is that they make it easy to take thousands of photographs, unlike the old 'analog' cameras that restricted you to shooting a maximum of 36 photos per roll of film.”

And therein lies the problem―or part of it. Modern digital cameras do in deed make it too easy to take hundreds, and even thousands of photographs. Older cameras, with their restrictive 12, 24, or 36 image rolls of film, forced photographers to be a lot more careful and choosy about the photographs they took, and the way they captured them. Because of these limitations, photographers spent a lot more time setting up and composing ‘the shot’, making sure aperture, f-stops, and ISO settings where just right. Even then, until they had a chance to get their rolls of film developed, often weeks later, there were no guarantees that the final results would be what they wanted.

Thankfully, digital cameras have freed us from many of these issues, providing us with the ability to quickly see if our images are good, and if not, to immediately keep shooting until we are satisfied with the results. Digital cameras also make it easy to shoot dozens of photographs of the same object, all in a matter of minutes, or even seconds. Obviously, given this ease of use, it doesn’t take long to accumulate hundreds (or thousands) of photographs, especially during long extended trips.

Stop And Smell The Roses
View from Koskina Castle, Ikaria
But there was something else bothering me about that Facebook comment. Hidden in my friends response is the implied criticism that many modern travellers (including myself), are so busy taking photographs that we don’t stop to truly see and appreciate the things we are trying to capture on film or video. And he is right.

I personally, am well aware of this potential problem, and always try to allow time to just sit and look, to observe and contemplate, and to find space in my travels to be grateful for the opportunities I have had that brought me to a specific location, at that particular period in my life and journey. This is probably the major reason I like to travel for extended periods involving months rather than weeks. It is also the reason I have returned, two, three and even more times to countries and cities I have previously visited.

There are a lot of travellers who are intent on visiting as many countries as they possibly can, simply so they can boast about the number of places they have been to. Getting to know the people and the customs and culture of the countries they visit, is not why these people travel. They are simply collecting stamps in passports, and those ubiquitous, “This is me in…” photographs.

Bastille Monument, Paris
I never have been, nor will I ever be that type of traveller.

Living In ‘The Moment’
In my reply I also wrote: “One of my travel fantasies involves travelling with no camera at all, but I don't know if that is ever going to happen.”

While there have been days during my travels when I have chosen to leave my camera behind at my accommodations, I doubt that I will ever have the confidence in my aging memory banks to not have a camera at all for the duration of a trip. And while I understand the concept of ‘living in the moment’, of trying to focus all my senses on what is going on around me at any particular moment in time, there is also a joy and pleasure in trying to record and capture those moments in a more tangible and permanent form.

We live in an age when literally billions of images have been uploaded to dozens of popular photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Instagram, 500px, Pinterest, and many others. In the time it has taken you to read this far, several million images will have been uploaded to Facebook alone.

The other factor I did not mention is that I have travelled extensively since rekindling my travel bug in 2008. In fact I even surprised myself when I added up the weeks and months I have ventured overseas.

  • March 11, 2008 - October 5, 2008 [seven months]
  • June 29, 2010 - March 7, 2011 [eight months]
  • July 30, 2012 - October 24, 2012 [three months]
  • April 28, 2014 - August 20, 2014 [four months]
Water Tower, Sydney
This is a total of around 22 months of travel outside Australia. And this does not include approx six month's house sitting in Melbourne over the past six or seven years, or the two weeks I spent in Sydney in 2009. 

All this travel adds up to almost 30 months away from ‘home’ since March 2008. Thirty months ‘on the road’ presents a heck of a lot of opportunities for taking thousands of photographs―and take them I did.

How many photographs are too many? Can you in fact, take too many photographs during your travels? Does the world really need another image of the Eiffel Tower, or the Empire State Building, or other well known landmark?

I’d love to know what readers think about this issue. Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Tonlé Sap Lake, Cambodia

The Tara at its mooring on Tonle Sap Lake
During my trip to Cambodia I booked a 'sunset cruise' on Tonlé Sap Lake, the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia. Since I knew nothing about the lake and the people who live on, or around its perimeter, I was constantly surprised by the amazing resourcefulness of these people and their way of eking out a living in what appear to be the most trying circumstances.

The Tonlé Sap (Khmer for "Large Fresh Water River", but more commonly translated as "Great Lake") is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia. The Tonlé Sap Lake is linked to the sea via the Tonlé Sap River, which converges with the massive Mekong River in Phnom Penh (see my earlier post: Phnom Penh River Cruise).

There are around 170 floating villages with some 80,000 inhabitants living on, and around Tonlé Sap Lake. The GECKO* Environment Education Center, which I visited, is located in Chong Khneas commune, and consists of seven villages housing around 5,800 residents. The Commune, has some of the largest floating villages on the lake. Among the facilities and services to be found in the Commune and other floating villages are schools, fish wholesalers, gas stations, restaurants, churches and pagodas, police stations, medical services―and karaoke bars!

Floating classroom under construction
Information panels at the GECKO centre provide some background information to life on Tonlé Sap Lake. For instance, in a typical floating village life expectancy at birth is 54 years. Twelve percent of all children die before the age of five, and one out of two are malnourished. Average annual income of most households is less than $500USD. Annual population growth is 2.4%, while the literacy rate is 46%, which is 17% below the Cambodian national average.

In the video we get glimpses of this floating village life. We see children playing in the lake, people fishing, a floating restaurant, a shop, a crocodile farm, and more. During the trip on the lake, we were told the two partially built wooden structures that I have includes images of, were destined to become floating classrooms. Note also the numerous television aerials attached to village homes. Televisions and other electronic devices are powered by car and truck batteries.

Part of my meal on the Tara
My trip on Tonlé Sap culminated with a meal on the Tara, which is marketed as “The Biggest Boat on the Tonle Sap Lake”. At more than 41 metres in length, I can confirm that I didn’t see any other craft on the lake that came even close to the size of this vessel. Despite the claims on the company website that the Tara can carry more than 250 passengers (elsewhere it states 300), there were just four of us on this outing.

Using the services of my hotel, I booked the US$33.00 Sunset Tour direct through the Tara website, and experienced no problems from hotel pick up, during the tour itself, or subsequent return to my hotel. I point this out, since some of the reviews on Trip Advisor are highly critical of similar tours, especially those booked through other agencies. Visitors report being approached by beggars, and feeling pressured to donate a bag of rice (at a cost of US$80), to an ‘orphanage’ they were taken to visit. Other reviewers have complained about the conditions of the crocodile farm, and other places visited during similar tours.

I’m not sure what they were expecting. Cambodia is one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia, and the people living in these floating villages, and around the perimeter of Tonlé Sap are among the poorest in Cambodia. If you are expecting flush toilets and pristine facilities in a floating village, you will quickly realise that you are not going to find them either on this tour, or in many other places outside of your hotel or one of the major cities.

Floating restaurant and store on Tonle Sap Lake
Reading through some of the Trip Advisor reviews, it is also apparent that some visitors made their own ad hoc arrangements to tour on the lake. Using unregistered and unqualified ‘tour guides’ is simply asking for trouble, whether in Cambodia or anywhere else for that matter. Clearly, dealing with authorized guides and tour operators is the best way to avoid many of the problems some reviewers complain about.

It is also worth pointing out (since the Tara website doesn’t) that the vessel remains permanently moored during your visit and meal while on the boat. The actual tour and journey that eventually gets you out to the Tara is on a much smaller, faster boat similar to the small craft seen in the video.

The Tara Boat Sunset Tour is sold as a four hour tour (3:30pm-7:30pm), which begins when visitors are picked up at their hotel or guesthouse around 3.30pm―in a much appreciated air-conditioned vehicle―and returned to their accommodations at the end of the tour.

During the tour to the Tara we made two stops. The first to the already mentioned GECKO Environmental Education Centre, and a second stop at the village Crocodile and Fish Farm. I don’t know if the crocodiles in the crocodile farm are the same species as the rare Siamese Crocodile, which are an endangered species, or a different species of crocodile, but either way, I found the whole trip on the lake to be one of the highlights of my Cambodian visit.

Sunset Tour Price Includes:
Pick up at 3.30pm, 4 hour tour from time of pickup to time of drop off
Free Pick up & return in A/C Taxi
English speaking guides
Meal and drinks included on the Tara
Tour of floating village of Chong Khneas
Tour of Gecko Environmental Education Centre
Tour of Crocodile & Fish Farm
All Check Point fees included in Price
Children 12 or under, half price. 5 or under FREE
$33.00 Per Person - Tours from 3.30pm to 7.30pm

*GECKO―Greater Environment Chong Khneas Office


More Information

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Phnom Penh River Cruise

Floating homes on the Tonle Sap River, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
During my visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I treated myself to a two hour river cruise down the Tonle Sap River to where it joins the Mekong River. For AU$15.00 I had the whole boat to myself (along with the young operator and his family), and as the short video below shows, I tried to capture aspects of everyday river life as seen on, and along these two great river systems.

The most notable aspect of life along the rivers are the hundreds of ramshackle homes built along the water line, and especially on the rivers themselves. As dirty and muddy as the water of these rivers may be, the water is used for washing clothing, bathing, cooking and cleaning. From my direct observation, the homes do not have sewage systems of any description, unless you regard human waste falling directly into these rivers as a 'sewage system'.

Never the less, these shacks and floating towns are home to thousands of Cambodians. Indeed, I was amazed to see whole floating villages during another cruise I undertook on Tonle Sap Lake. I have extensive footage of that outing as well, and will add it to this blog soon.

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

In Review: Dara Reang Sey Hotel, Phnom Penh

Dara Reang Sey Hotel, Phnom Penh

~ My flight from Athens, Greece, got me into Phnom Penh, Cambodia (by way of a transit stop in Bangkok, Thailand), at 6:00am local time early in February 2011. The haze that hung over the country as the plane approached Phnom Penh, provided plenty of warning for the heat and humidity that assailed me as I left the plane at the modest Phnom Penh International Airport.

After passing quickly through Customs, and paying twenty American dollars cash for a Cambodian visa, I was ready to begin my month long visit.

Thankfully, the driver sent to pick me up from the airport (for a $10 fee), was ready and waiting, and in no time at all he was weaving his way through Phnom Penh’s teeming streets towards the first of my five nights at the Dara Reang Sey Hotel.

Phnom Penh was chaotic. There were few traffic lights, lots of uniformed police, military, and other official types standing around, but few of them seemed to be doing much of anything―other than keeping a watchful eye on the passing river of tuk-tuks, bicycles, trucks and buses, vans and pedestrians, and the multitude of motorcycle riders. What few automobiles I could see, appeared to belong mostly to international non-government agencies of one type or other.

Large, comfortable bed in air-conditioned room.
I had booked a ‘Superior Single Room’ at the hotel, at the princely sum of US$26.67 per night. This included taxes and service charges, although breakfast would cost me an average of three dollars extra per day.

While many new international hotels are appearing on the skyline around Phnom Penh, the majority of the city’s hotels are for the most part, ‘housed’ in old, generally run-down looking buildings that may not seem like much at first glance, but which turn out to be quite well appointed given the general poverty that surrounds them.

The Dara Reang Sey Hotel is no exception. My nightly room fee of $26.67 is more than most Cambodians make in a month, so I had no reason to complain as I settled into my accommodations. While writing this entry, I thought it wise to check current prices at the hotel, and to my amazement, there has been no change in pricing since my stay there more than two years ago.

Bathroom was clean and well stocked
The Dara Reang Sey offers rooms in two categories: Standard, and Superior Rooms. Standard rooms range in price from $20/night (single occupancy), to $40/night for three people. Superior rooms range in price from $26.67/night (single), to $43/night for three guests.

Room amenities across all categories appear to be exactly the same, namely, air conditioning, mini-bar, telephone, Cable-TV, and bathroom. However, you should check specifically that these facilities and room rates are correct.

Under the Facilities section of the hotel website they write:

“There are 3 triple rooms, 33 double rooms and 7 single rooms all with air conditioning and 6 fan rooms, most of the rooms have a bathroom with hot shower, cable TV, mini bar and some with balcony Prices range from US$15-$35 all with air-conditioning room.”

The bold emphasis in the above quote is mine. I suspect some things have been ‘lost in translation’, which may account for the discrepancy in prices and facilities, so again you are advised to check with the hotel when making your booking.

The hotel does not have WiFi, or even wired Internet access in the rooms, but access to the Internet was free via computers located near the reception area. Numerous Internet cafés can be found near the hotel, and these all seem to charge a very modest $1.00 per hour.

Restaurant
Image courtesy of hotel website
The hotel has its own restaurant, which is open daily from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm. The restaurant serves inexpensive Khmer, Chinese, Vegetarian, Western and Thai dishes. I ate breakfast here each morning, and rarely paid more than $3-$4 for a very generous meal.

The restaurant is at street level and has plenty of seating arranged on the sidewalk, from where you can watch the unfolding tapestry of street life in Phnom Penh. One of the drawbacks of sitting this close to the public however, are the beggars that will inevitably approach you while you are relaxing or eating. These unwelcome approaches are not confined to this hotel of course, but are a daily fact of life for western visitors wherever they may be in Cambodia―which is, after all, one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia.

Most of my evening meals were also taken here and I can certainly vouch for the ‘inexpensive’ claim. One of my journal entries notes: Dinner tonight was chicken salad, beef and noodle stir fry, two Heineken beers, a bowl of free peanuts, and some papaya fruit slices – all for just $10.00.

Modest facilities in my Dara Reang Sey hotel room
I rarely spent more than $10-$12 for an evening meal, and often spent less. As for the chicken salad and fresh fruit slices: I know, I know, don’t eat fresh fruit or salads while travelling in Asia―let alone other strange and exotic meals.

To heck with that, though. Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and immerse yourself as much as possible in the local culture, and if you do end up suffering from the local equivalent of Delhi Belly or Montezuma’s Revenge (which I did), put it down to experience―and have another fried grasshopper!

Finally, most of the staff at the hotel spoke English, with their proficiency ranging from basic to very good. All staff worked hard to ensure that my stay at the hotel was pleasant, safe and incident free―which it was, and I will conclude by stating that I would have no hesitation staying at the Dara Reang Sey Hotel again.

Note: There are two Dara Reang Sey hotels in Cambodia, with information about both available from the same website. The one reviewed here is in Phnom Penh, and the other is in Seam Reap. To book either of the hotels, select ‘Seam Reap’ or ‘Phnom Penh’ from the drop down menu under the Hotel label on the website’s main page.

More Information
Dara Reang Sey Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Skype: dara.reangsey.hotel.pp
Email: booking @ darareangsey.com 

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Fotos – Beng Mealea, Cambodia

A pair of Naga protecting the entrance to Beng Mealea
I spent almost the full month of February (2011) travelling around Cambodia, and it was one of the highlights of my extended eight month round the world trip. I had plenty of time to check out all the major temples and sites, including Beng Mealea, the subject of this post.

Beng Mealea (meaning "lotus pond" in Khmer), is a temple in the Angkor Wat style located 40 km east of the main group of temples at Angkor, Cambodia. Although the temple was built as a Hinduist temple to honour Vishnu, the supreme god in Hindu belief, there are also carvings depicting Buddhist motifs.

Primary built of sandstone, Beng Mealea is largely unrestored. Massive trees and thick brush thriving amidst its towers and courtyards and many of its stones lay in great heaps. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Beng Mealea and more visitors are coming to the site, which is 77 km from Siem Reap.

An elaborately carved lintel from one of the collapsed buildings
While the history of the temple is pretty much unknown, it has been dated by its architectural style to the reign of king Suryavarman II who ruled during the early 12th century. Smaller in size than the king's main monument, Angkor Wat, Beng Mealea nonetheless ranks among the Khmer empire's larger temples.

Beng Mealea is oriented toward the east, but has entranceways from the other three cardinal directions. The basic layout is three enclosing galleries around a central sanctuary, which has long been collapsed. Structures known as libraries lie to the right and left of the avenue that leads in from the east.
There is extensive carving of scenes from Hindu mythology, including the Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda. Causeways have long balustrades formed by bodies of the seven-headed Naga serpent.


Danger – Mines!
 Recognise the warning signs. Your life depends on it.
Tens of thousands of tons of unexploded bombs of all sizes, and an unknown number of mines (many thousands more), lie buried or scattered over the Cambodian countryside. During my stay in Cambodia I read several reports about villagers – children as well as adults – who had been injured or killed as a result of inadvertently stepping on or ploughing over mines lying in their fields.

Even in the vicinity of the major temples, mines lay buried just below the surface waiting to complete their deadly missions. The above sign at Beng Mealea has been placed there by the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC), and serves as a warning that mines still exist near the temple. While the immediate area around Beng Mealea and other temples has been cleared of mines, visitors should resist the temptation to head off into the surrounding country to explore on their own.

Friday, July 8, 2011

Friday Foto: Angkor Thom, Cambodia

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Angkor Thom (literally, "Great City"), is located in Cambodia, and was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII, it covers an area of nine square kilometres.

I visited Angkor Thom during my month long stay in Cambodia during February 2011, and was left overwhelmed by the scale and beauty of this great complex. Like the other stunning temples around Siem Reap – Angkor Wat being probably the most famous – Angkor Thom has suffered from weathering, wars, and from the stupidity and vandalism of the Khmer Rouge during their murderous reign.

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Thankfully though, much remains to be admired (and photographed), by the hordes of visitors that swarm over the great temple sites and ancient cities of Cambodia.

Most of the great Angkor ruins have vast displays of bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses, and other-worldly beings from the mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism (modified by centuries of Buddhism). Mingled with these images are actual known animals, like elephants, snakes, fish, and monkeys, in addition to dragon-like creatures that look like the stylized, elongated serpents (with feet and claws) found in Chinese art. [Source: Wikipedia…]
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One can only marvel at the size and scope of the thousands of bas reliefs carved into the laterite from which the buildings of Angkor Thom are constructed. How many artisans and sculptors worked – though slaved may be a better word – for how many years to build, carve and shape these ancient cities and temples? And in an age when the average life expectancy of most Khmer people would have been less than 50 years, how many spent their whole working lives on these monumental construction projects – living, working and dying within the shadows of these buildings?

Definitely, worth a visit, and should be in the Top 10 of any travellers ‘bucket list’.

Angkor Thom in popular culture
The film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider features several characters visiting Angkor Thom during their trip to Cambodia to recover the first piece of the Triangle of Light.

-o0o-

Click on each image to purchase or view excerpts from the books displayed below via Amazon.Com...
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Lonely Planet Angkor Wat & Siem Reap Encounter Angkor: Celestial Temples of the Khmer Moon Spotlight Angkor Wat
Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) Sacred Angkor: The Carved Reliefs of Angkor Wat Vietnam and Angkor Wat (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

It Doesn’t Take Much to Make A Difference

Phnom Penh street seller
This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for a long time. Somewhere during my month long stay in Cambodia this past February, faced with the overwhelming poverty of that country and its long-suffering citizens, the thought occurred to me that, It doesn’t take much to make a difference. Let me explain with three examples.

1. Street Seller Beaten To Death
A few days into my trip, I read a story in the Phnom Penh Post reporting the murder of a female street seller. The woman had been beaten to death by a Cambodian couple who had lent her some money. Apparently, the woman was having trouble repaying the debt, and in their anger, these people had beaten her so severely, she had died as a result of her injuries. What really struck me about this story though, was the amount of the debt.

The street seller had been lent around 40,000 riel (the Cambodian currency). This sounds like a lot of money – and clearly it was for the woman who was having trouble paying back her loan – but here’s the thing, in dollar terms, 40,000R was less than ten dollars! Yes, you read that right. The hapless street seller was beaten to death for less than the price of a cup of coffee and a panini at my local café.

2. Villagers Struggle to Buy Their Own Homes
Another item in a subsequent issue of the Phnom Penh Post related the story of a group of villagers who were being forced to move into new housing for which they would have to pay rent for a period of five years. At the end of five years they would own the homes they were living in. However, some of the villagers (whose flimsy timber and thatch homes were about to be destroyed), were concerned they would not be able to meet their monthly payments, and as a result be evicted from the new housing.

Again, in western terms, the amount of money involved was trifling. The families needed to come up with just $23 each month to meet their obligations. At the end of five years they would have paid just under $1400 and own new homes.

Twenty-three dollars. A month. Again, even if I only bought one coffee a day I would be spending more than $23 a week on cappuccinos, let alone each month.

3. Language Learning
I’ve written several times on this blog about learning new languages, so I was very interested to learn from one of my tuk-tuk drivers that he was attending night classes to improve his English. Not only that, but he was learning Chinese as well, due to the massive numbers of Chinese tourists now visiting Cambodia. His ultimate goal was to become a tour guide, since there seemed to be more money in that line of work.

Unfortunately, this young driver was not always able to pay for his lessons and often missed them. When I asked him how much the language classes cost, I was shocked by his reply: each time he attended class, he had to pay a fee of five dollars.

I should point out here that I did not clarify with the driver whether he paid five dollars for each lesson, of five dollars for both, but I suspect he probably had to pay for each language class separately.

Making a Difference
There are many other examples I could have added to this post, but the three mentioned above will do.

Dear reader: in a world were a woman is beaten to death for owing less than ten dollars, and villagers labour to find $23 each month so they can ultimately own their own homes, and a young man struggles to find five dollars to pay for language classes – it doesn’t take much to make a difference.

I came back from Cambodia determined to make a difference in the lives of some of that country’s poorest citizens. I’m also looking for other ways to give back, and support causes and projects that excite my imagination and I will write about these from time to time on this blog – not because I want to big-note myself, but because I want to promote the idea that: it doesn’t take much to make a difference.

I urge readers to think about ways they too may be able to make a difference in the lives of fellow citizens wherever they may be. You don’t have to look as far afield as Cambodia, however. I’m sure there are great projects and causes in your own neighbourhood that would appreciate your support and assistance, whether financially or by your physical presence. And if you are able to contribute financially to help some charitable cause, you don’t always have to give hundreds of dollars. Sometimes, only a few dollars given on a regular basis can help make profound changes in the lives of the world’s poorest people, and I would urge you to find ways you can contribute to a more equitable, just and peaceful world.
-o0o-

Friday, April 8, 2011

The Fear Factor


Nothing succeeds like failure!
Fear is a powerful motivator of behaviour
that seldom takes us where we want to go.
~ Gordon Livingston, MD

I’ve just finished reading a couple of books by GordonLivingston, MD, a psychotherapist with a wonderful take on life that I find refreshing, and encouraging. The books are Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart and his follow up to that book, And Never Stop Dancing.

Each book consists of thirty short chapters bearing headings such as The most secure prisons are those we construct for ourselves, We are afraid of the wrong things, Not all who wander are lost, and We are defined by what we fear. There are also chapter headings like Marriage ruins a lot of good relationships and my favourite, The primary difference between intelligence and stupidity is that there are limits to intelligence.

Clearly, Gordon is a doctor with a sense of humour!

Many of the excellent essays in the books have got me thinking about the issue of fear, and how it is that far too many people let their fears rule their lives. Often these fears are not grounded in reality, but are dominated and fed by endless bad news stories in print media, on television, and now across the Internet.

With regards to travel, many people prefer to stay close to home (literally), and rarely, if ever, venture further than the edge of town. The idea of heading off on an extended holiday terrifies some people. Others that do travel for long (or short) periods, are not happy unless every stop along the way has been booked and confirmed, and arrival and departure times are mapped and plotted with military precision. Not that there’s anything wrong with this. At least these people are travelling.

There is a huge leap of faith involved in travel. Each journey we make allows us to confront our fears; gives us many chances to test our planning, organisational and negotiating skills; provides numerous opportunities to meet and strike up conversations with complete strangers – often using the barest knowledge of the local language, and each journey also challenges us to face up to our own particular prejudices (and fears).

Since 2008 I have made two extended journeys – one of seven months, and the other of eight months duration. I can honestly say that I never once faced a threat to my welfare or safety during those trips. Any ‘threats’ I did face were entirely of my own imagining, and were always a result of my ignorance and prejudices.

Wherever I have travelled, from the richest countries (the USA, France, and Britain, to one of the poorest (Cambodia), I have been lucky enough to encounter people who were friendly, welcoming, and more than happy to see me visiting their city, village or country. They were not out to rip me off, rob me (or worse), or treat me with anything but care and respect. The one exception on my 2008 trip was the team of pickpockets I encountered in Athens (see Three Man Crush), and the scammers and con artists I encountered around some of the major tourist attractions in Paris (see One Ring to Scam Us All), but my own gullibility is at fault here, and although I was conned out of a few Euros in Paris, I was never under threat of personal injury or harm.

When we are young we are more inclined to take chances and risks, but as we grow older we tend to be more careful and conservative with our actions and risk taking behaviour. As I approach my senior years, I too have become more cautious and careful, and this is wise and prudent. However, age has not stopped me from constantly pushing myself to be more adventurous with my travels and to stay ‘young’ in other ways.

For example, my Greyhound Bus trip from New York City to New Orleans last year (my six part report begins here…), or my month in Cambodia this past March (of which I still have much to write), both challenged me to go beyond my comfort zone in terms of organization, patience, stamina, methods of travel, and in many other ways.

The next time I head overseas for an extended journey I will almost certainly be in my 63rd year. But this is still quite young in many respects. While travelling in Cambodia I met a 77 year old German man travelling alone, and thought, “Why not? More importantly I thought, “Why not me?”

I also met an elderly couple from Sri Lanka travelling in the company of their much younger nephew. We met as they were descending (and I was ascending), a steep, twisting, root and boulder covered dirt path that led to a series of stone carvings known as Kbal Spean. Although the climb was only some 1500 metres in length, under the heat and humidity of the noon day sun, it wasn’t long before I and everyone else I encountered, were covered with sweat and struggling.

As I recall, the elderly man was 82 years of age, and his wife not much younger. Again I thought, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”

Why not, indeed. As long as I am in reasonably good health, there is no logical reason that I can’t still be travelling when I am 77 or even 82 years of age. The only thing stopping me is fear and the eternal – or should that be, infernal  “What if?”

As long as I can continue to overcome those fears and doubts, I’m sure I will be travelling for a long time yet.


Image source: http://www.effective-time-management-strategies.com/

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Battambang Bamboo Train

Battambang's bamboo 'train'
It may not figure as one of the great railway journeys of the world, but a trip on Battambang's Bamboo Train should be on every visitors itinerary while visiting Cambodia's second largest city.

The bamboo train is a single platform open-topped contraption built of bamboo within a light timber frame. It is powered by a motor not much bigger than your average suburban lawnmower engine. In the past, and still to a certain extent today, the trains (there were more than one) were used to move people and goods along Cambodia's almost non-existant rail network. Today, that network is still pretty much non-existant (although there are plans to change that), and while the bamboo train at Battambang now seems to carry tourists rather than locals and their goods, it will probably disappear forever, once real trains begin running again.

My brief 30 minute journey (15 minutes each way), cost $10, although if there are two or more people taking the ride the price drops to $5.00 each. The state of the rails the train rides on leaves much to be desired in terms of smoothness and comfort, with severe jolts, noise and constant rattles along the route's length, which takes you past small villages, vast rice paddies, banana plantations, and provides some great views of the countryside near Battambang.

Once passengers reach a local village about 7-8 kilometres along the track, the train is disassembled (see image) and turned to face back in the direction from which the ride began. Passengers then reboard for the return trip.

The whole experience, though brief, was a lot of fun, and given that the bamboo train may eventually disappear altogether - once Cambodia's rail network is repaired and running again - it is well worth adding the ride to your list of 'great' rail journeys.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Cambodia

The temple at Ta Prom, Cambodia
Just for the record, I'm happy to announce that I am alive and well in Cambodia.

I'm now just over two weeks into a month long stay, and my first foray into a third world country has been an exciting, exhilerating, saddening, life-affirming, eye-opening experience.

It will take me a long to time to absorb the lessons and process the experiences this amazing country has showered on me since my arrival here. From Phnom Penh, to the amazing temples of Angkor Wat and numerous others around Siem Reap; from the eight hour boat trip across Tonle Sap Lake to Battambang, to the experiences, sights, sounds and smells I am still to encounter, this month long visit will certainly turn out to be one of the highlights of my eight month travels, and I am delighted to have added it to my itinerary.

The resilience, friendliness and hope for the future shown by even the poorest of Cambodians has been one of the greatest joys of this trip. I have much to write once I return to Australia, and literally thousands of photographs and numerous video clips to go through before I can share my observations through this blog.

Right now I am in Battambang, Cambodia's second largest city - after Phnom Penh - where I will stay four or five days, before heading down to Sihanoukville for my final major Cambodian stop. If you have ever considered visiting Cambodia, I urge you to do so as soon as practicable. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
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