Cambodia 2020 - 16. Jeep Trip: ‘Dusty’ Back Roads

16. Jeep Trip: ‘Dusty’ Back Roads

Our Jeep and Driver Seyha With Pick-Up at Our Hotel

We did not want to ride an ATV, nor a moped in Siem Reap. We hired a car and driver to take us to the Floating Villages. We took a Jeep Tour.

Naturally, a Jeep, an old fashioned Jeep is made for dirt and back roads, a good way to drive the rural country side - I thought.

Towed by a Moped? Wow!

Including everything, the trip cost us $95/person. Pick up at our Hotel at 8 AM.

Our Driver was Seyha Kim, call me Seyha he said. His English was good.

27 years old, married for 2 years with his first child (girl) due in April. He was a nice guy, we learned a lot on this trip.

Dusty Trashy Roads in the Country

He drove well in our open Jeep. I sat on the back seat, Carol in front on the passenger side. So…off we go.

I cannot tell what roads Seyha took, He drove the back roads going towards the town of Kampong Khleang, our final destination for the day.

We are in Cambodia in the dry season; the above video I found however was filmed during the wet season. I will try to find a dry season video in later reports.

 

Spirit Houses For Sale

While driving, Seyha tells us about life in Cambodia. He has lots of details, lots of news but here are some highlights.

·      80% homes in the country side have electricity now but that is very recent.

·      Most houses now have tap water – they used to have to carry water from a well

·      A boy cannot touch a girl until after they are married.

·      80% homes in the country side have electricity now but that is very recent.

Drying Rice - The Worker and ?

·      House lots of 5 meters (16.5 feet) by 20 meters (65.6 feet) cost:  $4000. Naturally it’s negotiable depending where it is.

·      Most houses have a ‘spirit’ house someplace.

·      Rice is harvested once a year in the dry season, 2 to 3 times in the rainy season.

Well-Tended Crops

·      Rice is dried along the roads; it takes about 3 to 5 days to dry, depending on the season. 

Scarecrow With Helmet

· Spinach, lemon grass, sweet cucumbers are other good crops.

Rural life in Cambodia is very different from life in the cities.

We stopped at Seyha’s parent’s place, met his father and his mother. His father is a mechanic, mostly fixes bicycles but can work on mopeds, too. His mother has a road-side stand, cooks over an open fire for passers-by; she had 2 customers when we stopped for a short visit.

Seyha's Dad

What was odd was the meeting of father and son and mother and son.

They had not seen each other for some time, yet the meeting was very formal. Seyha just said, “Hello, mother!” or “Hello, father!” but no touching, no hugs, kisses, nothing demonstrative. 

Seyha's Mom Cooking Over an Open Fire

It’s not appropriate to show sentiment in public.

What would they do in France?
 
Across the street from Seyha’s parent’s place is a primary school and they were having recess. Seyha took us to visit this school during their break. The children loved having their pictures taken.
(see next blog for pictures)

Nobody minded strangers being in the school yard. Peeking into the classrooms was interesting, I noticed the windows had bars on them, but also had no real window, just the bars.

Children of the Customers

We went to the local, open market, where Seyha’s family shops all the time.

Oh, boy!  This was the real thing. 

·      Very small clams called cockles, marinated with hot chili peppers. They have to be cooked to eat and the lady selling would do that for you but… no thanks!

Marinated Cockles - Need to be Cooked

·      Young woman making palm juice, squeezing the stems and you drink it just like that, impurities and road dirt included. No thanks.

·      Dried fish, including the flies… no thanks!

·      Palm sugar, sitting there in a pot, you can stir it, ladle it…

Palm Juice

·      Roasted crickets and some kind of larvae… somehow I am not hungry.

·      Raw meat sitting on the counters, dead foul, already de-feathered.

You get the idea; the pictures will help you to understand. Are you hungry yet?  It sure would take me some time to get used to this. (More pictures later)

Dried Fish - Flies Are Free

Fried Crickets

Fried Larvae

From Seyha’s parents place we now drove directly to the Chop Stick village of Kampong Khleang.  See part 2, after pictures Blogs.

   

Cambodia 2020 - 15. Preah Ang Chorm & Preah Ang Chek Shrine

15. Preah Ang Chorm & Preah Ang Chek Shrine

$2 For 1 Hour Sightseeing

Hanging Basket Bridge - Wicker Baskets With Lights Inside - Pretty at Night

At the Wat we just visited a tuk-tuk driver asked us if he could show us the town. He told us he was here at 6 AM but as of yet (10.30 AM) he had had no fare. He needs the money. He would charge us $2 for a one hour tour. 

We agreed and he took us over the hanging basket bridge, past the King’s Palace to this Shrine. 

King's Residence When He Is In Siem Reap

 
“Preah Ang Chorm & Preah Ang Chek” Shrine;

as its name suggests this shrine is dedicated to two Buddhas: Preah Ang

Chek and Preah Eng Chorm. 

Two standing statues located inside depict these two Buddhas, Preah Ang Chek is the taller Buddha and Preah Eng Chorm is the shorter Buddha. Local Cambodians believe that Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm are

Preah Ang Chek and Preah Ang Chorm Shrine

protection for the entire town of Siem Reap. Legends have it that when the Khmer Rouge came to Siem Reap and were on a mission to destroy religion in Cambodia, they created a miracle.

The Khmer Rouge, on entering Preah Ang Check and Preah Ang Chorm Shrine and

The 2 Buddhas

attempting to remove both Buddha statues, found they could not be moved; these statues grew heavier by the second until they reached such a weight that Khmer Rouge cadres were unable to move them. 

Aside from beliefs of its indestructibility, the Shrine is also believed to bring good fortune to newly married couples and is therefore frequently visited by newlyweds on their wedding day. 

Guardian of the Gate

Outside of this Shrine were disabled beggars. Many had severe afflictions, worse than I can describe.

A nice young woman wearing a big, flower brimmed hat, had lost her legs below the knee and now walks on her stumps because that is the only way she can get around. Her mind was there, she smiled and chatted away but she was now only half her size. I guess nobody would give her a job.

An old man, bald, bent over with arthritis, thin and malnourished looked like he could hardly hold up his hand to beg.

A young man, his eyes staring into space, did not even know I was there.

This Is Her Pose When I Asked to Take Her Picture - Love the Attitude

A wheel chair, pushed by the mother, that contained a child with a disfigured head, but arms with two hands attached to each arm and two feet on one leg.

Another young man, twisted into an awkward shape could only walk with extreme difficulty. He, too, was thin as a rail. He cringed when I smiled at him, he did not know how to handle friendly people.

What a miserable way to exist, what a way of life they have and yet, all of them smiled in their own way, all were happy in a way, friendly and polite. No, they did not rush me, begging. They sat, looked and waited.

All This Wealth But People Have to Beg

It was shocking to see, but these malformations are also part of life. Many of them are a direct or indirect result of the Khmer Rouge. In the U.S. or in Canada one does not see them often, but here in Cambodia there is no alternative but to beg for a living.

I made sure that I handed out my donations to any and all of them.

I must have given a lot, one dollar each, because they all smiled and shook my hands, thanking me profusely and even waved when Carol and I went back to the tuk-tuk.

Many Beautiful Hand-Woven Carpets

Since we were not that new to Siem Reap by now, the driver asked if we wanted to see some artist’s shops, places he knew that offered artistic souvenirs, or handmade this or that.

Well, not really, but let’s see what there is to see.

Carvings

So we visited a co-op shop, where 2000 families create art to be sold in this and other shops all over Cambodia. We visited the one in Siem Reap.

Almost immediately Carol loved a scarf she saw that was made out of fibers of the lotus flowers. This Lotus Silk is all natural and, of course, holds the colors well and can be woven into anything. The only difficulty is making the ‘yarn’ from the flower stems. 

Many Lovely Scarves and Shawls

 The process as you can see it extremely labor extensive, which translates into anything made by this fiber as being very expensive.

Well, Carol paid $80 for a scarf she loves. The seller started off asking $140.  Was it a bargain?

Bronze Apsara - Too Big to Fit In My Suitcace

After his co-op visit, the driver took us to a Silversmith’ Shop. 2 young women were hammering away outside the shop, decorating serving trays with hand-made designs. The shop was full of items to be sold.

Hand- Tooling Silver

We were being used by the driver to show us ‘art’ shops, but they were tourist traps. I did not like it and told him so. The whole trip now felt like a ‘setup’ to earn the driver commissions on what was sold to us.

The driver seemed to not understand what I saw, so we asked him to jut drop us off at our hotel, since we were in the neighborhood anyhow.

Spinning - Using a Bicycle Wheel

Were we set up; gullible?