photos at Angkor Wat

(note: I returned to DC yesterday afternoon, and will catch up on the rest of my trip as life and jetlag permit. Meanwhile, here's the "monk shot" I mentioned in an earlier post, as well as a shot of me at sunset inside Angkor Wat. -kk)

Of karsts, kayaking, and karaoke…or how I spent my birthday

I awoke on my birthday to an overcast sky, but it was beautiful in a melancholy way with dramatic karst towers jutting out of the water and junk ships bobbing in the opaque, turquoise waters. We quickly dressed and prepared for our official activity of the day: kayaking. This is an activity I always love to do, so the opportunity to do this in such a gorgeous setting was really a treat. The floating kayak rental place doubled as a fish market, so while waiting for our kayaks we peeked in the platform’s holes where they stored the fish waiting to be bought. We were told some of the critters were unique to Halong Bay, and the most interesting was a squid without any tentacles that could change color from white to brick red. It had a sort of bottom ruffle that it wiggled to move about, and I was more than content to view it from a distance.

We’d expected a guided kayaking tour, but this “same same” experience simply gave us the following instructions: don’t break or damage their expensive equipment, be back in an hour, and don’t get lost. That last one was harder than you’d think, as the “bayscape” was truly a maze created by these karts formations. Our guide informed us that one tourist had been lost doing this sort of thing for over a week, and while that seemed a bit exaggerated it was nevertheless plausible. Cori and I were determined to make the most of our brief time and paddled “straight” to a sea cave we saw across the water. We quickly learned that there are either currents at work, or we’re stronger paddlers on one side than the other, or both. Either way, we soon zigzagged across the water and arrived at the entrance. It was barely big enough to fit our kayak inside and didn’t go back far, but it was still exciting to float in there and see stalactites overhead. From there we paddled around, enjoying the gorgeous scenery and dodging a few small fishing boats and the higher-end cruises where their passengers were learning tai chi on the top decks. Curious to see how cold the water was, I dipped my hand in and was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was warmer than the air—about room temperature. We’d joked with our fellow passengers the day before about going for a swim, even a polar bear one, but suddenly this actually seemed feasible…

Back on the boat and during breakfast, our guide asked if we wanted to swim. I don’t think he was quite prepared for my prompt, enthusiastic “Yes”, but I meant it! Not long afterward we stopped at a nice spot (they were all starting to look alike by this point) and dropped anchor. Cori was game, but the only other people who joined us were two art students from Australia. The three of them were determined to jump from the top of the ship, but I was content to jump from the main deck. This also meant I had the privilege of going first (I was the birthday girl, after all) and while I was nervous for a moment (remember those squids I saw earlier?), it was a relief to get out of the chilly air and into the water. The others took a bit more coaxing, but soon joined me, much to the entertainment of the whole crew and fellow passengers. We didn’t stay in for very long, and then it was a quick sprint to the room for a cold shower and quick change. So worth it! I spent most of the sail back inside the cabin to keep warm, but ventured out for the last bit to stand at the front of the boat and take in the view one last time.

Back on land we had lunch at a restaurant and took a van back down to Hanoi. On the way, I tried to observe what the other guide had explained on the drive up to the Bay. Today was a holiday in Vietnam: Teacher’s Day. Students get the day off to visit teachers at their homes (parents, if the kids are too young), giving them gifts and possibly trying to improve their grades and exam scores. Apparently some of the flower arrangements we saw were just for that occasion. I also noticed a lot of fairly recent construction along the way. Halong City itself is only about 15 years old and has gone from sleepy fishing village to a mass of giant casinos where the Chinese come on vacation, some never even making it out into the Bay. I noticed many newer homes that all seemed quite narrow but nice and usually about four stories high (Cori thinks they may actually be apartments). Apparently these are a result of the improved livelihoods that are a result of the lifted trade embargo by the US and others. I never fully understood the current economic or political situation in Vietnam, but it appeared that Vietnam opening up to the outside world and the world responding in kind made things better for many people.

Back in Hanoi, we checked into our hotel. It was very nice, but seemed downright luxurious after the boat. I’ve rarely been so excited to take a hot shower! I let Cori go first so I could check my email for birthday greetings and enjoy a long shower uninterrupted. I was amused to find “The Simpsons” (in English) on TV, but then puzzled to discover that facebook was blocked. Apparently Vietnam hadn’t opened to the West as much as I’d thought? We’d later hear two theories about this:
1) the government recognized the power of social networking sites like this to enable opposition movements to organize and wanted to suppress it
2) the government (may) have ties with a competing site, and is hoping by temporarily blocking facebook it can drive up business
Either way, it made me aware of what I take for granted in America.

That evening we met up with an old colleague from work, John Pilgrim. John’s lived in Hanoi for the past few years and gave us a walking tour of the Old City on the way to dinner. It was nice to have him between me and the motorbikes while crossing the street, as this was the densest I’d encountered to date. We did a quick loop around the Old Quarter before meeting up with his friends at a restaurant called Highway 4. I liked the concept as much as the food: create a place where Vietnamese and expats both feel comfortable and can mingle while enjoying delicious Vietnamese food. They ordered most of it, so all I can really tell you is that the catfish rolls are excellent.

At last it was time for the evening’s entertainment: karaoke. What better place to do this than in the heartland, and with expat experts? I’d been a few times in the US, but this was different. Here, you and your mates rent a room for the evening and play DJ, singer, and audience—though these roles quickly blurred into one. Again, I’d learn two things:
1) “Daddy Cool” is a big hit in Hanoi—possibly because the only words are “daddy” and “cool”, perfect if you’re learning English or two sheets to the wind
2) Non-English speakers create the software, so you may not recognize the spelling, grammar, or even lyrics of some of your favorite songs. I’ve heard some Vietnamese enjoy English-language karaoke to improve their English, but if this is their primary exposure to the written language I can see why we had so many miscommunications.

I returned to the hotel rather late, but so happy for the memories and the start of another excellent year.

Say Wat?

By contrast, our second morning in Siem Reap got off to a late start due, in part, to the work part of “workcation”. We headed much further afield to a place called Kbal Spean, or “river of a thousand lingas”. Rather than build a Wat (temple), here they opted to carve directly into the stone riverbed, which made for a great hike. At the trailhead I saw a sign for a Conservation Center. Since this was a workcation after all, I wandered over afterwards for a tour and was rewarded with seeing all the animals I’ve wondered about, including that gibbon the zipline company was named after. These animals are all rescued from poachers or bred in captivity, and returned to the wild where possible. They also use the Center to educate both locals and tourists on the weird and wonderful critters in Cambodia. One was a primate that is able to excrete a toxin from glands on its arms after biting its victim to create an opening. I also figured out that those long skinny pieces of meat I’d seen for sale along the road were water snakes (no, I did not try one). In almost every case, the biggest threats were habitat loss and hunting for “medicinal purposes”. Apparently there’s a lot of superstition that if you stick certain animals into rice wine, it can do everything from clear your complexion to cure syphilis. As a result, you’ll commonly find bottles for sale in the market place (probably as a tourist novelty) containing entire snakes in rice wine.

On that appetizing note, our next stop was a proper temple called Banteay Srei. After the sheer scale of Angkor Wat, the small scale of Bantey Srei took me by surprise, but what they lacked in quantity they made up for in quality. They used a different type of sandstone here so the carvings have stood the test of time better, their beauty and intricacy matched by the depth of the carving into the dark red stone. Our final stop was far more sober—a landmine museum. The curator had been a child soldier with the Khmer Rouge, only to later become a landmine clearer. The small museum showed how it’s done, and gave a sobering reminder of how many areas in Cambodia still aren’t cleared of landmines. We ended the day on a much happier note by eating at a buffet that included more Khmer dancing—this time at reasonable prices.

We tried to fit a little of everything in on our last day, beginning with another sunrise at Angkor Wat—this time inside the temple proper to take a few more photos of early morning light on the stone. We continued on to Ta Keo, and unfinished temple but a steep one they let you clamber all over—a great workout! By this time we didn’t know what to do next, so we had Dara take us to the Wat of his choice. He drove us to another one which was quiet and relatively isolated, crumbling with mature trees growing from its first platform 10 feet off the ground. It was most impressive for the carved naga, a 5-headed snake that is a common feature on these temples.

Next, we fit in a quick cruise on the Tonle Sap. Again, it’s the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia and swells from the monsoonal overflow of the Mekong. This means that while it’s only 2 meters deep in the dry season at its deepest, by the end of the rainy season (now) it is 10 meters deep. It annually floods the forests surrounding it up to the treetops, allowing fish to nibble on leaves that are normally overhead. It also means that the villages on the edge are somewhat migratory, and many opt to simple live on boats their whole lives, creating “floating villages”. They have churches, schools, shops, etc. all on boats which can move with the seasons. Being out there made me realize that water is their whole life and they use it for everything, and all from the same source. We cruised through the flooded forest for a while to the edge of the lake proper, and it finally sunk in when I looked at the horizon and couldn’t see the other side that this was a lake to be reckoned with!

Our final stop for the day was sunset at Angkor Wat, and we’re glad we did. The afternoon light gave the stone a totally different color and glow, and gave us a moment to reflect on incredible past few days. I dashed out a few minutes ahead of Cori, and as I hopped through a dark corridor I glimpsed bright orange to my right. In disbelief, there was a monk in his saffron robes, sitting in a doorway being photographed by another tourist. The shot I wanted was all set up for me! I asked permission, shot a few pictures, chatted for a moment, and continued the sprint to the tuk tuk so we could dash to the airport. (I’ll try to post this shot in a few days)

And with that, we bid farewell to Cambodia. By the way, did I mention how elusive the smells are on this trip? One moment you smell the most incredible street food, only to smell garbage the next. Exotic flowers, diesel fumes, etc…every smell is strong and balanced by something equally repulsive or enticing.

More of a “birthweek” than a birthday

Originally, the purpose of this whole trip was to watch the sunrise from the steps of Angkor Wat on my 30th birthday. Instead, we started the celebrations a few days early by doing that Monday morning instead. Dara picked us up at 04:30 so we could beat the crowds to buy our tickets before dropping us off at the temple. My first glimpse of it was in the dark, looking across a distance (the moat), to see a bunch of trees only illuminated by the lights of other tuk-tuks. Grateful I’d brought a headlamp, we made our way in the dark across a stone walkway, up and down a bit of stairs, and down another long walkway. At a junction, a woman offered to let us sit with the crowd in chairs to watch the sun come up behind the temple. Not wanting to share the moment with crowds, we opted instead to hike around the temple and watch the sun rising on the temple. For this, we had the moment practically with ourselves, only sharing it with a few cows and locals who biked by. The sky gradually lightened to various shades of purples, then blues, allowing us to see the temple emerge from black darkness to grays. Finally, when we could wait no longer we went in. How do I describe it? Massive, intricately carved…I’m sorry words aren’t coming to me. It was great having Cori there as we read in our guidebook about the symbolism of the layout (three tiers symbolically rising to heaven in the middle), and I realized that the general purpose of a temple in their culture held many similarities with my own religious beliefs. In some respects, they learned about the Creation through the engravings and were preparing to meet their god(s) in the next life. Armed with our guidebook we wandered around, trying to decipher the different murals and shoot as many pictures as possible. My favorites were the hairstyles of the Apsaras (celestial dancers) and a mural depicting heaven and hell. Truth be told, heaven looked rather dull as everyone lounged around in their choice of several elegant mansions that all looked somewhat alike. Hell, on the other hand, had much more creativity behind it. Different sins had different punishments associated with them, which were carved with gruesome detail. They had their tongues cut out, were cut in two, cast into flaming lakes, etc… The list goes on an on. My favorite was simply people shivering in the cold—amen, brother!

When we were finally satisfied, we headed to Ta Prohm. This temple actually became my favorite because of the wild state it was left in. I should probably explain at this point that there are several temples in this region built during the Angkor period. After the fall of that civilization many temples were abandoned and reclaimed by the jungle with the exception of Angkor Wat, which was converted to a Buddhist shrine. The French (re)discovered Angkor Wat in the 1860s and the other temples in the following years, leading to the debate of restoration versus preservation. At Ta Prohm, the decision was to leave it in its wild state with many of the giant trees actually holding the walls up in between their roots. I truly felt like an explorer as we weaved our way around fallen passageways, massive carved blocks of stone, and giant trees. Apparently this one had some connection with “Tomb Raider”, but since I haven’t seen it all I could think was “Indiana Jones”. I also appreciated the shade of these trees during the heat of the day.

It was during our late lunch that the early morning, combined with previous nights of little sleep, combined with the overpowering heat, hit me hard. I could go no further, and thankfully Cori was a little knackered herself so we begged Dara to let us lay in the hammocks usually reserved for the tuk-tuk drivers. He laughed and agreed, which led to a great conversation. Cori was determined to learn Khemr, and I was determined to nap, so everyone was happy. Fascinating, and tragic, to hear Dara’s story.

Our final temple of the day was Bayon, a temple covered in giant faces of a particular king. Imagine wandering around in the late afternoon shadows, feeling like hundreds of faces are staring at you as you clamber up steep steps and try not to fall off. All in all, a fabulous day!

Another tuk-tuk, another town

Saturday started with a long bus ride to Siem Reap, which involved watching a lot of Cambodian karaoke videos and the countryside. The latter was far more interesting, and since the road is now paved the journey wasn’t too bad. We passed through few towns, so most buildings were along the road. It was such an odd contrast of traditional homes thatched with palm leaves and on stilts, with newer villas that would be decent by US standards scattered in between. Throw in the traffic—kids biking to and from school, carts pulled by water buffalo, motorbikes carrying everything from people to large pieces of furniture, military trucks, and fellow tour buses and you’ve got 2 lanes of fun. Beyond the homes there appeared to be nothing but rice fields. We stopped at a town along the way, which gave me a chance to walk down a side street and explore for a few minutes. I managed to find a temple with just cows guarding the place, which placed a very different kind of landmine than the Khmer Rouge. I came back to see them selling tarantulas, beetles, and all sorts of insects deep-fried along the side of the road. The locals took samples; the foreigners, only photographs.

Once I arrived in Siem Reap and settled into the hotel, I rented a bike to explore the town and adjust to its smaller size. I actually missed the river, which would be decent by SoCal standards but at 10 meters across, tiny compared to the mighty Mekong I’d just seen. I soon found a cooperative set up where they’re attempting to preserve the traditional arts and saw how they carved, painted, etc. Armed with my LP (Lonely Planet guidebook), I set out to find a place for dinner that included some traditional Khmer dancing. Little did I know what I was in for that night.

My first clue should have been the posh décor and overly helpful staff. My second clue should have been the absence of such trivial things as a menu (and price list). I sat there in my grubby clothes, sipping my pineapple juice and oblivious to my, when they finally handed me the menu. After weeks of eating cheaply, these prices sent me into a bit of sticker shock. The prices were fine by US standards and I would’ve gone there for a special occasion, but it was way more than I expected. Nevertheless, I decided to make the most of it and was treated to an exquisite meal. Perhaps because I knew what I was paying for every bite I savored it all the more, but it was one of the most delicious meals I’ve eaten on this trip. Finally, the show began. The costumes were similar to the ones I’d seen in Thailand, but the dancing was different. They started with one where the boys wore monkey masks and danced as the animals would before interacting with one of the girls dressed in a beautiful sarong with a golden headdress. Their ancient dances had exquisite costumes, but the “dancing” consisted mostly of slowly striking graceful poses—someone later told me that Phol Pot had killed most of the artists, so the dances were basically recreating the carvings at the temples as they attempted to recreate their culture. The folk dances of fisherman, etc. were also quite nice, but it was during that time that I remembered how little money was in my wallet and the credit cards were back at the hotel. I silently panicked until they brought the bill, and was relieved that I came in just a few thousand Riel short of the total. Lesson learned, the night concluded with some swimming in my hotel’s pool, admiring the stars.

On Sunday I was ready in plenty of time for church…if church had started at 9. Turns out it started at 8, so while I’d been an hour early for church in Phnom Penh, I was an hour late in Siem Reap. Thankfully, I’d run into the missionaries my last night in PP and they gave me a phone number to call for directions or I’d never have found it. Once again, the sign was only in Khmer but the meetinghouse was literally a large villa on an unmarked side street. Still, the final 2 hours were great and I had an awesome girl translate for me. Fittingly, the Relief Society lesson was about keeping a journal and I was reminded how many memories I’m collecting. I also saw the difficulties they face when one sister asked for suggestions on how to do this, since she could neither read nor write. Count your blessings if you’re reading this! After church, I was introduced to a member who was also a tuk-tuk driver named Dara—score! BTW, couldn’t even attempt to sing the hymns in Khmer since they didn’t have a Romanized version—maybe next time.

After church I returned to the hotel and welcomed my travel companion for the next 2 weeks, Cori Smith. Cori lived on the floor below me at BYU, and we’ve been talking about this trip since 2001 or so, never believing we’d actually do it. It was a photograph in National Geographic of a monk at Angkor Wat that set the whole thing off, the intense orange of his robe against the gray stone was exotic and exciting. I said I’d go before my passport expired in 2010, but wasn’t very serious as other trips came up and life progressed. Yet here we are! We spent the afternoon visiting a silk farm, seeing how those elegant scarves were made from start to finish. It was a fascinating process, and I had a newfound appreciation for their beauty, and their price—though I’m too frugal to justify the luxury. Dinner was at a café that included butterflies and frogs—live ones as part of the scenery rather than on the menu, thankfully. We made it an early night in preparation for the week ahead.

Did I mention...

• The tuk-tuks here are different? They’re metal, 2-wheeled carriages hitched to motorbikes. And you have to be careful because not everyone knows where they’re going. My coworker says if they say “yes yes yes” (multiple times) it means they have no clue.
• The streets are numbered, but not always labeled? I’ve started seeing a few signs, but most locals say the signs are “hidden”.
• How many Danish people I’ve come across on this trip? We’ve got 2 in the office alone! Lovely folks, but still surprising to see how it dominates the expat scene I’ve encountered. Perhaps a biased sample?
• We have turtles on the roof of the office? The CI-Cambodia office is so cool! They have some tanks on the roof where they’re helping to breed some rare soft-shelled Mekong freshwater turtles to release back into the river when they’re older. These guys are quite flat and stay burrowed under the sand, only to pop up and scare the heck out of me—and the fish that they eat for dinner. They also swim around at night to hunt, which is probably the only way we’d ever know about them. They’re able to stretch their necks out so you have to hold them from behind if you don’t want to be bitten.
• It’s a pajama party in Phnom Penh? I’ve seen several women and children walking around in pajamas at all hours of the day. When you think about it, it’s just a blouse and pants in colorful matching fabric and is quite modest—but I don’t think I’ll follow their lead.
• The sidewalks are for parking? If it’s only a meter wide, they’ll turn it into a restaurant, but many of them are several meters—wide enough for a car or 2 rows of motorbikes.
• The paper napkins here come out of boxes, just like tissues, but are thin and shaped much like toilet paper?
• My hotel room has a balcony, but it’s too hot and humid to actually spend any time out there?
• That Cambodian firework shows are different? They launch them into the air, just like us, but pause a few seconds between rounds. I never realized how short my attention span could be, and kept thinking it was over. As for the grand finale, they had one large and loud one, and that was it. And with their timing, it was a while before I realized that really was the end.
• Jackie Chan was in town last night? I saw him on TV at some peace event.
• Their Independence Monument, near my hotel, is an odd mix of ancient splendor and shopping mall? It’s a beautiful tower, modeled after Angkor Wat, but the fountains around it light up at night in different neon colors like the outdoor malls and movie theaters back home.
• How many Lexus vehicles I’ve seen? Look under the hood, though, and you’ll see a Nissan engine. They’ll take cars, often from the US, that are too expensive to repair and fix them up like new with the cheapest parts. So apparently the most expensive-looking cars are the ones most likely to fall apart at any moment.
• How you probably have Cambodian goods in your closet? Check those labels—one of Cambodia’s biggest industries is garments for chains like the Gap and Adidas.
• The coconut, bread, and ice cream vendors all have songs or announcements they'll broadcast from their carts, depending on the product? The recycling lady just squeezes a horn.
• The rampant corruption? Their “prime minister” is basically a dictator who forced their king to step down when he was too vocal in opposition. His son, the current king, isn’t as respected by the people so it ensures the minister’s power. He lives in a huge house overlooking the Independence Monument, and I recently heard he just appointed Thailand’s ex-PM as the finance minister. Considering that guy was ousted on charges of corruption this doesn’t bode well for Cambodia or already-frosty Khmer-Thai relations. It sounds like with this kind of leaders at the top, similar characters trickle down the ranks. Unfortunately, it has some cultural roots (divine right of rule = if you aren’t making the most of your power, you shouldn’t have it) as well as recent history (when you haven’t been able to think long-term, why not take all you can while you can). I see NGOs all over the place, but not sure how many of them tackle this directly versus hoping to encourage small-scale change through their local staff.
• Most of the commercials appear to be public service announcements? The hot trends right now are mosquito nets and healthy babies/women’s health.
• There aren’t any left-turn lanes? You simply drive onto the left side of the road (cutting across oncoming traffic).
• The hotel I’m staying at, and especially my room, feels like a pygmy MC Escher drawing? There’s no standard for stairs, so some feel ridiculously shallow. And once you’re in the room, there are 3-4 inch “stairs” into the room itself, into the bathroom, from the entryway into the room, and from the room onto the balcony. Stubbed toes abound if you’re not careful.
• We have 2-hour lunch breaks? The office opens at 8, which is normally pretty early for me, but it’s been great to use these longer lunch breaks to explore local restaurants with a few of the staff. Most days with a Dane and an American, but yesterday we went to a local place with some of the Khmer junior staff. They also are pretty good about leaving on time, which is also different than the DC office. Between tea time, long lunch breaks, and working sensible hours I’ve seen a lot on this trip I’d like to bring home with me.
  
  
  

I'll let you know if I notice anything else.

It's a holiday in Cambodia

No, really, I’m not just quoting the song (thanks though, brothers). I’d come prepared to work a full week, only to discover that Monday was their Independence Day (from France in 1953). Cambodia has 29 national holidays a year, more than any other country. So many, in fact, that apparently most offices choose which ones to actually let their staff take off. I was actually rather grateful; as it meant I could spend the day being the tourist I’d meant to over the weekend.

My overall plan was to shop before it got too hot and then focus on Cambodia’s history, beginning with the worst and ending with the best. I returned to the Russian Market, so nicknamed because that’s where all the Russians used to shop. Oddly enough, I didn’t see a single one while I was there. Instead, I attempted to navigate an indoor maze of narrow stalls selling all sorts of things and generally grouped by type. From raw fish to doorknobs to silk scarves to the latest movie, you can find it all there. It was daunting to stare at literal heaps of clothes and stacks of scarves, but also fun to see all the colors and textures. And I’m happy to say I’m getting a little better at bargaining, or at least more comfortable with it, but I still prefer set prices.

From there I went to S-21, a public school that the Khmer Rouge transformed into a place of torture and imprisonment. I’m never in the mood for such tragic scenes, but I also knew it was vital to learn about if I was going to understand why Cambodia is the way I see it now. It was downright eerie to step into rooms that still had bloodstains on the tiles and to stare at the hundreds of portraits they took of their prisoners when they were brought in. Their victims were every age, male and female, and even babies. It was so tragic, but also baffling to see what Pol Pot wanted to achieve and how he attempted to do so. Tearing families apart, forcing strangers to marry only to separate them, killing the intellectuals and from there expanding the circle to anyone he saw as a threat (including members of his own party), clearing the cities and forcing people to slave in fields, burning all the money in the national bank, and by the end of the horror, cutting the country’s population to less than half. The reason I’ve seen so many new buildings is because they probably replaced a building that’d been destroyed, and anyone my age or older was directly impacted by this nightmare and lost at least one member of their family. From there I followed the path their victims took and briefly visited the Killing Fields outside the city. My guide lost all of his family during the regime, and returned here in the 1980s to help with uncovering the mass graves. Personally, I can’t imagine the psychological impact of working there every day, but I’m grateful he did and was willing to share. He kept encouraging me to take pictures, but I can’t say it’s really something I want to dwell on. They’ve kept much of it as they found it, with teeth and pieces of bone and victim’s clothing all around, and signs describing what awful things took place there.

After that I was ready to focus on the positive, starting with the National Museum. It had an impressive collection of ancient sculpture, but I must admit I’m still struggling to distinguish a statue of Vishnu versus Shiva, let alone what time period it’s from or style it’s in. I wondered how these survived the Khmer Rouge since they’d destroyed so much, and the answer is that it was also affected. Some pieces were damaged, and others were looted and sold overseas as art (they had a bulletin board showing examples of art that’s been returned from abroad in recent years).

My last stop of the day was the National Palace. It’s actually a large complex, and because the king still lives there much of it is off limits. The buildings that were open to the public, though, were so beautiful! Lots of beautiful, colorful, and shiny objects abound throughout. Some of the pieces inside were as valuable for their impressive workmanship as the precious materials, and on the whole it felt both regal and exotic. It reminded me that as awful and relevant as the Khmer Rouge era was, there's so much more to their culture.

Monday was the first day of my trip when my mind wasn’t solely focused on experiencing my current location, though. Instead, I kept thinking about Berlin and the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I remembered in 1989, when my mom brought German Chocolate cupcakes to my classroom and explained the significance of the event to our family. And with Deutsche Welle available in my hotel room, it was hard to pull myself away from their live coverage from the Brandenburg Gate. With the time difference this made for a very late night, but also an uplifting end to an emotional day. Watching the history of it made me realize what an unexpected event it was and how quickly it happened, making it all the more wonderful in its spontaneity and making a similar birth of freedom elsewhere seem possible when you least expect it. Seeing the lack of freedom they’ve had here and elsewhere in the world makes me realize how much I take my own freedom for granted. Speaking of freedom, I was also celebrating the safe return of my friend, Hani, to the US after over 4 months in Gaza. Only the first month was by choice, and watching his situation unfold in contrast to this adventure made me realize that freedom of travel is also a blessing I shouldn’t take for granted.