Floating Village and Forest

After temple running at Angkor Wat and seeing the circus in Siam Reap why not check out the “Floating Villages” tour at Kompong Phluk?  I was skeptical about this at first (lots of negative reviews online), but was pleasantly surprised by the beauty and tranquility of the experience.

What is a floating village?  Basically, houses built on stilts to accommodate monsoon season flooding on the Tonle Sap river in central Cambodia.  

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-17.

It’s a bit funny to me that this is a tourist destination, since back home, my Dad’s boat is docked in a river with houses on stilts.  But those stilts accommodate the varying water levels brought on by tide fluctuations.  

So, essentially the floating village tour features “flood-proof houses”.  But, either way, being on a boat ain’t so bad, especially when it’s 90 degrees F!  

TRAVEL TIP: DON'T BOOK A FLOATING VILLAGE TOUR ONLINE IN ADVANCE.  You can get it much cheaper in Siam Reap.  Actually, this is something I have experienced almost the whole year through for all tours.  Almost NEVER book in advance.  This theory is completely contrary to how I used to travel.  You want to feel safe knowing you have travel plans and tours solidified.  TRUST ME.  9 times out of 10 you will get ripped off.  Unless the tour is something like the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which requires special permits and a guide---you can almost always get something cheaper by booking through your hotel or asking around town.  Be patient.  Been burned many times on this year trip by booking in advance.

There are lots of tour companies that feature the floating villages, but beware---lots are overpriced and get really bad reviews.  Some of the more well known companies are $40 - $50 and some include a visit to the crocodile farm.  

But, my Siam Reap travel buddy Carolin and I did our homework.  Well, she did most of it.  She found a small tour ticket booth in Siam Reap that offered a tour for $18 USD!  And it was really nice. 

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-17.

We were picked up first thing in the morning and our tour guide ‘Vanna’ was quite charming.  He grew up in the village and was eager to show us his hometown.  He was entertaining too, “I am lucky, I am the most handsome man in my family.  I am 30 years old.  My wife is older than me, but it’s ok because I love her.”  

Our cruise was only ~8-10 people total.  Lots of the big companies pack you in like sardines on 50-70 person boats.  

When we got on the boat, a 10 year old Cambodian boy named ‘Ka’ joined us.  As soon as we sat down for the cruise, he got in the seat behind me and started massaging my neck.  I realized he was looking for a tip...and sure enough he says, “$1 dollar.”  It felt really good though, so I was happy to oblige.  But, as soon as I said yes, the quality of the massage went down the drain.  Ahhhh, what do you expect I guess.  He was a good kid and kept me plenty entertained throughout the day.

We cruised for a while down the Tonle Sap river and stopped at the center of the village to check things out.  Lots of kids getting out of school!  Super cute.

Optionally, the tour featured an up-sell of $5 USD for the ‘floating forest’ cruise through the mangrove trees.  Mangrove trees have special roots that allow them to grow in brackish water.  I know, nice use of the word ‘brackish’, Matt!

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-17.

This was SO worth it!  It was incredibly peaceful.  And, the shade of the mangrove trees provided a cool relief from the unbearable heat.  We even saw a monkey climbing in the trees.  Monkeys always make things more interesting, methinks. 

The women of the village are the ones who row the boats.  That’s their job, while the guys are out fishing.  They even bring kids with them.

Our guide was super sweet, and paddled like a pro.  Near the end of the tour, she pulled up a shrimp trap and sure enough, one little shrimp!  

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-17.

After the forest, we ate lunch on a floating restaurant and I had a huge craving for shrimp...which I devoured like a giant.

The ride back was quite nice.  I mostly hung out on the roof of the boat, snapping pics of the locals and fishermen... 

...and clownin’ around with my new buddy Ka.  Good kid, he is.  

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-17.

All in all, our tour was ~5 hours with travel time to and from our hotel.  A relaxing way to spend a half day in Siam Reap.  And, an interesting Cambodian cultural experience!

A famous man once said, "No day on a boat is a bad day."  Wait...I may have just made that up?  But, you get the point.

Phare, The Cambodian Circus

Siam Reap, Cambodia was a breath of fresh air compared to Phnom Penh, literally and figuratively.  I ventured off on a solo trip for a few days to get out of the intensity of the city see the famous Angkor Wat temples.  While the temples at Angkor Wat were certainly impressive, it was the Phare: Cambodian Circus that captured my heart!

It's like Cirque du Soleil, but with Cambodian performers who studied at a local non-profit school for the performing arts.  The NGO was started by 9 Cambodian men after the Khmer Rouge to help support local artists.  Check out the website

The Phare Story is "Uniquely Cambodian. Daringly Modern. More than just a circus, Phare, the Cambodian Circus performers use theater, music, dance and modern circus arts to tell uniquely Cambodian stories; historical, folk and modern."

Phare was recommended by fellow Remote Translator.Liz who had visited earlier in the month.  I went with a German friend (Carolin) who I met on the bus from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap.  The only seats left were general admission and we were in the far back corner.  But, it was a tiny tent venue and it didn’t matter.  The performance was so powerful, there were no bad seats in the house!

Just like Cirque, the show featured music, dance, juggling, acrobatics and humor, all sprinkled on top of an overarching story of an outcast in a village who yearns for acceptance.  It was brilliant.

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-11.

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-11.

The energy in the show is top notch!  These performers had us eating out of the palm of their hands.  Every audience member seemed entranced from start to finish.  I found myself giggling and smiling so much my jaw hurt at the end. 

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-10.

I got emotional at one point during the show. My mind wandered back to the Fuerza Bruta show back in Buenos Aires, which was same same but different.  BA was month 2 of Remote Year, and there I was in month 11.  The whole year flashed before my eyes and the realization that the year is coming to an end brought a range of mixed emotions up to the surface.  

I think the reason I loved the Phare Cambodian Circus so much was because Cambodia was a hard place to live mentally and spiritually.  Phnom Penh is overpopulated. The streets are littered with trash.  Poverty is ever-present.  The dark history of the Killing Fields looms in the back of your mind.  As a caucasian foreigner, everyone thinks your rich and merchants can be rather aggressive.  It is probably the most challenging place I’ve lived this year.

For me, Phare represents hope!  And Cambodians need hope.  Feeling the positive vibes, the warmth of the circus and seeing the smiles of the performers was exactly what I needed.  It was electrifying!

Uploaded by ItsMattSherwood on 2017-02-10.

Hope.  

Hope is not a dangerous thing, Red.

"Remember, Red, Hope is a good thing.  Maybe the best of things.  And no good thing ever dies."

Really good movie! this scene is the best of the whole...

The Killing Fields

Traveling the world is not all rainbows and waterfalls.  It’s a course in world history and sometimes history is horrifying.  The hardest, most humbling, sobering day of the year was visiting the S21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ek Killing Fields in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  

In 1975, the Communist Khmer Rouge Regime under the evil dictator Pol Pot marched into Phnom Penh and took over the city after defeating the existing Cambodian government.  The people were elated as they thought the many years of war were over.  However, they were forced out of their homes and into the countryside.  They were told they could return in 3 days.  Instead, most were arrested and forced to work ridiculously long hours in the agricultural fields.  If they resisted they were imprisoned.  And tortured.  And executed.

From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime killed anywhere from ~1 million to ~3 million innocent Cambodians.  

Some were killed because they opposed the new political regime.

Some were killed because they wore glasses.

Some were killed because they had soft hands.

Pol Pot was as evil as any man in the history of the world.

We visited one of the Cheoung Ek Killing Fields, where ~9,000 bodies were found in mass graves.  Every time it rains more bone fragments, teeth and clothing are unearthed.  

When the mass graves were discovered, they found a tree next to one grave that contained women and children.  The tree had skull fragments and brain tissue all over it.  Studies indicate they killed babies by bashing their heads against the tree, and then tossing them into the graves.

They built a memorial the Cheoung Ek site which houses thousands of skulls, and bones dug up from the graves.

We then visited the S21 Tuol Sleng Prison, where victims were first brought, interrogated, starved and tortured.  A lot of them died from starvation, or torture in this very prison.  But, most were brought to the killing fields to be executed.

Only ~3 survivors remain.  I got to meet one of them.  After Bou Meng, was tortured for weeks, they found out he was a painter.  He was forced to paint portraits of the Khmer Rouge leaders for the remainder of his time imprisoned.

His life was spared.  But his wife's was not.

After these atrocities were discovered, and the Khmer Regime was overthrown, Bou escaped from the prison.  He now paints images of what life was like in the prison.  And, he volunteers at the prison.

I got to meet him and shake his hand. I bought his book.  It was a fascinating firsthand account of what life was like in S21.  And he testified in the court trial against the Khmer Rouge regime.  What a brave man.

Uploaded by Documentation Center of Cambodia on 2013-10-21.

This happened during my lifetime.  It’s almost impossible to fathom that people can be so evil.  

The Khmer Regime was not even really held accountable for their actions.  Pol Pot was able to live out the rest of his life with his family, and the other leaders were not prosecuted for their crimes until a few years ago. 

I don't remember this event being covered in history class back in school.  We learned a lot about the Holocaust, but not much about other genocides.  I guess there's too much history to cover everything.  But knowing world history is important for our future. 

If you are interested in more info, there is a book by a Cambodian woman who was a young girl when her family was forced out of Phnom Penh: First They Killed My Father.  Angelina Jolie is producing a Netflix film based on the book that will be released in 2017. 

And, of course there was the 1984 film entitled The Killing Fields, by Roland Joffre which won 3 Oscars.   

There is a memorial outside the S21 prison with all the names of the known victims.  

And a monument with the inscription:  "Never will we forget the crimes committed during the Democratic Kampuchea regime."  

I know I will never forget.