It has been a long time since we have updated the blog. We have left Kep and stayed another night in Kampot. We were then sent to Arn's house along the Mekong River. At Arn's house we mostly relexed and went swimming. At night we watched a movie with his community. The movie was in Khmer so we had a hard time following it. For two nights we sleep under the stars. We all have bug bits everywhere. Arn left to the U.S. so Visal, a dancer from the Cambodian Living Arts has joined us on our journey.We just arrived at Siem Reap, a smaller city than Phnom Penh, but larger than Kampot. We have started building a communty house in a local village, this house will be used for music events and other gatherings. In a mere two days of building, we have already started forging bonds with the local people and workers. So far the structure is up.
Michael Eccles
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Photos Kep to Siem Reap
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| 12 kilometer hike in Kep |
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| View from mountaintop on pre-breakfast hike |
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| Cooling off in the Gulf of Thailand |
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| Dinner shopping with Seyma near Arn's |
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| Nisa (you may remember her from the Performance at Watkinson in April) and Sinat at Arn's home |
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| Resting at Arn's |
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| Winner of The Most Adventurous Eater Award |
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| Lunch guests on the road to Siem Reap |
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| Welcome gifts on our arrival at Man Men's village |
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Kep Photos
Two tuk tuks to Kep
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| Where did they find that? |
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| Tying frond walls on new house |
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| Pushing stone through rice paddy |
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| Biking to house site |
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| Moving stone into house for cement floor |
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| Family and friends at house site Thursday 5pm. |
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Utilization of Space
In Cambodia, every last inch of space is utilized. When we first arrived, it was quite apparent that many people must live in a limited amount of space. This is true of any global city, yet southeast Asian cities really stay true to that fact in a very visible way. Most shops are open-air and sit directly next to each other. There is no room for large and florid architectural structures to be present like one might see in a city such as New York. Food stands and retail booths are packed right alongside each other. In the countryside, the same use of space is true. No field is without agriculture -- whether it's rice paddies or salt farms. Both Phnom Penh and Kampot's markets take this sense of limited but fully used space to an extreme. Cameron and I agreed that walking through the market evoked an intense feeling of being intimidated and uncomfortability. One steps alongside piles of raw suage while rushes of pungent smells lead one to stride faster and faster. With all of this, one realizes that people are basically living there -- even though many must sleep elsewhere. Men are welding various metals while women chop fish that are suffused with swarms of flies. Then there are the children. This is literally where they are growing up. Infants are seen resting in hammocks in the market shops while older ones chase each other through the dirtiest water one could ever imagine. Finally, the exit is found and a calming sensation overcomes the body. It's over. No more exposure to such astounding and shocking living conditions. One's free to wander the city once more and breath fresher air. There's still that feeling that the others are still stuck in there living the same daily routine. It's a confusing and odd mindset to mull over.
--Arjun
--Arjun
We've Made Our Way To Kep Province
We've made it safely to our hotel in Kep Province after taking a journey to see the caves. What an amazing experience this was. As we arrived at the caves, we had several children great us and immediately engaged in conversation. They were so excited to show us the caves and the carvings of various animals including elephants and pigs. In addition, we took a ride to our work site and learned about Bridges Across Borders Cambodia (BABC). Tomorrow will be a full day of work as we begin to build a home for the poorest family in the village.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Kampot to Kep
Cyclo Tour in Phnom Penh
Lunch at Wat on Chrey Ho
Bicycling out from Epic Arts
Dinner at Sey Ma's home with her family
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day Muay
Today was our first full day in Cambodia, and already we've shared a bevy of new experiences. We were able to speak a little (really, really little) bit of Khmer, and were fortunate that most of the tuk tuk drivers speak English.
We started our day with a cyclo tour of Phnom Penh, including Independence Monument and the Bodding--the home of many of the Cambodia Living Arts dancers. The cyclos are similar to rickshaws--one passenger seated in the front, powered by a bicycle. The seats were open, and we traveled on the main roads already filled with motos (motor scooters, which seem to be the most popular form of transportation here), cars, and trucks, which made for a harrowing ride, but gave us an amazing perspective on the city. I respect the cyclo drivers, who carried us--seemingly effortlessly-- around the city in the full heat of the day.
We walked through Wat Phnom, a temple that lent its name to the city, but our tour was abbreviated due to renovations. Despite being somewhat of a tourist attraction now, with a ticket booth for foreigners, it is still a fully operational temple.
Our next stop was Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the detention facility where 20,000 supposedly anti-regime Cambodians and others were held, tortured, and killed during the Khmer Rouge time in power. I am not easily disturbed, but seeing the actual facilities that housed such terrible atrocities was far too much for me. I've heard about what went on there, even done research on the regime, but walking through the cells, it really hit me what happened here. Some of the most graphic descriptions of the prisoners' suffering came in the form of paintings, created by a man who escaped death by painting for the officers. I find it intriguing that he is able to revisit those experiences in such detail. Notwithstanding the emotional toll, the results are striking and create a sense of the despair felt by the detainees. Also included was a photographic exhibit featuring mugshots of prisoners and an educational feature (most likely for school groups), indicating that Cambodia is eager to educate the next generation about what has happened in their nation's past.
Above the barbed wire-topped walls, one can see the vibrant colors and hear the sounds of city life going on. Tuol Sleng is located in the center of the city, though it was nearly uninhabited while the Khmer Rouge was in power. I find it difficult to believe that 30 years ago, everything was wiped out, and the vibrant culture and arts all had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Abstractly, I thought of Cambodia as a victim of genocide and cultural destruction, but here in the country, few signs of it are present. Everyone is very friendly, and even though many people are living hungry and in extreme poverty, there is a general positive feeling among the people we've encountered.
Our next stop, at the Bodhi Tree restaurant provided a much-needed lightening of the mood. On the breezy deck of a French Cambodian style home, we ate lunch and convinced Arn to join our water glass orchestra. We walked to the Cambodian Living Arts recording studio (furnished with equipment fitting of the masters who play there by Peter Gabriel) and heard some samples from the six CDs that CLA has produced featuring traditional, modern, and fusion music.
A spur of the moment plan then took us to a dance performance outside the city. The performance space was beautiful, drawing inspiration from the Bayom temple, and demostrated just how much interest there is in the arts and culture. There was a very small audience, allowing us an intimate view of the dancers. Even with no prior explantation, the story was easy to grasp.
We finished our day on the balcony of the Foreign Correspondents Club, overlooking the Mekong River and the nighttime cityscape. With the exception of some minor dehydration, we are all healthy as can be, and are eagerly awaiting the events of the next twenty days. Tomorrow, we leave for Kampot and another day of new experiences.
Written by Will Corban.
We started our day with a cyclo tour of Phnom Penh, including Independence Monument and the Bodding--the home of many of the Cambodia Living Arts dancers. The cyclos are similar to rickshaws--one passenger seated in the front, powered by a bicycle. The seats were open, and we traveled on the main roads already filled with motos (motor scooters, which seem to be the most popular form of transportation here), cars, and trucks, which made for a harrowing ride, but gave us an amazing perspective on the city. I respect the cyclo drivers, who carried us--seemingly effortlessly-- around the city in the full heat of the day.
We walked through Wat Phnom, a temple that lent its name to the city, but our tour was abbreviated due to renovations. Despite being somewhat of a tourist attraction now, with a ticket booth for foreigners, it is still a fully operational temple.
Our next stop was Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21), the detention facility where 20,000 supposedly anti-regime Cambodians and others were held, tortured, and killed during the Khmer Rouge time in power. I am not easily disturbed, but seeing the actual facilities that housed such terrible atrocities was far too much for me. I've heard about what went on there, even done research on the regime, but walking through the cells, it really hit me what happened here. Some of the most graphic descriptions of the prisoners' suffering came in the form of paintings, created by a man who escaped death by painting for the officers. I find it intriguing that he is able to revisit those experiences in such detail. Notwithstanding the emotional toll, the results are striking and create a sense of the despair felt by the detainees. Also included was a photographic exhibit featuring mugshots of prisoners and an educational feature (most likely for school groups), indicating that Cambodia is eager to educate the next generation about what has happened in their nation's past.
Above the barbed wire-topped walls, one can see the vibrant colors and hear the sounds of city life going on. Tuol Sleng is located in the center of the city, though it was nearly uninhabited while the Khmer Rouge was in power. I find it difficult to believe that 30 years ago, everything was wiped out, and the vibrant culture and arts all had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Abstractly, I thought of Cambodia as a victim of genocide and cultural destruction, but here in the country, few signs of it are present. Everyone is very friendly, and even though many people are living hungry and in extreme poverty, there is a general positive feeling among the people we've encountered.
Our next stop, at the Bodhi Tree restaurant provided a much-needed lightening of the mood. On the breezy deck of a French Cambodian style home, we ate lunch and convinced Arn to join our water glass orchestra. We walked to the Cambodian Living Arts recording studio (furnished with equipment fitting of the masters who play there by Peter Gabriel) and heard some samples from the six CDs that CLA has produced featuring traditional, modern, and fusion music.
A spur of the moment plan then took us to a dance performance outside the city. The performance space was beautiful, drawing inspiration from the Bayom temple, and demostrated just how much interest there is in the arts and culture. There was a very small audience, allowing us an intimate view of the dancers. Even with no prior explantation, the story was easy to grasp.
We finished our day on the balcony of the Foreign Correspondents Club, overlooking the Mekong River and the nighttime cityscape. With the exception of some minor dehydration, we are all healthy as can be, and are eagerly awaiting the events of the next twenty days. Tomorrow, we leave for Kampot and another day of new experiences.
Written by Will Corban.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Safe Arrival
Smooth travel all the way to Hong Kong, where an hour delay got us to Phnom Penh just as the sun set around 6:30. Beautiful views of the Mekong / Tonle Sap rivers as we flew low over the rice paddies on the outskirts of the city.
No problems getting Visas and our baggage (I remembered all mine this year) and Arn and SeyMa were at the airport to meet us. Checked in to Town View II and out to dinner at a fairly new restaurant open by Phlouen Prim, the new director of CLA.We're off on a cyclo tour of parts of the city this morning in a few minute (8am here - we are 11 hours ahead of you).
All is well. More later.
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