Friday, June 29, 2012


Lay of the Land
Athens continues to be nothing short of A-mazing! On Sunday evening Afro (Afroditi) and I headed into the city for a lovely stroll around downtown, giving me my first look into the city while gathering my bearings. When we ascended out of the train station and walked out into the yellow twilight colors, I heard the words, “look up”, and there it was in between 2 tall buildings… The Acropolis! Still four or five kilometers away (~2 - 2.5 miles) on top of the hill in the middle of town, there she was- the ancient city in all her glory!  The majestic colors of sundown only added to the magnificent glow coming from the tattered columns of the Parthenon.



 







We continued down that street into the city center, also known as the Monastirali . We wondered through the square, most vendors were closed, and I couldn’t help but notice the graffiti, or “tagging”, EVERYWHERE!  Not just words, letters, and what I could guess would be negative phrases, but striking and unique pieces of art, everywhere you look in this city- on every storefront, alley, and structure- the awe-inspiring talent is non-stop!  My favorite phrases, as translated, tagged on the walls were, “Everything you fear you learn from TV” and “Thank Money, we have god”. Just some things to think about when a country such as this, as historical, rich with culture and character, finds itself in a crisis such as today's. Could the crisis be that of character in cause and of financial in effect?
 













We grabbed a bite for dinner, a savory, spicy kebab with Tziziki for me! I am in LOVE with the Greek food!  I can’t get enough! Afterwards we continued to meander through the Plaka. The Plaka is the area between the ancient city walls and the city center of downtown. Here the artists of town fashion themselves as the energy that breathes through the town. Ghetto next to lavish houses in structures built over the centuries- gypsies, hippies, aristocrats, academics, and the like saunter throughout the village type atmosphere.

As we neared the top of the hill we came across a University building, there was a line and tickets being sold.  “To what?”, we asked.  “Socrates Now” was the answer. Its an 80-minute monologue by a Greek/American man from NYU, a partner University to this one in Athens acting out Plato’s “Apology”.  Plato, Socrates most famed student wrote the “Apology” following the persecution and murder of his teacher. The “Apology” outlines, from Socrates point-of-view, his defense to the indictments he faces for opening young minds and “corrupting the youth” of Atheana. A tremendous production, simple and clever, captivating and engaging, with a nice touch of free flowing wine and beer during the performance, Afro and I enjoyed our front row seats! Following the performance the floor was opened for a discussion lead by the actor- How to apply Socrates philosophies to today? With a crowd of Americans and Greeks and Greek-Americans all experiencing the “Global Crisis”, placid is not a word I would use to describe the discussion session.  However, I would use insightful and thoughts provoking as an accurate description.  The free wine helped.

Unfortunately we were unable to stay to the end of the discussion as we had to catch the last train home to the suburbs.




Athens – A More Traditional View
It was Monday morning and there was a lot to do! A whole ancient world waited!  I spent the day. and the next two, cruising around Athens, getting my footing, taking loads of photos, and enjoying the history beneath my feet.  


Visiting the Acropolis was HOT! The stifling heat did not hold me back though as I climbed that hill, walking the path of millions before me, up to the top. Passing Dionysus Theater while reading about the ruins and structures which were present throughout the ages was a great beginning, and made the climb “up” seem more like a walk “around”.  There were 2 colors visible once I reached the top, white and blue. The deep blue sky lit the background for the white marble and rubble that remained in every direction. Over looking the city glitters of silver from solar panels and heating systems atop the cities white dwellings met the eye.  On and on and on, square abodes of the Mediterranean sort were surrounding.
















The Acropolis Museum is apparently closed on Mondays and I had to return another day for that. If you ever go, please go to the museum before the Acropolis! Then you will know more of what you are looking at while on top of the ancient city.  As it were I did it a bit backwards and my interest was still held in awe.



The Museum is overwhelming.  When at first you start looking at every unique piece and reading its history, you clearly feel as if you will be there for 8 hours reading the same basics over and over. Individually each piece becomes a bit repetitive.  But when you take your eyes up and open them to the whole room, the shear magnitude of the place will put a glint in your eye with a smile on your face!  The white room provides vertical lines of sight everywhere. Column after column, with statues rising up- some in multiple pieces, non whole- the artistry is outstanding. Of course they do not allow photography within the confines of the Museum. Of course I tried to execute my slyness (inspired by my owe-so-sneaky nieces Julia and Erin as they think they are ;) ), and take a photo from above without the curators noticing. Here is the only somewhat decent shot I got before I fled the scene. Damn clicking noise of the shutter opening and closing! 
 








Adventures downtown continued in the National Gardens outside Parliament (where 30 – 40 police sit vigilly all day with bulletproof shields- a new feature of the city since the riots began), through the Olympic City of Zeus, which had closed at 3 (everything here closes so early for a city with daylight until 9pm!) and back down to the Monastirali for a little more window shopping. Greek treasures are everywhere!  I was also able to visit the Planetarium in another part of the city and watch an IMAX film on evolution of our planet. One ear heard English through the one earpiece given to you while the other heard the Greek coming from the public speakers. 

Afro and I took a few evening meals together between her studies (she is finishing up her Masters in Energy this month, how nice of her to host a guest during such a time!) and she has begun teaching me the Hellenic alphabet. Funny thing, I didn’t even realize I already know the Greek alphabet. My sister Katie taught it to me at a very young age as she had to know it for her Greek Sorority at University. I had totally forgotten I knew it, letter by letter. Also, it took me 2 days to realize I recognized 2/3rds of the letters on every sign. I am just so used to seeing them in mathematical equations, not in real words, that they looked foreign to me when in reality I have used a portion of them for years!  This week 1 – 10 and the alphabet, next week I’ll be fluent! Or I’ll continue trying anyway ;)

After wrapping a few things up and collecting the things I may need on the island, I am ready to go!  7 full days in Athens have been exactly what the doctor ordered. A few kite/beach days of simplicity, a few days perusing the city of Athens, getting ahead in work, and finalizing personal items, time, and space (as I will have none of my own once I reach the next chapter in Paros) and I am off!

Watching the port melt into the golden sunrise over Athens I sit in a comfortable “Captain’s chair” aboard the Blue Star Ferry’s Delos vessel. After some shut eye over the next 4 hours a new chapter begins and I can’t wait!  Paros, are you ready for this?  Barlow, are you?!! 

Islands in The Med from the deck of the boat:






Sunday, June 24, 2012

Off on a New Adventure! Magnificent Greece!


BOOM! I’ve hit Athens.  And just like that, after 3 planes, 3 delays, and a glorious day in London, I was wondering what in the world I was going to do after my passport was stamped. It was 11pm, I had a headache from the 2 Peroni’s at lunch in London, and I had absolutely no idea where I was going. No Euro’s in hand (had to charge 1 Euro for an airport cart), no working sim-card providing Internet access, who knew if the tourist desk would still be open or how to not get ripped off getting downtown to find a hostel, or at least an internet shop where I could see if anyone had responded to my Facebook queries of getting in touch with someone in Athens.  My Plan A had fallen through… albeit a week prior.

But first, getting there!
My flight from Philly to Newark, NJ was 2 hours late!  What?!  I could have taken the train quicker and not be cutting it so close to my London flight! It was a no-go without removing my luggage, I surely wouldn’t have time then to check it back in and make the flight.  I would have to wait and pray my flight didn’t get moved back any later. As it were the plane came in without further delay, and we hopped on.   All 2 of us. Everyone else had been moved onto different flight plans. The flight attendant sat in the back with us (where we had to sit to balance the plane) and cracked jokes, obviously preferring working for Continental before the Continental/United switch.  I was able to find a way for him to provide 2 beers, free of charge, to the 2 of us sitting in the back, “easier done when we were continental” he said. “Well the plane is 2 hours late and may cause me to miss my London flight, I think customer service would right it off.”  With a smile he handed us each a beer.

Running down the terminal I arrived at the beginning of boarding for London. I even had time to duck in and use the lu before final boarding was called. The ticket attendant was Filipina, naturally we spoke for a bit, then the girl behind me was talking of backpacking in England, and all felt right with the world again.

Lunch in London!
After a 4-hour sleep, arrival in drizzly London was an hour late.  An old friend from University in Adelaide met me at the airport, 5 years it had been since we last saw each other (unfortunately we forgot to get any pictures!).  Picking up right where we left off, I enjoyed a tour around Westminster. Having lunch outside near the river with Westminster castle in sight we were not minding the trickle as we caught up. Starting when I left Saigon I have been seeing old friends from “College Days” at every stop.  All have been fabulous and loooong overdue.  Each has been tremendously valued and this was no different.  It is interesting to see yourself in the eyes of 5 years again and again by those who saw you best.

After a great stop-over, a bit of freshening up, it was back to the airport.  Checked in and practically walked right onto the plane, filled with Greeks. Welcome to Greece I heard myself saying.  Slept the whole way.

Woke up, turned on the phone. 3G not working. Must get Greek sim-card.  “Hope they sell them at this airport and this late I night”, I heard myself saying.  Reminding myself as I collected the luggage, “Now worries Barlow, you’ve done this countless numbers of times. You will get to your destination and put your head down before your night is over, wherever that may be. First things first, get your luggage, clear immigration, and see what resources are outside and open to you in the airport.” If worse came to worse my plan was to get in a cab, and hope he wouldn’t rip me off while he took me, “downtown”. Which, with current economic standings, isn’t exactly a place you want to wander too long with all your belongings.  But have trust in the right people, and you will get there without too much worry or time.  Be aware, be open, be aware.


And Her Name was Afroditi!
There wasn’t a single official at immigration, walked right through and was quickly scanning the lit signs to see what was still open.  Then it happened… I heard my name, “Anny?” she said. “Afroditi!?!”. “Yes” with a giggle and I felt like 1000 worries had been lifted off my shoulders.  For a friend had given me an ‘Afroditi’s’ number and said just call her and she will tell you where to go.  But a working phone I did not have. Never in all my hopes and dreams did I expect to see the wonderful woman at the airport there to pick me up! For heaven’s sake, I hadn’t even told anyone which flight I was on or where it was coming from, only that I was arriving around 10.30pm…

Afroditi had gotten that message through my friend Paula (already instructing at the island I am going to, Paros) and took her chances. As it were, there was only the one flight arriving at that time, so she took a guess to go to that section of immigration and wait for the London flight. Awesome!

taken with an iPhone
As we giggled out of the parking lot about how it all worked out and I was still in a bit of happy shock, there were a group of 3 behind us in the parking lot, a French woman and a Greek man were picking up a Japanese woman from the same flight in which I had arrived.  They were popping Champagne and had proper glassware for all, including us! Sitting in the Athens Airport parking lot we shared short biographies and laughed and learned of each others international interests and had great fun praising Greece despite the economical crisis they were living in.  “Man!” I thought, “This has been a great 15 min!”.  And then we were off! Afroditi was taking me to her “home” kite spot to see what was happening for the rest of the night. On the way I learned there wasn’t 1, but 3 options of places for me to stay on couches by friends of friends. I have to say, I LOVE the kite community!

I Haven’t Been to Athens Yet
Since then I have just been kiting East of Athens, about 40 min away from downtown, and having a marvelous time!  The spot here has clear blue water, rocks on which you walk out, then reef with sea urchins (don’t put your feet down) and two flat islands downwind. 


Not being on the water since my ankle sprain in Thailand in March, my sea legs, and ankle, were a bit shaky.  Following the advise I learned from those experienced at this spot I stayed upwind of the islands- too well upwind.  On the second I tried to land on my weak ankle (idiot idea in front of the islands) and lost my board. A wave comes and boom, my board and I are thrown at the island, and its rocks. Scraped up the left leg a bit, only one deep gash, and took a nice hard hit on my tail bum, the kind where it hurts to sit still, 3 days later.  But without delay, grabbed my board, got on it, and got out! Had no more problems, got back into the muscle memory program for an energetic following 2 hours nailing hooked tricks and feeling my ankle get stronger, and then tired.  Had a great first session with scenic mountains outlining borders around the see-through water of the Mediterranean Sea.

Met local crew throughout the night, watched Greece soccer loose to Germany and finished up a photo project for a magazine.  Day 1, a success!

Day 2, thought about staying off the water for my cuts, couldn’t. Went in for an easy and short session, “Only ½ an hour”, I told myself and I was to be riding/trying a strapless surfboard anyway, slow moving trying to get up, “I’m not going to be going anywhere fast if I am only in for an easy 30 min. sesh. Boy, was I wrong! Once up and moving, and moving fast, I wasn’t about to go in! I was having the time of my life on that board. Decided I’d take the day off “tomorrow, to see the city” and keep on riding today. It was a blast! My deep cut got a good washing, probably too good. “Oh well, nothing but the city for the next few days so it will get a chance to get a good heel” and on I rode gaining more speed upwind and carving on a few little bumps of waves by the end, I found my footing and a new favorite!

Later that evening Afroditi and I went with her friends by boat over to one of the flat islands and camped. Looking up at Scorpion, The Big Dipper, and shooting stars, we could view the lights of Athen’s beach suburbs surrounding us, and the thought, “life doesn’t get much better then this” crossed my mind.  Of course so did the faces of my nieces, nephews, and the family I do miss dearly.  I wish you were all her to see!



The Plan
Today is the next day; I am to spend it in the city. It is 3.30, I’m now finishing my blog, and then off I am for my first evening in Athens! With my cut and beaten left leg, adding in my tailbone and the sore abs from yesterday’s strapless learning experience, Afroditi’s couch looks pretty good right now.  But I won’t! I will make it out- Athens here I come! J

I LOVE THIS PLACE!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Enchanting Cambodia!

Yes, its true, I finally left the beautiful country of Laos, taking a 14 hour bus ride over the border, yet another border/bus ride adventure. It was a mess! On both sides the Laos and Cambodian borders the customs officials extort you each for a dollar in order to stamp your exit or entrance stamps, out of or into the countries. A dollar doesn't sound like much, but in these countries it will buy you 3 beers or food for the day. Most tourists just pay this and understand it is part of traveling around South East Asia, but there are always those few that refuse to pay on principal. I saw this happen on the Cambodian side of the border this time. A man from Morocco threw a fit, he demanded for badge numbers and names. The Cambodian Officials just laughed and said words to each other in their language, Khmer. This infuriated the man and his tantrum got even worse. Then he pulled out a camera and took their pictures! When the officials saw this they went crazy, demanding the camera. The Moroccan man took off running back to the Laos side of the border, but he didn't make it. With 3 or 4 Cambodian customs officials on his back he came a tumbling down. I'm not sure if there was any punching or kicking, it was hard to see, but probably there was a little. Then they took his camera and erased the pictures. But they were nice, they left him with his camera. the whole time a guard was apologizing to us for having to see this scene ( I imagine it is pretty normal there, at least one a day). He was explaining how you can not take pictures in the customs office (which was really more of a 3 sided shack in the middle of a dirt road). This makes sense though, in any US customs areas you are certainly not allowed to take pictures, its a security hazard! Hell, your not even allowed to have your cell phone on. All in all, it was a scene to behold, but I'm glad no one was really hurt. The Moroccan man stayed in Laos in the end. This whole scene though turned our 11 hour bus ride into a 14 hour bus ride while we waited for everything to get sorted!
Next I found myself in Cambodia's capitol, Phnom Penh. It's gorgeous here! Not at all what I was expecting seeing as Cambodia is one of, if not the poorest, countries in South East Asia. It is unlike most crowded and dirty cities in Asia. It has huge streets with beautiful trees and bushes, many many parks where the locals all gather in the evenings for recreation, or simply a picnic with family. There are many beautiful buildings here, some built with the colonial french look, but more that have the exotic elegance of Cambodian style. The royal palace is gorgeous not to mention the high court. There are also many monuments remembering the many significant political and historical struggles of the Cambodian people such as the Independence Monument and the symbol of beauty represented by the Vietnamese Friendship Monument. The city is exquisite!For those who don't know, there has been much sadness in this country's history. A leader named Pol Pot organized a communist revolution in 1975 while the country was weak from the destruction they endured from the US as a side note of the Vietnam Conflict. His regime was called the Khmer Rouge and was said to be the worst communist faction in the world's history. All intellectuals were killed, including doctors, teachers, lawyers, anyone wearing glasses or anyone who spoke more than one language as they were seen as a threat to the Khmer Rouge's revolution. The paranoid Khmer Rouge ruthlessly tortured and killed every intellectual or government official from the past and all of their family members, inclusive of smashing babies against trees in order to prevent revenge for their parents in the future. Every other man, woman, and child was made to work from dawn to dusk while they starved. I have heard many figures for this next statistic, but the most widely accepted one seems to be that between 1975 - 1979, just less than 4 years, it is estimated that 2 million people were systematically murdered and that another 2 million people died as a result of starvation and disease. A total of 4 million people lost their lives due to the Khmer Rouge's brutality! They say the country reeked of death and decay during this time period.
Here in Phnom Penh I was able to visit the high school that was turned into a torture prison, labeled office S-21 back then or Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum now. The whole place was eerie and disturbing, but when you walked into one of the classrooms that had been used for torture, you could feel it right away. They were such grim and bare rooms, today displaying pictures on the wall of what the room looked like with a prisoner being tortured there. One of the things I personally found disturbing was when you walked around the grounds, or up and down the stair cases, it was undeniable that you were in a high school. A building built for learning and development. A building that was suppose to expand the minds of their youth. A building that was meant to be a safe place for young people to evolve and flourish. It looks like any other high school, classrooms still have their blackboards and you can picture teenagers eating their lunches or exercising with gym class on the grassy greens outside. To view the institution that was built to help grow and develop young minds but was turned into the exact opposite is a barbaric, but very real, display of what the Khmer Rouge was all about. Another disturbing but gripping must see are the killing fields where so much brutality took place. Here I visited many mass graves, the largest contained 450 people in it and there was one grave full of naked women and children. You can even see the tree where the baby bashing took place. Today when you enter the killing fields, the first thing you see is a huge memorial built to remember those who suffered here. The memorial contains shelf after shelf of skulls, bones, and clothes that were uncovered in the graves. In total there are over 9,000 skulls in this memorial. Most skulls you can see are cracked or completely broken in half. This is because the Khmer Rouge would not waist ammunition on those they wanted to kill. Instead they beat people over the heads with axe's and hatchets. Terrible!
But today I find Phnom Penh is quite a lovely place. It is a beautiful and bustling city with many kind faces trying to rebuild their communities. Everyone speaks English and the begging kids are so smart and show off their intelligence by betting you they know more about your country then you, and they are usually right. It is such a shame they don't have more opportunities, they are bloody brilliant. You do also see many people missing limbs that they have lost to land mines around the country side that the Khmer Rouge put in place over 30 years ago to kill those that tried to escape. But the Cambodian people get on with their life and are happy to greet you with a smiling face. They are truly amazing. My heart weeps for this country and yet the smiles I see all around bring tears of joy to my eyes. The energy and vibe the people offer is incredible! (To the right is my armless friend Tom :) )
A BIG thanks here to my friend Jared, the Canadian Journalist I met and traveled with in Laos. He lives in Phnom Penh and gave me a place to stay for the week while I explored this bewitching city.
Next I moved on to Siem Reip. The other major city in Cambodia. Siem used to be the name for Thai people and Reip means victory. At one point, many many many moons ago, Cambodia used to be the largest kingdom in South East Asia and their borders extended well past the western and eastern limits seen today. When they conquered the Thai's, or Siem's, they renamed their capitol Siem Reip.
Now this is more the type of "city" I was expecting to find in Cambodia. Yes there are paved roads, but dirt ones too. Yes, there are many buildings, but none very tall. Half of it is a bit run down, half not. But it is a quaint city with an appealing vibe. The big attraction here is of course Angkor Wat and the other many surrounding temples from the Angkor time period.
Angkor Wat is a magnificent site to behold. One could just marvel with admiration at it for hours. It took only 40 years or so to build they estimate, but took close to 400,000 slaves to build, not to mention the hundreds of thousands ox, water buffalo, and elephants. Stone was taken from the near by mountain and transported via road during the dry season or river raft during the wet season. The detailed artwork covering the temple is superb and sure to dazzle anyone. A french explorer once said, "One of these temples—a rival to that of Soloman, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome." And a Portuguese monk said in 1586, "It is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world!" And both these statements still do not do it justice. How on earth someone could even conjure up the idea of such a building I will never know. It is divine! Originally it was built as a Hindu temple, but it was changed in the late 13th century, with little work, to a Buddhist temple. It and many of the surrounding temples and statues suffered small amounts of destruction during this time period. Many of the statues are missing heads. Then when the Khmer Rouge were in power they used these temples as a fortress and the statues they used for target practice. You can still see bullet holes in the walls. They wanted to destroy religion and they attempted to ruin some of these enchanting buildings. Today Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples are a protected UNESO World Heritage Site. Receiving money from many different European nations it is being conserved for all future generations to see. It really ought to be one of the World's 7 Wonders!
My favorite temple was Bayon. Not that Angkor Wat wasn't marvelous, because it was, but there are sooo many tourists around that it can be difficult to enjoy. Bayon was just a kilometer or so from Angkor Wat and is magnificent in its ruin. Much of it has fallen apart, leaving the path to the main parts of the temple a little bit of a maze. This temple is famous for its faces. There are something like 56 towers, each with 4 huge faces carved into it. Here there are also many tourists, but it is easy to get away from them as there are many hidden places throughout the maze. Plus, many of the steps are super steep, discouraging most from ever going up. I chose to go up into one tower with such steps. It was a little scary coming down, but well worth the peace and quiet I found inside.
Another favorite of mine was Ta Prohm. Also known as "The Tomb Raider Temple" as this is where a lot of filming occurred for the adventures of Miss Lara Croft. This temple is the only one that has been restored minus cutting out the jungle that has grown on and around it, cutting into it. They have preserved this temple this way in order to demonstrate to visitors how the jungle had overgrown, practically eating many of these temples. A lot of the destruction done to this area was done by the jungle. For hundreds of years it was only a myth among locals that the gods had a hidden city here. When it was finally found in 1586 the whole area looked nothing like today. One would easily get lost among all the overgrown foliage.
I visited many other temples as well. There was one with this enchanting little Cambodian band playing music for donations outside. The band was comprised of people all missing at least one limb, or handicapped some other way. There was one blind man. They did play the most beautiful music though. It was the first time I heard Cambodian tunes that I actually liked.
After spending three days among the grounds of the Angkor temples I decided to embark on a little adventure off the beaten track. I had read about this temple at the Cambodian/Thai border to the northeast. Its name is Preah Vihear. This temple has a war being waged over it between Cambodia and Thailand. It is from the Angkor time period and obviously a Khmer temple which should undoubtedly belong to Cambodia. And currently it does. But the Thai's have a big problem with this as they want access to it from Thailand. Not only so that they may visit it more easily, but so that they could benefit from more tourism in this area. Presently there are hardly any tourists who make it here. It is at the front line of a war. But the war is not an active one usually. About once a year Thailand will start a shoot off with Cambodia that will last 1 or 2 hours and that will be the end of it for another year. Apparently no one has ever died on the Cambodian side, but they proudly claim they have killed Thai's.
It is a difficult place to get to. I had to hire a car and driver for me for 2 days, not a cheap mission. I should have just hitch hiked. Then once you are at the bottom you have to hire a motorbike guy to take you up the mountain. You are not permitted to spend the night at the top as a military safety precaution. All though I did meet one gentleman up there who did sneak under the cloak of the jungle at sunset and then hung his hammock and slept up there at night, taking it down at sunrise.
When I arrived I was first led through the military camp set up at the top. This was one of the most interesting parts to the whole visit. I met families who lived up there and a young boy, maybe about 7, showed me how to load a rocket launcher and point it at Thailand, "Cambodia shoot Thailand" he said with a smile on his face. I stared down the barrel of the rocket launcher across the mountain side to Thailand. A-mazing! Then the boy and his soldier friend showed me more weapons and ammunition. They took apart rockets to show me how they were put together. They brought me to their bunkers where machine guns were setup, pointed at Thailand. I also saw where many of the men slept in bunkers. But as there is not active war most of the time most of the soldier sit around playing cards at the border, or having impromptu English classes around the temple. I took a look at one of their English paragraphs they were translating. It read, "It's Okay to touch people with AIDS she said. You can't get AIDS from that. These people are ill and they need our love. So we much touch them, and talk to them, and listen to them too. There were pictures of Diana and the people with AIDS on TV and in all the newspapers. People loved her because of the photographs. And Diana was happy about the photographs too!" I tend to think these Cambodian military are not only benefiting from English lessons when they translate things like this, but learning worlds more about the content they are translating.
As I walked down to the fence that separates Cambodia from Thailand I came across a little village built up there to support the military men. You could get noodle soup from one of the street 'cafe's' (I use that term loosely) that play WWE wrestling matches on TV that they receive vie their Satellite TV hookup. Even here satellite TV is possible! Unbelievable! I also met many of the children who live here. To be honest, they were some of the dirtiest and most beautiful kids I have ever seen! They all were caked in dirt (I do believe water is a precious commodity up there, especially at the end of the dry season), they hat bugs flying all around them and insects in their hair, plus most had snot coming out of there nose just resting there, no one was bothering to wipe it off. And then snot was transferred to everything they touched, in their hair and clothes. But the smiles were angelic and the excitement to see a foreigner was uncontrollable. I would take their pictures and they would all grab at my legs and arms to see the image, their grubby little hands smearing all over the LCD screen. But I didn't mind, they were so happy to see pictures of themselves. I don't know if they had ever seen a camera before. It was an astounding experience for me to feel their love and attention and bring smiles to their faces. I met one boy of extreme interest. He was probably about 3 years old. 2/3rd's of his face was covered in black skin. Except it wasn't skin, not like ours or the rest of his body's. It was a rough, cracked, hard exterior. Like that of a gorilla. And there were little tiny black hairs protruding from this area, like a thin fur. he allowed me to take pictures of and with him as I was doing with all the other children. But I was careful not to make him feel any different from the other children hanging about me. But you could tell he knew he was different. The kids would all play fight with each other, but when he got lightly kicked or pushed, he didn't push back. His eyes had a sad wisdom behind them. But I think he enjoyed the time and attention I gave him, no more or less than the others and he too got to see a picture of himself which put a smile on his lips. His mom seemed happy.
The actual temple itself was certainly out of this world. It is by no means anywhere near as grand as Angkor Wat, but the energy was electrifying. I mean it just felt good to walk around it, to sit on the ground near it, and lay on its benches. I had tea and pineapple there during sunrise with the guy who was sneaking in his hammock to spend the night up there. The energy he felt was so intoxicating that he could not pull himself away from the temple for days, and I could understand why. It felt rejuvenating to just sit up there. So peaceful.

On the way back to Siem Reip my driver and I stopped at a town called Angleng Veng. This too was an out of body experience. This was the stronghold for the Khmer Rouge. Even after 1979 when they were thrown out of government, it was here that Pol Pot and his cronies lived and worked. This town was refuge for many of the Khmer Rouge soldiers who still considered Pol Pot their leader. Its a bit of a tripy place. It was still heavily dominated by Khmer Rouge presence until 1998 when Pol Pot died. He died comfortably in his bed under house arrest on the Thai border across from this town. To good a death for him I think, but many also believe it was a conspiracy theory and that he was drugged, either as a murder or as an escape to persecution for his war crimes. But it is weird here. I visited the house of Tamok, his right hand man. Believe it or not, the UN Security Council kept this man as the representative of Cambodia on the UN Council up until 1993! In their ignorance they refused to recognize the new government of Cambodia because it had been set up by Vietnamese! WTF?! So because Tamok held this UN position, the government could not get to him or the town of Angleng Veng, helping to explain why it stayed so dominantly Khmer Rouge territory for so many years after the fall of Democratic Kampuchea (what the Khmer Rouge called Cambodia). When visiting Tamok's old house I met the people who lived next door. Some of them had been servants for Tamok and Pol Pot. It was so interesting to hear what they had to say about these men.
They loved them! I couldn't believe my ears. My face must have had an expression of disbelief on it because the gentlemen chuckled a bit and tried to explain themselves. How could I not be in disbelief? There were cages only 30 ft. from us that used to house up to 5 men, all the way until 1993! They were so glad a westerner was interested that they sat me down to their afternoon feast (one of the men was head of this region now). They shared their roasted chicken and beer with me and I actually ate an ant omelet. That is right, an omelet cooked with hundreds of tiny little ants in it. You couldn't really taste the ants, but my omelet was a bit crunchier then normal. The Cambodians eat EVERYTHING! After years of starvation, they are not picky! These men shared with me their experience during the Khmer Rouge. Most of them were about 10 or 11 when Pol Pot took over and they remember it all well. They had tears streaming down their face while they talked of lost loved ones, and almost in the same breath they would tell me of their love for Pol Pot. It was surreal. Still crying over the pain Pol Pot caused them, they would tell me how they loved him! I didn't understand. They laughed and said they knew it was confusing. One man offered this quote, "We love him, but hate his politics". Apparently he was such a nice member of their community. The woman who used to be his servant had the biggest smile on her face whenever she heard us use his name. They said if you commented on how you liked his watch, he would take it off right then and there and give it to you (a bit odd he had watches since that was the first major thing to disappear under the Khmer Rouge, then again he killed hundreds of thousands of teachers when he was a teacher himself, I guess sense and logic do not prevail when your crazy). They also said if you ever needed money or a cow or anything, he would give it to you. He really took good care of the people in Angleng Veng and they still remember and pay their respects to him today. Crazy!
Following Angleng Veng I made it back to Siem Reip, had a quiet night at the hostel and made my way the next day to Bangkok and my cousin Will!
Cambodia, you are enchanting to say the least. The warmth, love, and strength of your people is unmatchable and awe-inspiring! Thank you for an unforgettable time and a glimpse into your history!

More photos can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/find.barlow/EnchantingCambodia#