Monday 3 February 2014

Smiling faces: An account of Cambodia

While on the flight to Siem Reap, I opened the Lonely Planet and what caught my eye was this "do not be fooled by the smiling Cambodian faces. They have all had a tragic past but do not show it"

Indeed during my six days in the country, I realized how true those words were. The Cambodian people, are among the warmest, friendliest and most humble people in the world. And I do find it hard to believe how Cambodians could submit their very own people to such hardship. I'm referring to the Khmer Rouge, the Communist ( to the point of being agrarian) regime that took over Cambodia after overthrowing the government. My visits to the Killing Fields, where a million Cambodians were tortured to death and then buried in mass graves and the visit to the Torture Chambers also called the Tuol Sleng or S21 really filled me with a deep sadness and grief that was hard to even express. Tragic, horrific, ghastly, brutal, inhuman, uncivilized, is what comes to mind when I think of the Khmer Rouge genocide. Yes, this happened 40 years ago but I would be sure that the wounds are still fresh in the minds of the Cambodians, all of whom have lost loved ones during the massacre. And yet, the smiling Cambodian faces were there to greet us all through our trip of Cambodia.

Moving on to happier things. Yes, I finally fulfilled a dream of mine, to visit the Angkor Wat and the other temples of Angkor. Exploring the temples, scattered through the jungle was an exhilarating experience for my co travellers, Chriselle and Sherin and me. Our tuk tuk driver who doubled up as a guide whenever he could, was the epitome of Cambodian hospitality.

Cambodia, you have left an imprint on my heart and I promise to return one day.