Wonderfully welcoming Cambodia

By Rachael Scobie 

The Australian

August 05, 2012

Angkor Wat Temple before sunset at Siem Reap, Cambodia. Picture: Thinkstock Source: National Features

All smiles: Children in Phnom Penh. Picture: Ewen Bell Source: National Features

I LIKE all sorts of critters. I'm especially fond of mammals and right at the top of the tree is the cute and cuddly sun bear - not that I've ever tried to cuddle one. But I wanted to when I visited the Free the Bears Sanctuary in Cambodia.

I had to wonder how it is possible to mistreat these beautiful animals. Without rescue, they would have ended up in a neighbouring country's bear paw soup.

Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia and yet there are people who take the time to look after these endangered animals.

That's the standout thing about this country: yes, there are phenomenal temples and engaging cities but it's the warmth and humanity of the people that leaves a lasting memory.

There was a time when Cambodia's entire human population was endangered. During the murderous reign of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge from 1975-79, currency was abolished, the postal service dismantled and the country cut off from the outside world.

The population was marshalled into slave-labour camps and put to work in the countryside. Millions died. These were the Killing Fields.

Sobering, yes, and so recent that it's hard to think of it as history. Yet, it's essential for understanding Cambodia barely a generation removed from those dark and brutal days.

I began my visit on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh. Here, in a dusty field, is the Memorial Stupa of Choeung Ek, a pagoda filled with 8000 skulls - a haunting reminder of the horrors this land has seen.

The Phnom Penh of today is a far cry from the deserted shell of a city repopulated in 1979. It bustles with commerce, traffic and the cry of market vendors.

I was up early, following the whisper of the tai-chi women to the Mekong River boardwalk. In sweeping arches, as graceful as the gold-dipped Royal Palace, they welcomed the sun.

With smiles and shy greetings they asked me to join in. But I had much to see before I could stop and stretch. The palace and Silver Pagoda or Phnom Penh's beckoning shops? I couldn't resist either.

The palace is also the official residence of Cambodia's King Sihamoni. Parts of the complex are off-limits but the throne room and the Silver Pagoda are dazzling.

After the Khmer Rouge era, the Silver Pagoda is one of the few places in Cambodia with an intact collection of ancient Khmer art. It's a must-see on any Phnom Penh tour.

So are the shops. There's the Russian Market (souvenirs and fakes) or the Central Market (delicious and photogenic quantities of the freshest fruits and vegies) or the fashionable boutiques   - French colonial shop-houses, exquisitely restored and converted along Street 240.

Many of these are shops-with-a-cause. They support not-for-profit charities, including disabled war victims and AIDS orphans.

Afterwards, it was back to the riverfront for a sundowner. To the north of the palace is restaurant row, a happening strip of bars and cafes. It's the perfect place to chat with the locals while planning a visit to Cambodia's piece de resistance.

Up-country, near the northern extremity of Lake Tonle Sap, is the elegantly ramshackle town of Siem Reap Cambodia's tourist central. It's easily accessible by plane or bus or riverboat. It has gorgeous architecture, great hotels and an inspired "foodies district" known as Bar St.

But it's Siem Reap's neighbour, Angkor Wat, that draws travellers.

Angkor Wat is Asia's largest temple, ranked with the pyramids of Egypt and Petra in Jordan. Magical in any light, but particularly when set against the rising sun, it should be on everybody's bucket list. It induces a treasure-trove of superlatives from the moment your moto -  a Cambodian tuk-tuk  - delivers you to the causeway entrance, until the minute you drag yourself back out across the moat.

And yet, Angkor Wat is only the beginning. Like many tourists, I was unaware of the vast scale of Angkor Thom: the city  -  a jungle-clad plain of stone temples and palaces, once home to more than a million people.

The peak of civilisation was between the 10th and 12th centuries and one wonders how the locals got around. The distances are so great that a moto is an essential and fun way to see the countryside and get from temple to palace to temple.

The Bayon was my favourite, a maze of twisted corridors and staircases hidden beneath overhanging roots and vines.

There are 54 gothic towers, decorated with 216 faces of the deity Avalokiteshvara. It's an evocative place where the stonework bears an uncanny resemblance to the Angkorian ruler of the time.

The faces of Avalokiteshvara are smiling, just like the faces of the Cambodian people I met on my journey. For, despite the bleakness of their recent history, the Khmer are a wonderfully welcoming people. That's the legacy of this land. Like the sun bears in the sanctuary, I was enveloped in warmth and humanity that easily overshadowed some of mankind's darker moments.

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Go2

CAMBODIA

Getting there

Thai Airways flies from Sydney to Bangkok, with connections to Phnom Penh.
Ph 1300 651 960 or see www.thaiairways.com.au

Doing there

World Expeditions' six-day Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat trip costs $790 a person (excluding flights). Highlights include the palaces and pagodas of Phnom Penh, the temples of Angkor Wat and many historical sights.

See worldexpeditions.com or ph 1300 720 000.