To Market, To Market...

Sorry, but I'm still having problems with photos.  I know they make this blog more interesting, so I've been holding off writing.  But there is so much to tell....So until I can figure this out, it might be few or no photos for  a while...

While we were in Battambang, we wandered around Phsar Nat, the local market.  Located only a few steps from our hotel, we ate our breakfasts of Cambodian noodle soup every morning with great delight. 

The main entrance in the middle is where almost all of the 'restaurants' and food concessions are located.  Here you will find tables set up with plastic chairs where you can get noodle soup or a dish of rice and barbequed chicken for $1.00.  Perched high above the table are three or four plates with towering stacks of BBQ'd chicken legs and hard-boiled 'tea eggs', uncovered, unrefrigerated.   Farther down the aisle is a glass display case of pastries, and another lady that walks around with a huge wicker tray loaded with goodies from the pastry case.  Baguettes are very common here, a leftover from French colonial times.

Condiments for soup with insect in the sugar....extra protein!

Baked or barbequed chicken,  tea eggs, all stacked up for breakfast

Fresh veggies for stir fry on display

Stir fry vegetables and rice with fresh squeezed Battambang orange juice

The pastry display - difficult to resist!

The main entrance is also the gathering place for beggars.  In Cambodia, there is no social assistance  so the crippled, poor and elderly must resort to begging to survive.  Wandering between the diners in supplication, hoping for a hand-out, they mostly target foreigners.  Surprisingly, most turn a blind eye, which I do not understand.  To us, a dollar (4000 riels) is not much.  To them,  a few pennies is a lot, so in the morning, I would change a couple of dollars into 500 riel notes, and spread these around to the beggars.

No social assistace for the elderly

Can you spare some change?

Handicapped man

Amputee

Phsar Nat lacks the masses of gee-gaws, T-shirts, and general crap (mostly made in China) that the Siem Reap Old Market, Phsar Chas, is famous for.  In fact, Phsar Nat is just a huge 'general store' for the locals.  It's organized into departments, more or less, so that you can pretty well figure out where to go if you know what you specifically want to buy. 

East meets west

Khmer woman selling horns - talking on a cell phone.

One entire area is dedicated to fabric, and sewing, with aisles and aisles of every imaginable fabric. Much of the fabric is for evening and formal wear.  Even the poorest Cambodian woman owns a fancy dress covered in beads, lace and sequins that she wears to weddings & special events.  Men and women, busily working away on treadle sewing machines abound in this area of the market.  With the scarcity of electricity in Cambodia, modern electric machines have all been converted back to manual powered treadle machines.

One of many fabric aisles

There is a large area where glass cases are filled with gemstones, and every type of jewellery imaginable.  Lovely to look at, but suspiciously too abundant to all be real, so I avoided the temptation to browse.  Cambodians mostly wear gold jewellery, and silver is very hard to find here.  As I have discovered, sterling silver is not the best jewellery for hot weather where perspiration tends to oxidize the silver, and I end up with black rings around my wrists and neck.

There are rows and rows of clothing, both mens' and womens'.  Brand name knock-offs like Calvin Klein, Boss, Dolce & Gabanna are far less common here than in Siem Reap.  This is a place for the locals to buy.  Gordon gave up looking for a hat large enough to fit his head.  Large sizes simply are not available here in this world of small people.  Most interesting are some of the underwear items for women.  We saw many examples of undies with padding to give women a more shapely derriere.

There are sections for kitchenware , dried goods, health & beauty products.  There is a hair-dressing section.  But the most interesting and widespread section was the fresh meat, fish & produce, which were mostly around the outside perimeter of one side of the market.  Here vendors jostle for a spot, often on the ground, to set up their 'stalls'.  Here you will find buckets of fish still alive & flopping, the occasional fish that has manged to flop out of the box, and is wriggling away on the pavement, giant prawns, crabs crawling and clambering up the side of a box,  freshly cut meat, sometimes swarming with flies, women scaling fish and cutting off their heads. 

Fresh shellfish

Live crabs

Giant prawns, about the size of a tennis ball!

The fish lady - Fresh cut up meat (chicken?) in the background

Small fruits with salt & chili, carried to market atop her head

And everywhere there are vegetables and fruits.  Battambang  is a very rich and fertile agricultural area.  Here they grow Battambang oranges , (which are green on the outside, not orange), pomelos, papayas, mangoes, bananas (which are about half the length of what we get back home).  Every sort of vegetable imaginable, and some unidentifiable.  I love vegetables, and I would love to have this variety and abundance in Canada.

Battambang oranges - the peel is green

Fruit stand with perfectly stacked produce

One of the things I am most proud of is my new-found ability to carry out a transaction in Khmer.  The question 'How much?'  is 'Bon man?'  If I want one or two, then I ask 'One, how much? or Two how much?'  (Mou-ey, bon man? Pi, bon man?)  If I want one kilo, I ask 'Bon man mouey kilo?'  And the answer I will get is usually a price in thousands of riels, like six thousand, or six thousand five hundred.  And I know my numbers (sort of) so I can usually figure it out and pay the correct amount.  Now that's progress! 

The Horrors of the Killing Caves

Since our first visit to Cambodia 2008, I have tried to understand and learn more about the genocide of the Cambodian people at the hands of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge during the 1970's.  I have read books, seen movies and spoken to people who experienced the evil atrocities first hand, but I will honestly say that this whole period of history seemed so inconceivable and apart from me, I was never able to fully internalize the horrors....  Not until I went to the Killing Caves, where the impact was so overwhelming that I openly wept without shame. 

The Killing Caves are less well known than the Killing Fields.  High atop Phnom Sampeau (Ship Mountain or Sailboat Mountain) is a Buddhist temple which was seized by the Khmer Rouge and used to imprison Cambodians.  Nearby the temple is a path that leads to the opening of a cave.  From inside that cave can be seen an opening about 25 meters or more high above, which is at the top of the mountain.  At the edge of this opening, thousands of Cambodians, mainly children, were bludgeoned and/or simply thrown down to their certain death by the monster Khmer Rouge.  This was done to conserve bullets.  It is difficult to imagine that anyone might have survived this horrible drop.

A memorial that I had often seen pictured in accounts of the slaughter is this one:

(Sorry it's a bit fuzzy.)  Erected on 2007, it's a monument to the thousands of Cambodian men, women and children who were thrown (probably alive) into the Killing Caves.  Perhaps the picture below will give you a better perspective.  I stood within inches of these skulls and bones, with only a sheet of glass separating me from them...and I wondered, "Why them, and not me?"  They had done nothing to deserve to die like this.  They had merely been born in the wrong place at the wrong time, and nobody in the entire world cared enough to help them....

Here is a photo of another, earlier 'memorial' in the same cave - a wire cage filled with hundreds and hundreds of bones and bone splinters:

In the same cave is a massive statue of the sleeping Buddha.  I've seen many sleeping Buddhas, but this one has, by far, the most beautiful and peaceful expression on his face that I have ever seen.  Our guide told me it's not really the 'sleeping' Buddha, it's the 'dead' Bhudda.  Perhaps the expression on his face is so beautiful is because he is resting peacefully in eternity with all those innocent children.

In front of the statue of Buddha, a man kneels alone in prayer, with candles and incense nearby, and a small plate for donations.  In exchange for a donation, he will tie a red cord around your right wrist.  I was told by the guide that this red cord was for 'good luck'. 

I put the money on the tray, knelt before him, and said a prayer for all those poor souls, and he tied the red cord on my wrist. 

I will not wear this red cord in hope of good luck,  I will wear it so that I will never, ever forget those that died for no reason, and to remind me that it could just have easily been me.

Cricket Anyone?

On our second full day in Battambang, Gordon and I walked down the street from our hotel to Phsar Nat, the local market, and ordered a steaming bowl of noodle soup for breakfast.  Price = $1 each.  (I later heard the same woman quote of 3000 riels (75 cents) in Khmer to a Cambodian.  She didn't know that I understood her, and I smiled, knowing that even though  she was over-charging tourists, we still got a full stomach for one heck of a bargain.

Noodle soup with pork!

When we returned to our hotel, Mr.Kim was waiting to take us out for another full day of adventure.  Poor Hahn was feeling under the weather, so we all agreed to head out and let Hahn's stomach dictate whether we would go on or go back.  Along the way, Mr. Kim stopped at a roadside stand to introduce us to one of the local delicacies....fried crickets.  (Yes, you read that correctly,  CRICKETS!).  The lady scooped a few brown, leggy insects into a ladle and offered us a taste-test.  I wasn't buying, even for free...nuh-uh, no way!  Kuro was the first to take the plunge.  (He's from Japan, where they eat all kinds of stuff I wouldn't tackle, like suishi, so I figured this probably wasn't as big of a strech for him.)  Even more surprising was to see Hahn grab one of those crispy critters and chow down... Only one, mind you, since his stomach was doing loop-de-loops even before we left the hotel.  Picking legs and bony exoskeletal parts from between their teeth, they both agreed it wasn't bad.  Kind of a smoky flavour with some sort of sauce added into the pan for extra flavour.  The lady offered her ladle again, but I still passed.  Maybe next time.

Kuro takes the first bite

Hahn takes the plunge

Mr. Kim walked back to the hut where they were cooking, and came back with another delicacy - barbequed rat.  It kind of looked like a skinned out squirrel  I tore off a chunk and dug in.  It tasted just like BBQ chicken.  The tail especially was crisp & delicious. 

Mr. Kim dives in

Me (with hat hair) chowing down on the rat tail.....yum!

Satisfied with our new flavour sensations, we headed out.  A few kilometers away from our destination, Mr. Kim stopped to tell us the myth of the four mountains (hills) we could see in the distance.  It's a love story about a king who goes to pray in the forest and meets a lady named Rom Say Sok.  They fall in love and the king promises to marry her.  He returns to his kingdom, but is told he must marry royalty.  Meanwhile, Rom Say Sok becomes friends with a crocodile.  When the Rom Soy Soklearns the king has married someon else, she is very sad.  Her friend the crocodile decides to get back at the king and a fierce battle at sea ensues between the crocodile sees the king sailing in his ship.  The king throws a chicken coop at the crocodile, but the crocodile in return snaps the king's ship in two so that the sails fall into the water, and the ship sinks.  Rom Say Sok dips her magical hair into the sea, and sucks up all the water, leaving behind only the ship, the sails, the crocodile, and the chicken coop.  As the years pass, they are covered in earth and trees, and become mountains, which are now called Sail Mountain, Ship Mountain, Crocodile Mountain and Chicken Coop Mountain.  A lovely story, isn't it?  There is a statue of Rom Say Sok at one of the roundabouts in Battambang.

East meets west - Towers at the top of Phnom Sampeau 

We made our way down the road to the grounds below the Killing Caves.  A little village has grown up around there, with a few huts where people live, a concession stand and a few more vendors selling their wares, and some interesting food. 

The market below the Killing Caves

Barbequed eggs on a stick

The way up to the Killing Caves is either by a steep road or a long stairway - about 700 steps in all.  We decided to opt for a moto ride to the top for $2.50 each.  After my experience of climbing 365 steps the day before, I knew my aching legs couldn't take another 700.  We bought our entrance ticket to the Killing Caves, hopped on the back of four motos and took off up the hill. 

First set of steps up to the top

 At the first level, we stopped to see the Buddhist temple that had been seized by the Khmer Rouge and used to imprison the Cambodians.  The temple has been returned to its original purpose and once again houses many statues of Buddha, with brightly coloured murals almost entirely covering the walls.  It is presently in the midst of restoration, with scaffolding along one interior wall which is being repainted.   

We turned and walked down a pathway to the Killing Caves, passing a large painting that depicted the horrors that had occurred here. 

Entering the cave, I was not prepared for what awaited me.  It's something that deserves separate telling, so read my next blog for that.


Once out of the cave, we climbed back onto the motos and rode to the top of the mountain.  The view was spectacular.

Panoramic View from the top of Phnom Sampeau

 I walked across the courtyard to view a beautiful stupa that Lon Nol had built for his wife.  In front there are carvings depicting her life, and inside the walls and ceiling are beautifully painted.  Farther on, Mr. Kim showed us the bunkers where the Khmer Rouge army holed up and fought.  There are also two large war guns that have been left here. 

Up a few steps from the stupa, there is also another temple.  Inside a young monk laid in a hammock.   

Venerable Kim Bunleang

When I entered, he spoke to me, and we sat crosslegged on the floor chatting for a few minutes.  He told me his involved with an NGO that is building residences so that students who live in far away villages can have a place to live and attend high school.  I suppose it's only natural that Cambodians see us Westerners as 'rich' and, as happened to me once again here, I was asked for money for this good cause.  I explained politely that I was already working for another NGO in Siem Reap. There is so much need here, I wish I could help them all, and it's difficult sometimes to accept that one person can only do so much. 

Trains and Pains and No Automobiles

On Saturday, we hired Kim Sok to show us the sights of Battambang once again this year.  He is a 'tour guide / tuk-tuk driver' who speaks impeccable English and is a fountain of knowledge on the area, brimming with facts and anecdotes at every stop.  I knew he'd make sure that Hahn and Kuro, our fellow explorers, would have a memorable weekend.

Mr. Kim

Battambang city is the second largest city in Cambodia, yet it feels much smaller and quieter than Siem Reap.  Certainly the tourist industry is not very large here, and it is a city that is more for, and about, Cambodians, and not so 'Western-driven' as Siem Reap.  Much of the architechture is French colonial, and the city's history is steeped in history, religion and legends. 

On our way out of town, Mr. Kim stopped to show us a statue of Naga, a magnificent sculpture fashioned entirely out of the metal remnants of guns surrendered after years of Cambodian conflict.  Naga is a mythological cobra which is revered as the original ancestor of the Khmer people.  If you click on the link above, you can learn all about the artists, and how the Naga statue was made -  quite a story in itself.

Naga Sculpture made from decomissioned weapons

Battambong litterally means 'disappearing stick' in Khmer.  The name comes from the legend of Ta Dambong, who used the enchanted stick to become king, but lost his power, and his stick, in a battle for the throne.  On our way out to the bamboo train, Mr. Kim stopped briefly to show us this huge statue of King Dambong, the legendary founder of the city.

Statue of King Dambong

The Bamboo Train is one of the main draws for tourists who come to Battambang.  If you click on this link, you'll get a fantastic description and history of this attraction.  It is probably the coolest ride I've ever been on, and was top of the list for things to do on our return trip to Battambang this year.  Briefly, it's a 'mini rail car' made of an open bamboo platform that sits on two sets of wheels extremely close to the ground, which powered by a small gas engine attached to one of the axles.  The rails are narrow gauge, and wavy enough to be noticeable, which makes for a swaying, sometimes hairy ride.  There are no brakes, and these 'trains' really can fly! 
As soon as I can figure out how to download the video from my iPod, I'll post it here. 

Ready to roll...

The road ahead....and way off, a train approaching from the opposite direction....

Because it's only a single rail, there's an 'etiquette' protocol when two little trains meet:  The heavier train always takes precedence.  With four riders, we were almost always the 'lucky' ones, except at one encounter when the driver barked "GET OFF!".  In only a few seconds, our little train was disassembled and set off to the side of the track until the other train passed.  Then, just as quickly, it was put back together and we continued on our way. 

Disassembled train beside the rails waiting for us to go by...

Our ride only went as far as the first station.  At our 'turn-around' point, we stopped for cold drinks and spent a little time chatting with the entrepreneurial family who had set up a concession stand there, learning a few Khmer words in the process.  It was a delight to feel so accepted and welcomed. 

Mom and twin daughters....

Hahn learning some Khmer words from Grandpa

Flying back on the rails to our point of embarkation, all four of us were pumped.  It had been an exhilarating experience.  If you're ever out Battambang way, make sure you take a ride..... but hurry up!  Word has it the new rail system is coming soon, maybe this year, maybe next, and when that happens, the Bamboo Train will be just another legend.

Enroute to visit Banan Temple, Mr. Kim stopped the tuk-tuk at a fairly new suspension bridge, built high above the Sangker River.  I get weak knees at heights greater than the second rung of a ladder, so walking across and back was about as challenging for me as jumping out of an airplane, but I braved it.  It got a little dicey when a couple of motos drove by, forcing us to stand off to one side, and the bridge bounced & shook with the shifting weight.  Amazingly, I managed to dispel my fears, and marvel at the sights below.  For as far as the eye could see, lush vegetable gardens grew along the river banks.  During the dry season, the river recedes and the peasants take advantage of the fertile soil of the river bed, combined with its proximity to water for irrigation of crops.  Just below the bridge I could see a woman washing out clothes, while her children frolicked at the water's edge.

Moto coming on the suspension bridge

Lush vegetable gardens

Family at the water's edge

Next stop on the tour was Banan Temple, built over 1000 years ago, high atop a hill with a panoramic view of the countryside.  How high?  358 very uneven steps.  365 if you count the seven new ones recently added at the bottom of the hill.  It's a long arduous climb - My quad muscles know every step intimately - oh the pain!.  It was a long arduous climb, and I had to stop a couple of times for a breather -  The old gray mare just ain't what she used to be......

Steps at Banan Temple - lots more are hidden from view...

Banan consists of 5 towers, a similar layout to Angkor Wat, but on a much smaller scale.  The bas relief is quite stunning, but unfortunately the faces on the carved figures have mostly been broken off.  Only the lintel carvings and those higher remain beautifully intact.

Intricately carved lintel

During the 1970's, the Vietnamese army used Phnom Banan as a fortress to battle the Khmer Rouge. (Phnom is Khmer for hill or mountain)  We were warned by our tour guide to stick to the worn paths and to return by the same stairway we had climbed.  When we saw the 'DANGER_ LANDMINES' signs at the top of the hill, we understood why. 

After descending the long stairway, I asked Mr. Kim to direct me to the 'facilities' before we started the long ride to town.  I learned that the facilities are privately 'run', and I would have to pay for the priviledge. I was clearly in no position to haggle, so paid my 500 riel (approx 13 cents). 

(I wonder how much they'd charge to throw in a seat and toilet tank?)

Later that evening, as we walked down the street from our restaurant, back to our hotel...literally down the middle of the street..... we were astonished at the quiet stillness of Battambang.  Not an automobile or moto or person was stirring....This quaint city had silently fallen asleep while we were at dinner...and at 9 pm, all was calm and tranquil.  What a contrast to Siem Reap, the city of tourists that never seems to sleep....