Author Archive
The Mekong
By Tony on March 4, 2010 | 1 Comment »
The Mekong is truly beautiful. The river has a palpable energy which sets it apart from many other rivers in the world. It feels magical. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen another large tropical river with clear, blue water – it’s quite extraordinary. Gliding through the white sand banks and forested islands in a long-tail motor boat is pure joy. The small stilt villages and colonial river towns recall another age. I would go so far as to say that it’s second only to the Nile on my short-list of super rivers. Clearly from the photo collage, I’m not the only one who is enjoying it.
Apocalypse Now
By Tony on March 1, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Burning fields as far as the eye can see – everything is on fire. As our bus crawls towards Ban Lung, twilight accents the flaming orange highlights in the dying forest. The air is pure smoke. I can’t wait until it’s dark, I hate the view. Hours of environmental devastation: smoldering vegetation, dying villages, huge stumps recall once monumental trees. Bulldozers widening the red-dirt road are leaving a dusty wake in their path. The trees that have escaped the flames look as though they have been painted dirty rust. A tribal child waddles by covered in earth and ash. It’s a monochromatic nightmare, a scene straight out of Avatar done in pukey reds instead of blues.
Progress looks like crap to me. Cambodia is for sale, and everyone is buying it up – especially the Chinese. All across the country, new roads are being financed by China and there are definitely strings attached.
“When the Chinese built the road to Sen Monorom,” one witness recalled, “they » Continue reading this post »
Cute Monkey Pic
By Tony on February 26, 2010 | 2 Comments »
OK, there’s no point to this post at all. This little monkey was just so cute that I had to put him up on the blog. So sue me!
S-21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
By Tony on February 19, 2010 | No Comments »
S-21 is not as known abroad as the Killing Fields, but the high school turned torture/murder center is yet another chilling reminder of the nightmarish rule of the Khmer Rouge. The site has now been converted into the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in remembrance of the prisoners who died here or passed through on their way to the Killing Fields. For visitors who want to learn about Cambodia, this is another important place to visit when in Phnom Penh or to read about online.
Landmine Museum
By Tony on February 16, 2010 | No Comments »
Every good traveler wants to get off the beaten path. Unfortunately, here in Cambodia, stepping too far off the path can have explosive results. A very toxic history here has left this country with an estimated two to three million landmines and unexploded cluster bombs. You don’t do too much wandering through the forest here.
Enter Aki Ra, a former child soldier who laid an untold number of landmines for the Khmer Rouge. Aki Ra (his self-chosen new Japanese name) has made it his life-mission to use his rather questionable expertise to » Continue reading this post »
