TukTuk Lady?

Cambodia - D11
I am in love with two things...snorkling, and snorkling instructors! Though I think the first love is the one meant to last. Today we woke up early and caught a boat ride two hours into the Gulf of Thailand for a day of snorkling around some more secluded reefs. It was awe-inspiring - as soon as I figured out how to breath you couldn't pull my head out of the water! I loved being so close to His incredible creation, feeling completely at home in a world where I so obviously did not belong. I wish had more words to describe it, but I felt like I was living Finding Nemo (save the frightening first scene for M audiences). Sadly, there were no sting ray or shark sightings, but the hope kept the day exciting. We docked for about an hour on an island out in the gulf and it was the first time since I had been in South East Asia where I got to interact with the kids here without having to take out my wallet. They wanted to touch my face, not my money! I walked with 3 of them around the beach for a while, where they challenged me to a barefoot game of coral chicken (which I promptly lost). The boat ride back was an adventure all in itself, I just kept waiting for George Clooney to appear from below deck to help me ride out the waves, but life just disappoints sometimes...

Cambodia - D12
We were not ready to leave our beach haven yet, so the morning was spent at the beach. ***Admittedly hiding under the umbrellas because our poor skin couldn't take much more*** We took a few last dips in the crystal sea, before heading for the comfort and air conditioning of a little black market theatre in town. They were showing their biweekly run of "The Killing Feilds", a movie from the 80's about an American and Cambodian journalist during the Khmer Rouge takeover. Though less distrurbing than some of the books I had read on the subject, and a little too focused on the poor guilty American during the mass genocide of the Cambodian people...it was eye-opening none the less. Its amazing how little we are taught about the Cambodian plight, but I will get to more of that later. Our last night on the beach was spent partaking in coconut curry *my current addiction* and the realization of my dream! Drinking coconut milk, from the coconut, with my toes in the sand. Euphoria.

Cambodia - D13
I woke up to the loudest rooster known to man (or a loud one period to this city girl) but I welcomed him because I had a sunrise to kiss. So I crawled out of bed and hit what I expected to be a disserted beach. I had forgotten that the rest of the world is not lazy and often up with the sun, so I was in good Cambodian company. There were even a few Americans still high on the previous night's "happiness" who were walking off the jitters. One such charming Aussie pair even stopped to saronade me with this lovely tune: "Writing on the beach, oh this girl is writing on the beach...bet she's quite a peach...hope her boyfriends not a leech so he won't care about my speech of LLLLLLLOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE" (Think its destined to be a hit myself). The rest of the day was spent on the bus to Seim Reap, in which I devoured a pack of oreos and 2 Paulo Coehlo books. Thanks to Sarah's abundant literary collection I have found a new favorite, luckily he is available all over these towns, cause the Khmer love their Coehlo.

Cambodia - D14
Seim Reap did not give us much time to adjust, because we were up early to beat the crowds to Angkor Wat. Our trusty tuktuk driver Poah was on strict orders to take us anywhere we wanted to go, and we quickly dubbed the little cutie Bobble Head Poah.
The Temples of Angkor is the largest religious ground in the world, the town of Seim Reap is actually inside of the official boundries itself. Sadly we did not have the time to see everything, so we explored the select few that were not to be missed. Angkor Wat, Ankor Thom, Pat Thom and Pat Keo. Angkor Wat was the grandest and most impressive, but as we moved down the list we found the relics less crowded and more interesting. Pat Thom was like a scene straight out the the Jungle Book with its winding trees and beautiful delapitation. The crazy girls singing "I'm the King of the Jungle"? Need you ask? Sadly, we were not rewarded with the promised monkey sighting, so the wait continues.
That night we found the most incredible restuarant where we treated ourselves to $5 meals (a splurge, trust me). Don't let the name deceive you...Dead Fish Towers was something straight out of Seattle's cooler districts. It looked like a lodge, with pulleys and hidden staircases taking you to various eating levels. Elton John tracks interrupted by the occasional Khmer dance, and about 15 crocodiles under the floorboards. This was the day I decided to marry a gourment chef and open an exact replica of this place in Seattle - as would be the only true road to happiness.

Cambodia - D15
You are probably as sick of reading about days spent on a bus as I am of spending them. Synopsis: Bus from Seim Reap to Phenm Penh - Another Paulo Coehlo book - Lao visa application in - exhausted foreigners out

Cambodia - D16
Which brings us to today...sunburned, mosquito bitten, growing poorer by the second, and extremely happy still! I am feeling so overwhelmed by my blessed life, and challeged every day to be worthy of it. Grace is too sweet a gift. We spent the day at the various cultural sights around Phenm Penh related to the Khmer Rouge genocide. For those of you whose history classes neglected this subject as much as mine, here is a breif history:
Throughout the early 70's the Khmer Rouge, a communist militia in Cambodia, was at war with the current government, attempting to overthrow what they viewed to be an oppressive regime. In 1975 they succeeded, and marched into Phenm Penh proclaiming their victory. The next four years was one of the worst Communist takeovers in history, where the Khmer Rouge systematically waged genocide on the educated, wealthy, elderly, or artistic. Anyone who was at one point in their history tied to the defeated government, or could have possibly had any positive feelings about said government, or who was less than thrilled about their new system was killed without a second thought - man, woman, child. The entire population of Phenm Penh was forced out of the city, and the Khmer people spent the next four years starving to death in forced labor camps or dieing at the hands of teenage killing machines in various prisons. In 1979 the Veitnamese overtook the Khmer Rouge and the genocide was finally ended. It estimated that over 3 million people died in that four year period. Its said that this Cambodian genocide is worse than the Holocaust, because never before had so many people been killed at the hands of their own countrymen.
So this morning we visited Tuol Sleng, a high school turned prison in 1975 to house the "enemies" of the Khmer Rouge. In a word, it was devestating. We walked in and out of prison cells stained with blood, containing photos of the victims as they were found in the rooms after the Khmer Rouge had deserted. We walked through rooms absolutely covered with the mug shots of the "dangerous prisoners" - old men battered and brusied, women holding their infants, children. There were torture devices and shackles still in the makeshift cells. Over 20,000 prisoners went through Tuol Sleng in those 4 years, 7 survived. We had the privilege of seeing one of those survivors because they were shooting a documentary about him at that time. The cameraman was showing us the exact cell he stayed in - amazing.
Then we made our way to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, not just a name of a movie. The killing feilds is the name given to the places where they would take prisoners to die, and be buried in mass graves with thousands who had shared their fate. There are killing feilds all over Cambodia, but this particular one was the dumping ground from Tuol Sleng. Mass graves have since been unearthed there, and we could walk the ground, still finding clothes and bones sticking out of the earth around us. It was horrific, but at the same time so incredibly poigant. Here we were walking in the same place where men and women begged for their lives, and the ground was littered with butterflies. We could hear children laughing and playing at a near by school. There is life here in Cambodia, and I think today I fell in love with this country. When I was walking the halls of Tuol Sleng, I was so struck by the faces of the thousands of prisoners. They did not look defeated nor afraid, most of them stared boldly into the camera, a few even smiled. They stared death in the face and had the most incredibly resiliant spirits. 30 years later, the children of thise massacre live a life of poverty, still under a communist government. But they have forgiven and are so full of love. I feel inspired and challenged. I'm breathless.

Thoughts on Cambodia
*Coconut Curry - addicted, can't get enough, must learn this magical recipe and bring this joy to others
*Cambodia is a land of propositions. Since entering this country, I have been constantly bombared with propositions: tuktuks, motos, pineapple, mango, coconuts, water, water, ice water, opium, marijuana, 4 hand massages, island boys, island girls...the list goes on and on. They are offering you every imaginable deadly sin or comfort, and its amazing to me how the lost and hurting have found an outlet for their pain here.
*The symphony of the city is the following: TukTuk Lady? TukTuk Lady? Lady! TukTuk! I wish I could write the sound of their voices, but trust me...its hilarious
*I already talked about the history of this war-ravaged place, but let me revisit it. Its shameful how little I knew of this land and its people. What they have survived is nothing short of amazing, and reading books like "First They Killed My Father" or "Pol Pot's Regime" only begin to brushthe surface of the reality that plagued these people. Their capacity to survive and to forgive are beyond what I can comprehend. They still suffer so much with painful memories and lasting fear of land mines or government persecution, I hope you will all keep these people in your PRYRS.
*My two personalities are at home here. The lover of all things western comforts has been rewarded with espressos, veggie burgers, book stores, tour guides and air conditioning. I have followed the older European tourists around various "required tourist activities" and have been perfectly happy inside my travelers box. My darker, more adventurous side is leaping out though, and Cambodia is offering the perfect outlet! Tomorrow we will leave the city *finally* to make our way north to less touristy venues with promises of elephant treks and secluded waterfall dives. I am ready to be free of these western restraints...bring on real life!

Jeremy Update
He is stable, and catagorized as in serious condition, but expected to make a full recovery. He was transfered to a hospital in Bangkok, and his family is there now. Hopefully we will get to see him when we get to Thailand! Thanks for lifting him up, please continue to do so!