Tragedy and beauty

Really, I could think of many words to describe Cambodia, but the first one that comes to my mind from what I have seen and learned from being in this country for 4 days is Tragic. Krista and I started in Phnom Penh where we visited a jail and killing fields where thousands of people were brutally (and I mean brutally) tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge Rule between 1975-1979. It was horrific, learning the senseless ways that such horror was inflicted on such innocent people. It made me disappointed and confused that my fellow race could be so brutal, but more unknown about how the rest of us could sit back and watch it all. We saw some startling photos, walked over the communal burial sites of thousands of people and it was just all confusing to me. And you can still see what many Khmers (ie Cambodians) call the aftermath of this genocide - poverty in a way that I have not seen in other SE Asian countries yet. Although this country has quite a history, that does certainly not stop with the genocide (there have been endless battles with the Thais and Vietnamese, unexploded landmines all over the countryside, starvation and famine, endless socio economic issues) the people seem very resilient. I have yet to meet a mean or rude Cambodian, and like Laos and Vietnam, they seem utterly proud in a shy way of their culture, and want to show you how a Khmer lives. It's beautiful to see that even after such unexplainable tragedy (the tour guide we have right now has actually done an amazing job of telling us some horrific stories of his past - and he's one of the lucky ones) the people here are coming back.

Now enter Angkor. A stunning, intruding, amazing, artistic, engineering masterpiece. Temple after temple, surrounded by majestic moats and floating lily pads, these ancient (and I mean ancient) ruins are full of awe. Today we saw the sun rise over Angkor Wat, and tomorrow we will venture into some more of the temples that have been slightly taken back by mother nature. They are truely a marvel, and they make me want to read more and more about them when I return home in September. Sending you my hellos!