Phnom Penh for a day

We flew 40 minutes over Cambodia from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. 

Boarding the plane in Siem Reap for Phnom Penh

We did our usual "thing" - tuk tuks, Golden St, Russian markets - it was SO SO HOT - but we had plenty of watermelon juice.

 

Mum and I soaking up watermelon juice
after being dehydrated by the hot season Russian
Market sweat !

 

Tonle Sap - the protein bowl of Cambodia

on the way to the Tonle Sap

The Tonle Sap is the largest lake in SE Asia and is known as the "protein bowl" because it supports huge amounts of fish. BUT it is in danger because the water flows into it from the Mekong and the dams upstream are reducing the Mekong water flow. 

It's the end of the dry season now and the water was so low the boat kept getting stuck in the mud. 

Thousands of people live on the lake. The houses, schools, shops, churches, even the basketball court are floating on the lake. People travel by boat like we do on bikes or cars. 

firewood for cooking on the house boats. 

kids going home from school

guess what this foot belongs to?

kids going home from school

kids being picked up from school

Landmines - Seim Reap

Landmines are still a problem in Cambodia. Although there has been a lot of demining of the countryside over the past 30 years, there are still Cambodians getting their limbs blown off when they work in their fields.  

Landmines are buried in the ground in many countries where there have been wars. The map shows how much the countries are contaminated by landmines. The brown and red colours show where they are the highest. You can see Cambodia & Laos is still there, and so is Iran and Iraq. 

You remember that I said I had two memories of Siem Reap from when I was little? The other memory I have is of Mum forcing me to stand on a landmine so she could take a photo! I was only 3!

The Khmer Rouge & the Cambodian Army laid landmines also. Aki Ra was taken by his family when he was little and became a child soldier. He built and buried landmines. He has been finding mines and bombs and removing them safely for years. He also set up a centre to help children and families affected by amputation. 

 Landmines buried in the undergrowth

SIEM Reap: ANGKOR WAT

“At Ongcor, there are ...ruins of such grandeur... that, at the first view, one is filled with profound admiration, and cannot but ask what has become of this powerful race, so civilized, so enlightened, the authors of these gigantic works?”   

Henri Mouhot's drawing in 1800s

       

(Henri Mouhot, 1826-1861)

Henri Mouhot called Angkor – Ongcor. He didn’t discover Angkor Wat or the other temples even though many people think he did. The Khmer, Cambodians, always knew it was there.  BUT he did tell the Western world about it. He did drawings and described the spectacular temples to Europeans which seemed to them AMAZING.

It was first Hindu, then Buddhist. It is the LARGEST religious monument in the WORLD! It means Temple City.

There’s a moat around the temple, which I saw from the air when we were flying in. There has been a lot of restoration of the temple which has mostly been done by other countries.

There are APSARAS everywhere on the bas relief at Angkor Wat. There are Apsaras in the other temples but not as many as there are in Angkor Wat.

An Apsara is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.  Mum used to tell me the name Apsara meant “heavenly angel” but I know they are also celestial nymphs.

I got this from the internet:

Apsaras are beautiful, supernatural female beings. They are youthful and elegant, and superb in the art of dancing. As ethereal beings who inhabit the skies, and are often depicted taking flight, or at service of a god, they may be compared to angels.

There are beautiful bas-relief along the long walls - of Apsaras and of different scenes in Hindu mythology and daily life.

Khmer classical dance, the indigenous ballet-like performance art of Cambodia, is frequently called  "Apsara Dance".

Apsaras are also in Indonesia, especially in Java at Borobudur. Mum says she wants to take me there too!

This is one of my favorites - an Apsara emerging from a wall. [and Apsara braces!!!!!]

 

Apsara? Who? you? me? us?

 

 

 Apsara is "FAMOUS" in Cambodia. When the hotel staff and tuk tuk drivers knew my name, and that I am Cambodian, they made a big fuss over me.

There are lots of things named after me, like the Apsara Hotel, the Apsara Bakery, Apsara Computer school and I saw “Free Apsara Dancing Live” in neon lights! (Mum took a photo).