Kultur pur

Sometimes I'm bombarded with so many impressions, stories and information within just a few days that my brain can barely process it. This is exactly the feeling I had during our little cultural week in Cambodia.

When we arrived in the capital, Phnom Penh, we started straight away with a very depressing, yet very impressive tour to the Killing Fields and the S21 prison. Admittedly, I didn't remember much about it from history class, but how cruel is it that these genocides only happened 50 years ago? The atmosphere in the fields and also in the prison, where people were tortured to the extreme, was sometimes so depressing that some of our group burst into tears. We noticed in the evening that, unlike other days, we had only taken a handful of pictures on the trip. But no one really wants to capture such terrible places. And even though it's sometimes really tiring to deal with such topics, it's important to me to take this unpleasant part behind the tourist world with you.

The next day we continued happily with a tuc-tuc tour through the city and we visited magnificent temples and the national museum. In a city as big as Phnom Penh you definitely won't get bored and we were able to absorb the first Cambodia vibes before we finally went to our main destination, Angkor Wat. We took another 6 hours by bus to Siem Reap. From there we started our mission at 4 a.m.: sunrise at Angkor Wat. And what shall I tell you? The crowds were there, but unfortunately the sunrise was not. It was just too cloudy and the sun had no chance. That was a shame because we were unfortunately denied the spectacular view that we know from the media, but for the rest of the day it was all the more pleasant not to be fried in the blazing sun. We did a real temple marathon and were speechless several times about how beautiful this piece of earth is. Once the largest city in the world in the 12th century, it is now a vast area full of mystical ancient temples and buildings. The visit was definitely worth it and once again we had our private tuc-tuc driver who reliably drove us from A to B. All sweet mice, I tell you.

The city of Siem Reap itself seems to have changed in the evening and from 5 p.m. onwards you will hear music and lights from all sides. Apparently, the motto that often counts in Asia is: more is more.

But we preferred to stroll through the night markets in a relaxed manner and visit the floating villages the next day. Here the locals simply put all their buildings on stilts and thus adapted to the surroundings. The children here don't go to school by bike, but by boat. It's fascinating how the residents just seem to live with the circumstances and adapt to them.

After the two stops in Cambodia we went on to Thailand. Of course there is so much more to see in Cambodia, but given the time we "only" took the important cultural highlights with us to spend the remaining 3 weeks in Thailand.

Because even though Cambodia is an incredibly interesting and beautiful country that has a lot to offer, we still often had the feeling that the transit wasn't quite as carefree. We were often subjected to extreme scrutiny and we could see, especially from the children's sweet looks, that young, female white-faced people were rather an exception. Especially on our tours outside the city and the tourist regions, I became aware of how much poverty still exists in the country and once again the tourist question came up in my mind. Are we tourists good for the country because we bring money with us or are we having fun at the expense of the locals? And even though we always try our best to be respectful of their culture and dress and behave accordingly, I can never answer the question clearly for myself. The week was definitely enlightening and eye-opening again. I am grateful that I was able to take Angkor Wat with me too.

Small spoiler for the next entry: We arrived safely in Bangkok and survived the first night on Khaosan Road without tattoos and tigers in the room. The border crossing was a bit bumpy again, but we managed it. But honestly? No matter how long you travel or how much experience you have gained in the last few months, something happens almost every day that teaches me something new. Sometimes Nadine and I just look at each other and laugh at our stupidity. Sometimes you are just amazed at the situation and what is happening. And sometimes you take away life lessons.

Be that as it may, the last 3 weeks of the world trip lie ahead of us and before I have to deal with grueling everyday problems again, I'm still enjoying not knowing today what will happen tomorrow.