It has taken sometime and reflection in order to gather my thoughts on my experience in Cambodia. The mixed emotions I felt while traveling in this country: anger, frustration, awe and beauty all at the same time add to the contradiction that is Cambodia. One of Asia's poorest country, Cambodia is full of poverty and begging. It is hard not to get desensitized by the begging children and feel that you are merely a dollar sign walking from temple to temple. Silence is golden and never available as the constant pleading and yelling, "lady, lady, lady! You buy?". And yet these people have struggled under immense oppression by the Khmer empire, slattering hundreds upon thousands of individuals for their own gain. As a tourist you can't help but understand that these people have absolutely nothing, suffered greatly and try to put everything in front of you into perspective. Perhaps it was my heart breaking that also broke my bank account as I bought bracelets I didn't want, postcards I didn't need and gave out candies like it was Halloween to the children at each temple and Watt. It is hard to not look around at the wonder that is Anchor Watt, temples that reach the Gods and are handcarved by true artists. Overgrown trees that once held up the structures, now are crushing them as they grow into the clouds. Carvings of wars, mystical creatures decending into bewitching women, demons, Gods and alike fill every crack and I often have to close my jaw as it drops to the floor. I can now understand what it is like to be Indiana Jones as I walk through the temples of a set turned into reality. This is artistry, this is true beauty, "Lady, Lady, you buy?"... This is Cambodia.
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