Monday, October 26, 2009

Temples, monks, villages and sore back-sides

Yesterday we rode a motorbike to the hills of the abandoned royal city, Oudong. This time there was three of us on one bike, giving us some strains and sore backsides, but even greater confidence towards our future careers as motorcycle drivers. :) (Totally addictive activity as it turns out).
Oudong was the capital of Cambodia from the early 17th century until 1866 when the capital was moved to Phnom Penh. Several temples, stupas and other structures cover three hills. We enjoyed some great views of the Cambodian landscape, watched monks sing their prayers and play with children, everybody was smiling and friendly, and many people asked us to pose for a picture with them. Sweet, simple and endearing- the people and the spirituality in this country.

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

The most typical decorations for temples in these countries seem to be elephants (symbolizing strength and power), among those the three headed elephant Erawan, and most commonly in Cambodia- the serpent Naga.

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

In a Cambodian legend, the nāga were a reptilian race of beings who possessed a large empire or kingdom in the Pacific Ocean region. The Nāga King's daughter married an Indian Brahmana named Kaundinya, and from their union sprang the Cambodian people. Therefore still Cambodians say that they are "Born from the Nāga".The Seven-Headed Nāga serpents depicted as statues on Cambodian temples apparently represent the seven races within Nāga society, which has a mythological, or symbolic, association with "the seven colors of the rainbow". Furthermore, Cambodian Nāga possess numerological symbolism in the number of their heads. Odd-headed Nāga symbolise the Male Energy, Infinity, Timelessness, and Immortality. This is because, numerologically, all odd numbers come from One (1). Even-headed Nāga are said to be "Female, representing Physicality, Mortality, Temporality, and the Earth." [Wiki]

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Külaelu

Oleme käinud tutvumas ka külaeluga, mis on olnud lihtsalt super!
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza
Elumaja tüüpiline lahendus Kambodza külades. Maja ise on postide peal, all korrusel toimub igapäevaelu-toidu valmistamine, teleka vaatamine, loomade kasvatamine jne. Teisel korrusel on magamisasemed.
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza
Kohviku juures. Tundub, et rämpsust nad ennast eriti segada ei lase. Ka elumajade põrandatel vedeles igasuguseid asju- puuvilja koori, paberitükke, jne. kuigi mitte just sellises mahus nagu pildil..
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza
Tellisepunased teed.
From Kambodza
Bensiinijaam. Pakendina olid kasutused Pepsi pudelid.
From Kambodza
Võrkpall on Kambodzas au sees. Ja mängijad olid pildil olevas mängus väga osavad. Rime meeskond oleks kindlasti alla jäänud:)
From Kambodza
Külabaar ja palmivein.
From Kambodza
Traditsionaalse Kambodza muusikariista mängu kuulamas.
From Kambodza

Just chilling :)

What have we been doing for the past days? Nothing. And how amazing that has been! :)

Have been exploring the countryside a little, seen a bit of the village life, and the local eateries and drinkeries. Other than that- lazying away in the sun, watching the sunsets on a hammock, marvelling at lightning shows in the skies and... just Being. How little human beings really need for happiness! At the moment we are getting so relaxed here in Cambodia that we hardly remember why people worry and why they hurry and run after things anymore. We have each other, we have so much beauty around us to create that free space in our hearts where peace and love can enter. We have all that we need wherever we may be.

May all beings be happy! :)

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

From Cambodia

Friday, October 16, 2009

Esimesed muljed Kambodzast

Esimesed muljed Kambodzast on vaga positiivsed, inimesed on sobralikud ja on kohe kuidagi hea 'vibe'.
Phnom Penhi joudsime juba pimedas ja monda aega kahtlesime kus piirkonnas hotelli valida. Uks piirkond oli harjumusparasema hoonestusega ja teine valik oli jarvepeal, postide otsas asuvate puitmajakestega piirkond. Teine valik oli rohkem meeltmooda, kahtlesime just moskiitode parast, aga lopuks otsustasime ikka selle kasuks.
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

Esimesed muljed 'hotellist' ei olnud just koige koige paremad, aga hommikul tundus koht helgem ja praeguseks on juba vaga armsaks ja koduseks saanud.
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

Ja kui tore on hotelli personal, nad toesti hoolivad, et inimesed ennast seal koduselt tunneksid.
Lisaks veel vorkkiiged, arbuusi 'shake'-id, kohalik amok ja pannkoogid puuviljadega....ja ilmad on siin ka paiksepaistelised olnud. Vaga monus.

Jargmisel paeval votsime tuk-tuki ja soitsime tutvuma Khmer Rouge perioodi jubedate sundmustega. Ajavahemikul 1975-1979 tapeti ca 1/4 Kambodza elanikest, eelistatult haritud ja targemad inimesed.

Esiteks soitsime genotsiidi muuseumi 'Tuol Sleng'.
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

Tegemist oli Khmer Rouge aegse jubeda vanglaga, kus korraldati hirmsaid piinamisi ja kust viidi inimesi massiliselt edasi hukkamisele 'Killing Fields'-ile.

Tuk-tuki soit ise oli ka elamus omaette. Jalle midagi uut Aasia transpordimaailmas:) Moned vaated ka tuk-tuki soidust.
From Kambodza

From Kambodza

From Kambodza

First impressions of Cambodia and Phnom Penh

Cambodia.

The moment we crossed the border we felt like smiling.
Sometimes the feel and the atmosphere of a country is really noticeable. In Cambodia it is that of homeliness, peace, joy, beauty and relaxation. Riding towards the capital Phnom Penh we let our eyes rest on the magnificent Cambodian country-side (will try to visit and add pictures at a later time)- puddles after puddles (the Mekong river overflows these shallow lands in low season), people on boats cruising the land, harvesting and fishing, rice fields as green as the grass in Ireland, tall solitary palm trees breaking up the horizon and cute little houses lifted upon the waters with wooden poles from each corner. There is something very mellow and beautiful about these vistas.






Reaching Phnom Penh we weren't exactly sure where to look for accommodation. Finally we asked to be taken to the little backpacker area near the lake. It was dark and we were riding along tiny dark alleys. A little feeling of unease crept up our hearts, it didn't look too promising. All the hotels in this area are little old wooden houses, literally standing on top of the lake on poles, patched up all over from the continual decay of humidity, and topped with tin roofs. Very basic and in a suspicious area. Hmm...



However after 3 days of staying here, we are in love with both the hotel, the area, the city (and the country in general). The hotel feels like home, we have sun-tanned on its balcony, eaten some great Khmer food, befriended some local people and learned a few words in their language. There are hammocks to watch the sunsets from and even some gym equipment for our increasing travellers bellies. :)

The area itself has so much character- it feels like a little village of its own. There is apparently a project on hold about taking the whole area down in order to make yet another stretch of modern comfortable houses, this would be a great pity.







On the streets in our backbacker area











Visiting a Buddhist pagoda, the temples are always filled to the brim with Buddha statues, usually with some money wrapped around their hands.
















Near the temple







The Royal Palace at the riverside









What do we love about Cambodia already? The people. Cambodians are instantly welcoming, genuinely friendly, always ready to laugh, and very much relaxed. In fact they seem to be... simply happy people. We have never seen any hard haggling or hassling, everything is asked with a joking style.

Surprising especially after what they have been through. We have been learning a lot about the horrors of the Khmer Rouge rule, been totally shocked and moved by the unbelievable inhumanity and cruelty. These people have been through hell, there is no doubt about it. Yet they have emerged full of optimism and the great ability to live in the present moment. Of course their eyes will fill with sadness when asked about that period of time in their history. Yet they have such a strong sense of self and nationhood, they have Buddhism, and their attitude about life just seems to be spot on. At least these are our little first impressions and instincts after the short time of being here.



From Cambodia
The monument at the site of the mass graves

Another noticeable aspect of Cambodia is the children. Apparently almost 40 % of the entire populace is under the age 15. There are unfortunately a lot of street kids and child labor, these kids seem extremely sharp and witty, cracking jokes and speaking several languages from very young, yet its very sad that they don't have better chances to be educated.

We will stay here in Phnom Penh for several more days as we are waiting for some visas. Yet for the first time we are glad to be waiting, to be stuck. :)