Friday, 21 February 2014

Day 7 – 20th February 2014 – Phnom Penh

Hand carving a silver elephant
Today was another day where we got to experience the polar opposites of Cambodia, from the desperate poverty, to the over the top grandeur.   We started out in a Van today (I definitely prefer Tuk Tuk, although it might have been a bit hard on this trip) and we headed out just over an hour out of Phnom Penh, to see a silver and copper smith village.  The journey itself is half the fun, and the chaos of the city just spreads out into the country roads.  What side of the road do they drive on here? On the right, unless they feel like going to the left.  No right turn sign? Well if you need to turn right I guess it’s ok.  One way street? Yes, unless you need to go the other way. 
A completed eye
And yet still everyone seems to know what’s going in, haven’t seen one angry incident or near miss, I’m sure they happen, but it seems like this no rules business works just fine.  The urban sprawl here is also quite incredible, almost all the way to our destination, there was just constant buildings (shacks is probably a better word) with businesses set up, selling everything from motorbike tyres, to petrol, timber and steel, bricks etc.  There were very few areas where it was just open space. 
So we eventually arrived at the village, and went into one of the silver smith stores, it
Giss with the boss of the shop and an orphan
child they have taken in
was pretty amazing to see the work they do.  Everything is done by hand here, there is absolutely no automation.  They start off with solid silver bars and melt it down in little forges with hand powered bellows.  It is then poured into moulds which they mix up a resin of fish paste, clay and the root of some tree to fill it with.  Then the women hand carve, using a variety of punches and hammers, the ornament to decorate it.  It was amazing to watch how quickly this lady could create an elephant ear and eye from this vaguely elephant shaped lump of silver.  Once we had been shown the ropes of creation, it was on to the hard sell.  It does get a bit tiring being sold to all the time here, but it is also understandable considering the conditions they live in, and the amount of money they know we have. 
The kids loved to show off for us
It also seemed a little risky buying silver in place like this, but at the end of the day we ended up with a beautiful hand carved cup which even if it isn’t all silver, is a fraction of the price you would expect to pay for something like this in Australia.  Once the transaction was complete we took a few more photos with smiles all round, and it was on to the next smith.  To be honest we had no idea we would be going to more than one, so we then had to disappoint everyone afterwards by not buying anything (except a beautiful copper elephant) which then made us feel quite guilty.  One probably would have been enough but it was still quite interesting.
Hand carving copper elephants
After that we headed to ascend the Oudong Mountain, which has a beautiful Buddhist temple at the top, but first we did a wander through the markets at the base, where there is a huge variety of food on offer, most of it way too exotic for my tastes!  We did try some lovely biscuits and some soy bean cakes as well, and then we headed to the base of the mountain to make the climb.  As we started up, we noticed a cute little monkey hanging around, took some photos and continued on, however a few steps further and we noticed what I would exaggeratingly call a “stampede” of at least five or more monkeys barrelling down the stairs and making a bee line for us.  Given my history with monkeys, this was slightly unnerving, they were very cute, but the intent stares they were giving our left over food was a little worrying, so we decided to turn back and get rid of the food before trying again. 
The food market at Oudong Mountain
Easier said than done, every time we moved to the side, a monkey would mirror us, effectively blocking off our only escape route!  Finally we managed to outsmart the little buggers and get past, but they still followed us all the way down to the markets while we tried to finish off our food!  They are clearly very used to people, and we were a bit less worried by them at that point, so we were able to enjoy their company and get a few pics/movies as well. 
So now we could finally re-start our climb, while it is only 500 stairs to the top, it was bloody hot, and quite a few breathers were taken!  But once we got there the view was spectacular, and the temple was also very beautiful.
One of our monkey mates
  It was so peaceful up there, with just the sound of small bells on the decorations swaying in the breeze, I was very close to settling down for an afternoon nap (as several of the workers there already were) but instead we took our photos and headed back down to the base, all the while still enjoying the antics of these monkeys, who would peek out at us from behind pillars like shy children. 
Monkey Calisthenics
Our next stop was a little less enjoyable but still a very interesting one, we went to a very poor village which was built to house people displaced from Phnom Penh.  Apparently according to our guide it is very common for the government to seize land off people, giving them minimal or no compensation, and then sell it to private investors (many of which are the Prime Minister’s own companies).  This village was a series of run down shacks that had been built for these people who were residents of a slum area on the Phnom Penh riverfront, ironically right across the road from the Australian Embassy. 
The view from Oudong Mountain
The problem they face is while they have been provided a home of sorts, it is over an hour by van out of the city, and while in the city they were able to find work in this area there are no jobs to be found.  So they are now stuck in the cycle of having no money to get out, and no jobs nearby to allow them to earn money.  When we visited the village was mostly women as the men go to Phnom Penh during the week to try and find work, but even when they do it only earns them a dollar or two per day.  It’s amazing to hear the stories of these people, forcibly displaced and desperate to find work to improve their lives, but completely unable to and with no recourse against the corrupt
The temple atop Oudong Mountain
government that displaced them.  Countless sites we drove past which were being developed were companies of the Prime Minster, or his son, or friends etc.  When you see his house (one of two) a towering mansion of seriously ridiculous grandeur, you have to wonder how the world has stood by and let this man get enormously rich off the backs of these people who live in squander, and it gives a lot of perspective to the protests seen in Cambodia recently.
From there we headed to a second village, which was built by habitat for humanity, and spoke with the people there to hear a similar story.  These people are required to pay back mortgages to habitat for humanity including $500US of interest on the loan (an enormous amount when you earn $2 per day). But again they find themselves in a remote area with minimal to no options for employment.  One particularly sad statement came from a young girl who our guide asked what she would like to end up doing when she grew up.  Her only dream was to be a worker in a garment factory, meaningless employment for a tiny wage, but more than her parents were able to find. 
Where the phrase "cheeky monkey" originated
We then travelled to another Buddhist temple, and again, the difference was incredible, from collapsing shacks and shanty towns to an enormous ornately decorated temple, which houses the “king of the monks” in Cambodia (who apparently drives a nice new Lexus).  We took plenty of photos and it was a beautiful sight, but again it’s hard to enjoy with the memory of the people we had just met. 
From there it was back to the hotel, before we were picked up by our Tuk Tuk driver, and taken for dinner, this once again reaffirmed my belief that Tuk-Tuk is the only way to travel!  We headed to a buffet restaurant recommended by our guide, and we ended up with what I think was the most extravagant meal I have ever had in my life.  This place was enormous, with around 6 fully stocked food stations offering every variety of food you could
A slum village for displaced people
imagine, as well as some you probably couldn’t.  We started at the Vietnamese station, which offered things like rice paper rolls, fresh to order Vietnamese salads, Pho, spring rolls and more.  Then there was a sushi station with beautifully presented sushi and sashimi, followed by a fresh fruit station. 
There was a man with his own little counter making fresh Peking duck pancakes, and then on to the hot food section which had even more to choose from.  Fried rice, pork ribs, whole pork hocks, scallops, prawns, I would guess at least 25 hot dishes.  Then there was a BBQ station, where they were grilling huge Scampi, or prawns, as well as satay sticks and you could order your own fried noodles with a variety of ingredients. 
Kids in the village (with rotten teeth already)
Finally the dessert station again had around 25 dishes to choose from, from beautiful little cakes, puddings, ice creams, and rice cakes plus many more which I had no idea about.

Just trust me that words cannot do this place justice, and unfortunately photography was not allowed, but all up for $30 (it was all you can eat remember) it was an amazing experience, and again just highlights the difference between the wealthy and poor in this country.   

Another magnificent temple
Detail at the temple


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