Peace Works Travel Blog

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Francis Parker Exploring South East Asia

Sunday, Feb. 15: One Foot in the Past, One in the Future

“If you put one foot in the past and one in the future, you pee on today,” Yut, our tour guide in Siem Reap, reminded us with his spread-out stance. Although seemingly far from profound and even silly, we’ve seen this Buddhist sentiment reiterated throughout our several days in Cambodia. Living in the present is vital for the religion, as it keeps us humble, aware, and centered. But something Yut also stressed was the importance of looking outside of Cambodia’s past: Angkor Wat, the genocide, and other previous moments in their history. Unfortunately, in many ways the country has been defined mainly by its bygones. Luckily, we were able to see developing juxtapositions and the promise of Cambodia’s future.

Monks walking around the perimeter of Ta Prohm temple. Even the monks carried cellphones and digital cameras for photos, which was interesting to see. Fun fact: our tour guide in Siem Reap, Yut, was a practicing monk for sixteen years! Photo by Grace Sellick.
Monks walking around the perimeter of Ta Prohm temple. Even the monks carried cellphones and digital cameras for photos, which was interesting to see. Fun fact: our tour guide in Siem Reap, Yut, was a practicing monk for sixteen years! Photo by Grace Sellick.

The shadow puppet show we enjoyed (prior to a downpour of rain) centered around ancient stories from the Ramayana. Angkor Wat displayed a mixture of new and centuries-upon-centuries of old, as some of its walls were damaged by bullets from the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Also, many of the sacred Buddhas inside all of the temples we visited, from Angkor Wat to Ta Prohm, were decapitated and looted more recently to be sold on the black market. Contrastingly, the circus show, named “Chills,” gave promise and a future in the visual arts to young adults and teenagers from a village around three hours away. Building wheelchairs for the victims of landmines shows the past’s toll on today, as many of the mines were planted 40+ years ago. Therefore, the Landmine Mueseum has put forward efforts by building schools, removing thousands of mines, and providing a scholarships and other opportunities for students who aid them.

Cambodia, Ta Prohm Temple
Ta Prohm Temple (the set of the film Tomb Raider) transitioned from Buddhism to Hinduism, as etchings of Buddha on its walls changed forms over the centuries. Photo by senior Grace Sellick.
Land Mine Museum, Cambodia
The Landmine Museum and its group of mine-removers has had no demining-related casualties even though they have handled thousands of landmines (for example, in one week, they removed 1,500). Other demining groups have had about a dozen injuries over the past few years. Photo by Grace Sellick.

We arrived in Phnom Penh after a forty-minute flight, and then drove to our lunch. Immediately, we were aware of the difference between the capital and Siem Reap. Previously, we had eaten at semi-upscale restaurants whose clienteles were mainly tourists. This restaurant, with its much more unfamiliar foods, was mainly filled with residents of Phnom Penh, mostly Chinese, Koreans, and other foreigners living permanently in the city and working for nearby NGOs. We soon arrived at the You Khin House, a guesthouse whose profits go towards the Seametrey Children’s Village located in the building next door. (This, too, seemed an immediate departure from our stay in Siem Reap, where we slept under mosquito netting on wooden beds.)

Leaving the comforts of our new hotel, we entered into a Cambodia quite different from the sanitized, westernized streets of Siem Reap (dominated by elephant-patterned harem pants and resorts with Angkor in the name) and entered the slums around the governmental housing known as the White House. Designed by the former king of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk, the buildings today are crumbling, houseplants spilling out from small balconies. Almost immediately, the group (conspicuous with our clothing and expensive cameras) felt somewhat out of place. In contrast with the food stalls, motorcycle repair shops, and children running around, our middle-class American lifestyle stood out like a sore thumb. Many in the group later remarked that it almost felt like slum tourism, or that we should not have visited in the first place. Still, being able to see the living conditions and humble beginnings of the Cambodian Living Arts’ (CLA) students provided important context prior to seeing one of the graduated student’s (Neang Kavich) documentaries, Where I Go. The documentary followed a different CLA student, Pattica, throughout his dance studies, familial conflicts, and problems with discrimination (being half Cambodian and half Cameroonian, as well as not knowing his father).

Siem Reap, Cambodia
When it was constructed, the White Building was the tallest structure in the country. After the Khmer Rouge, it became a center for well-known artists and performers. Now, only the middle part of the building remains, and the CLA’s influence has helped to decrease the amount of teenagers in the area who become addicted to drugs, solicit sex, or get involved in gangs. Photo by Grace Sellick

Following the showing of the film, we departed to dinner across the street from the CLA office with the filmmaker, his brother and friend, and the coordinator of the CLA program, Melissa. Throughout dinner, we had the opportunity to ask questions regarding his production process/his inspiration for the film and the history of CLA and Melissa’s work with the program while eating coconut and mushroom soup, tempura vegetables, and delicious egg and fish “quiche/omlette.”

Cambodian Film Maker filmmaker Neang Kavich
Group picture after dinner with filmmaker Neang Kavich (far left), his brother Sal (second to left) and a friend who all participate or participated as CLA students.

We are looking forward to more work with CLA throughout this next week and exploring a new city.

— Olivia Fidler, Isaac Gray and Grace Sellick

Arts and Culture,Cambodia Student Trips,Education Travel,education travel programs,education travel tours,Francis Parker Vietnam - Cambodia 2015,PWT Guest Bloggers