{"id":175,"date":"2010-01-23T00:41:57","date_gmt":"2010-01-23T00:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brucebramson.com\/2010\/01\/23\/cambodia-at-m-y-o-b\/"},"modified":"2010-01-23T00:41:57","modified_gmt":"2010-01-23T00:41:57","slug":"cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/?p=175","title":{"rendered":"Cambodia"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHNOM PENH<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Angkor Travel Brochure<\/p>\n

NOTE TO READERS<\/strong><\/p>\n

The look of this blog will change slightly: I\u2019m out of Vietnam, I\u2019m in Cambodia, and I have a camera. There will be more pictures than there have been so far.<\/p>\n

My letters all along were distributed to family and friends: so there is very little in them about gay things. From here on, I will occasionally interrupt the narrative from letters to interject a \u201cBACKSTORY\u201d, which will include whatever it was I did not put in my letter to start with. I\u2019ll change the gay<\/strong> backstory text to blue, which seems appropriate! Other BACKSTORY entries will remain in black & white.<\/p>\n

I had with me a tablet of very thin paper, suitable for air-mailing, and I wrote continuous letters until I was able to mail them. Hence, some letters were long, covering several days. And now, without a typewriter, I am long-handing letters again, so for this blog all will have to be keyed in. This will slow things down a bit!<\/p>\n

BEFORE I BEGIN<\/strong><\/p>\n

You will see quickly that in late 1968 Cambodia was a very pleasant place. It went quickly to the top of my list of \u201cplaces I want to go back to\u201d. You\u2019ll also learn that I eventually returned to the states just in time to see places in Cambodia I had visited being blown to smithereens when Tricky Dick Nixon ordered the Vietnam war into Cambodia. There followed the horrors of the Khmer Rouge: Cambodia has not even yet returned to the condition it was when I was there, which grieves me to this day.<\/p>\n

ONE MORE THING<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am utterly appalled by the behavior of the right-wing nut-cases raising such a ruckus over President Obama\u2019s proposals about our health-care system. Former President Carter put his finger on it yesterday: racism is alive and well in the USA. We can only hope this bunch of nuts represents too small a portion of our population to cause more than noisy trouble, but I fear the violent nature of the rhetoric is likely to send some fool over the edge.<\/p>\n

ON WITH MY STORY!<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Just look at those prices!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Handy map of Phnom Penh as it was in 1968<\/p>\n

Phnom Penh,\u00a005 September 1968<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear everyone~<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite nearly everyone\u2019s saying it couldn\u2019t be done, here I am at Phnom Penh, exhausted, but delighted. The motorcycle is still at the airport\u2014there are some customs formalities to complete tomorrow in the morning, also have to get proper exit visa so I can go out (as planned) via Arranya Prathet to Thailand (3 weeks hence). So I took a bus into town, have a nice Hotel, had a couple of hours of daylight for a quick walking tour; had a leisurely & plentiful meal of pork sautee\u2019d avec champignons et. al., (very good), and am shortly going to turn in for a well deserved rest. It\u2019s been a long day! Met a chap from Holland who is going on to BK tomorrow\u2014he\u2019s just come from Angkor & says it\u2019s lovely and very devoid of tourists (this is not the season; the rains are not really quite over yet).<\/em><\/p>\n

BACKSTORY<\/strong>: I checked into room 206 in the Hotel Mondial and took a short rest. When I went downstairs to the street to see what I could see, there was a clutch of cyclos and drivers at the curb. They crowded around vieing for my custom, and offering sight-seeing, girls, more sightseeing, more girls. But one chap sidled up and said quietly, \u201cWould you like a girl\u2014or a boy?\u201d I agreed to take a ride in his cyclo, and once we were away from the crowd, it turned out the boy he had in mind was himself! We repaired to a small hotel of his choice, and had a wonderful romp! So, I had my first Cambodian within a few hours of arriving: he was not the last!<\/p>\n

I am amused by a statement in a booklet I have before me that says, \u201cTourists of all nationalities except Chinese (mainland), Vietnamese, Thais and journalists can obtain visa . . .\u201d Apparently they don\u2019t like reporters! A very striking new University is along the route from airport to down-town; just beyond it is a clumpish big technical University built by the Soviets. It is unusual (for me) to see a Polish Embassy (I didn\u2019t even see them in Europe!), but there is one, and Rumanian, and others as well. No American embassy, though\u2014and I doubt I shall miss it a bit. Lots of English spoken here in PnhP, but I may get away from that later.<\/em><\/p>\n

06 September 1968<\/strong><\/p>\n

The French have left behind throughout \u201cIndo-China\u201d a number of impressive monuments, not the least of which is a monumental bureaucracy that tends to put even us to shame! As a consequence, I still do not have my bike clear of \u201cformalities\u201d; I\u2019m assured by the Australian Embassy however that we should be able to complete arrangements tomorrow morning sometime. Since the pressure is off, I can take all this philosophically; after all, I didn\u2019t have to do it this way\u2014I could have toured in the more conventional manner\u2014hence there\u2019s no one to blame for the delays but myself. But no matter\u2014I got in a good deal of sight-seeing shuttling back & forth between the aerodrome, the Embassy and the Commissioner\u2019s Office. The hang-up actually seems to be the requirement of a \u201ccaution\u201d\u2014actually an in-country co-signer who will assume responsibility if I fail to re-export the machine in the allotted time. Naturally, I know no one here who will undertake this, and (rightfully) the Embassy won\u2019t do it either. But they\u2019ve been most helpful\u2014the Australians actually act in some capacities in lieu of an american embassy under a loose agreement we have with them\u2014and I feel sure the matter can be cleared up tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

BACKSTORY<\/strong>: The real problem in dealing with the motorcycle was the language barrier: everyone thought I wanted to import the bike to Cambodia, which would have meant paying a hefty duty. I was unable to explain, my french and cambodian language skills being meager at best, that what I wanted to do was ride the bike in the country, and on out of it. Nevertheless, I was amused by the kind of forms the importers wanted to prepare: they had typewriters with carriages about 20 inches long, and huge sheets of paper to go into them! There were, of course, NO computers!<\/p>\n

Hence, when 1:30 pm came along\u2014everything stops then anyway\u2014I took the more accepted \u201ctour\u201d of Phnom Penh, via \u201ccyclo pousse\u201d. When I get the bike I shall revisit all the spots for a more direct inspection.<\/em><\/p>\n

I suspect PnhP is now rather like Saigon was in 1958 when Todd was there. It is, of course, much smaller than Sgn is now: about 600,000. Untouched by war in many years, it is hence much better kept, cleaner, & far less crowded. It is, among other things, much quieter: all the motorbikes have their silencers left in; thank goodness I brought with me the one for my machine, which otherwise would disrupt this place mightily. Since the Khmer are in general slightly stockier and larger than the Vietnamese, the Hondas popular here are the 65 & 90 cc models, though 125s are also around.<\/em><\/p>\n

Another French institution that is universally found in the Extreme d\u2019Orient is BGI (many americans call it British Gas Industries!). Actually, it is Brassieries et Glacieries de l\u2019Indochine. Despite the limitation of the name, they are into all sorts of things\u2014beer, soft-drinks, ice-cream, ice manufacture, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

This is the first city I have ever been in that is not plastered with \u201cBevet\u00e9 Coca Cola\u201d signs. The signs are there, but they read \u201cDrink Pepsi\u201d!! I\u2019m told that in the course of the falling-out with the USA, Coca Cola was somehow banned. How Pepsi slipped by I don\u2019t know\u2014the bottles all clearly say \u201cbottled under license of Pepsi Corp, USA\u201d. Ah, the mysterious East!<\/em><\/p>\n

There are lots of new buildings, the most spectacular being the Unicversity mentioned earlier and the Olympic Stadii\u2014there are at least two. A big bridge over the Tonle Sap looks like it might be new since Todd was here, but the \u201cPhnom\u201d seems to have been sinking, and a project is underway to shore it up by boring beneath it & putting in a new footing. The Royal Palace looks fascinating & I shall take the tour, tho\u2019 possibly after I get back from Sihanoukville. My tentatively \u201cplanned\u201d route is now:<\/em><\/p>\n

09\u00a0 Phnom Penh \u2013> Kampot \u2013> Kep . . . . . . . 195km<\/em><\/p>\n

10\u00a0\u00a0 Kep<\/em><\/p>\n

11\u00a0\u00a0 Kep \u2013> Bokor \u2013> Popokvil \u2013> Sihanoukville . . . . . . . 100km<\/em><\/p>\n

12, 13, 14: Sihanoukville<\/em><\/p>\n

15\u00a0 Sihanoukville \u2013> Kirirom . . . . . . . 120km<\/em><\/p>\n

16\u00a0 Kirirom \u2013> Phnom Penh . . . . . . . 125km<\/em><\/p>\n

17\u00a0 Phnom Penh \u2013> Oudong \u2013> Kampong Thom \u2013> Siem Reap . . . . . . . 314km<\/em><\/p>\n

18-24 Siem Reap & environs (Angkor, etc)<\/em><\/p>\n

25 or 26 Siem Reap \u2013> Poipet \u2013> Bangkok . . . . . . . 420km<\/em><\/p>\n

Subject to change! Will probably break the Siem Reap to Bangkok part into two parts, depending on availability of accommodations en-route. Divide the figures above by 1.6 to get miles, and the distances don\u2019t seem so great\u2014they aren\u2019t!<\/em><\/p>\n

Have to arise early tomorrow: life begins before dawn here, for some reason, and the Embassy opens at 7:30 am. Hence it is now time to get some sleep. Will add more tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

07.09.68<\/strong><\/p>\n

Got the bike today OK & toured the Palace\u2014will get this in the mail & start a new letter soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Love to all~
\nBruce<\/em><\/p>\n

BACKSTORY<\/strong>: Once the folks at the Australian Embassy got clear in their mind what I wanted to do, they prepared a letter (in French) which I was to take to the Customs authorities at the aerodrome. Apparently the letter made clear to them what I wanted to do, because, after some delay filling out forms, they released the bike and told me I was free to visit any part of Cambodia I wanted: just to hand in the form at whatever point of departure I would use. Expecting the letter to do the trick, I had brought with me the bottle of gasoline procured in Vietnam and the silencer for the muffler. I installed the silencer, put gas in the tank, fired up the cycle and drove back into Phnom Penh. At night, the Mondial staff moved the bike inside the main entrance, not to protect it from thieves, but to keep the weather off of it!<\/p>\n

This is the \u201cPhnom\u201d for Which the City is Named.<\/p>\n

More letters soon!<\/strong><\/p>\n


<\/strong><\/p>\n

MONEY<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to retain a few good examples of the local currency from the places I visit. The Cambodian bills were very lovely, printed in Germany, and featured numerous scenes for which the country is justly famous. I saw a good many of these places in actuality.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

12 September 1968<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hello again~<\/em><\/p>\n

Who would believe this trip? Amid threatening clouds, I left Kep (after a restful day there\u2014swimming at 7:00 AM!!) bound for Bokor. As expected, I got into rain fairly soon, and to put the end at the beginning, I drove through rain all the way to Sihanoukville!<\/em><\/p>\n

BACKSTORY: I met a young fellow in Kep who reminded me of why I enjoy formerly-french countries! He was completely unabashed about sex, and we had a fine romp. However, when I told him I planned to visit Bokor, he assured me I should not go there. Unfortunately, the language barrier made it difficult for me to know what his objections were. (There\u2019s usually no language barrier where sex is concerned!)<\/p>\n

The road to Bokor is unbelievable! It goes up 1000 meters in about 22 kilometers, hacked through dense jungle all the way (except along the top of the mountains, where it is quite bare). Wonderful switch-backs and so forth, about 12 feet wide and paved fairly well.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Road to Bokor<\/p>\n

See below for a much later photo of this \u201croad\u201d, when it had become just a cow-path!<\/p>\n

The rain on the way up was not bad, and perhaps the jungle is at its best when wet. I stopped (both ways) many times to shut off the machine & listen to the marvelous sounds\u2014and occasionally to inspect the various animals crossing the road: mostly bright pink land crabs, but some spectacular snakes & things, too. The sounds are like nothing I\u2019ve ever heard (naturally) and while one itches to take up a machete & go in search of the sources, without a guide & so forth that\u2019s hardly recommended! By the time I got to Bokor itself, the storm was a veritable blizzard, visibility less than 30 feet. But amidst all this, the Auberge Royale was open and I got a good hot meal (about 9:30 am). After a quick tour of the casino (doing a thriving business) I set forth once again, this time to Popokville, about 4 km away. The rain let up slightly for this leg of the trip for which I was thankful. Just as the road (paved about 1\/2 way) petered out into a couple of muddy ruts, and I was going to turn back, I heard the roar of water & saw a \u201cparking\u201d sign a little further on. So I thrashed on through, there to find the famed falls of Popokville (I wonder if Todd made this same pilgrimage?). Now, with all the rain, there was lots of water. The river is about 1\/2 the size of the Merced at high water; the falls are a couple of hundred feet, in several stages. Very spectacular, very wet, and in the jungle setting, truly wonderful. There was not another soul around, although there are nice little pathways, rickety bridges & so forth (a la mist-trail [in Yosemite]) which I poked around in (carefully!) for about 1\/2 hr.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Recent shot of the he famed falls of Popokville<\/p>\n

I found this picture on the net, taken many years after I was there. These visitors had better weather!<\/p>\n

When the rain re-commenced, I remembered the road I had to traverse back to pavement, & decided to push on. Back down that wonderful road. More sounds, more animals, rain. Some views were blocked by clouds, but I got some good looks down to the delta & sea 2-3000 feet below. Alas, no pictures\u2014too little light<\/em> [and too wet].<\/p>\n

The remainder of the trip was uneventful, but very wet. At times the road was nearly flooded. The rainfall varied from moderate to very heavy. My poncho leaked, and when I finally reached S-ville I was soaked through. My luggage leaked slightly (as you can see by the stains made by some carbon-paper I foolishly brought along!) but I had dry clothes when at last I found the center of S-ville and a hotel.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sihanoukville may turn out to be the only disappointment of this trip. The weather has not helped\u2014it has rained steadily through today and shows no sign of stopping: tres inclement! But the city itself is not much. It has recently been turned into a free port, but until the railway to the interior is finished I doubt this will make much difference. There are a couple of ships at anchor and the town is full of a sorry lot of French merchant seamen. There is a rather lurid \u201cstrip\u201d, a couple of strings of shops, the inevitable central market and information center\u2014and that\u2019s about it! The setting, though, is splendid and the beaches extensive and inviting\u2014given proper weather. I should imagine that in 5 or 10 years this could be another Riviera.<\/em><\/p>\n

You will not believe what this trip is doing to my diet!! Every now and then I order the Plat du jour, not always knowing just what to expect. In Phnom Penh I got as an entr\u00e9 one night some sort of small fowl, roasted (whole, I discovered) with petit pois & sauce. I will never know what it was (too small for pigeon) but it was not bad. Today, here, I had \u201corderves\u201d (fresh crab, pat\u00e9 fois gras, sliced ham, chick-peas & onions) followed by a dozen clams on the half-shell (I know you won\u2019t believe it but I ate them all), followed by fresh diced pineapple & caf\u00e9 au lait; all for 80 riels (about $1.50).<\/em><\/p>\n

Assuming it is raining still in the morning, I\u2019m heading for the interior again\u2014Kirirom. The weather there should be better. This cuts two days off my planned stay in S-ville, but without being able to swim & sun on the beach, there\u2019s really almost nothing else to do; besides, constant rain depresses me. Hence,<\/em><\/p>\n

More later!!<\/em><\/p>\n

Bruce<\/em><\/p>\n

So much for my planned sun and swim on the beaches in Sihanoukville (formerly, Kampong Som). I\u2019m not really a swimmer: I was more interested in seeing skimpy bathing-suits on the local guys! Of these, there were none, the weather being foul as mentioned. Indeed, it was off-season, and there was only one hotel in Kep that was anything like \u201copen\u201d, and that barely. No restaurant. But there was a restaurant open in the town, where I had the meal mentioned, and where I cruised up the trick also mentioned (above). In Sihanoukville, the seamen were mostly drunk and probably after girls, but the locals had locked up every youngster (with good reason: with the french and ME in town, none of them was safe)!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve since learned that Bokor was built up by the French as a refuge from the heat of the dry season, Although one web-site says it was abandoned after WWII, it was going strong when I was there in 1968, and it was quite a sumptuous place. It was abandoned (and looted) soon after the K-R took over, and now stands derelict:<\/p>\n

Bokor Bokor<\/p>\n

I understand that Bokor is now a nature preserve and is patrolled to prevent poaching, but it is likely a losing battle: development as some sort of resort seems inevitable. The grand old Auberge will unquestionably be demolished, along with the Catholic church in Bokor and perhaps a Royal Residence as well.<\/p>\n

By the time this picture was taken (found on the web) the \u201croad\u201d to Bokor had been over-grown by the jungle:<\/p>\n

Cows on the Road to Bokor Now<\/p>\n

A later picture shows it as even worse, open only to dirt-bikes!<\/p>\n

But, time marches on. And the next day I decided to visit Kirirom. Stay tuned!<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHNOM PENH Angkor Travel Brochure NOTE TO READERS The look of this blog will change slightly: I\u2019m out of Vietnam, I\u2019m in Cambodia, and I have a camera. There will be more pictures than there have been so far. My letters all along were distributed to family and friends: so there is very little in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brucebramson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}