“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to themselves […] life obliges them over and over to give birth to themselves.”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez – Love on the Time of Cholera.
20th of August, 2024.
I keep walking after the border. It starts pouring rain, so I have to stop and wait for almost one hour. On my sign you can read “Banteay Chhmar”, the name of the town where a temple site is located. While waiting for the rain to stop though, a Cambodian young man comes to talk with me, curious about what I am doing, as he has seeing me walking earlier, and he suggests I write the name of another town, by the main road (highway), as he says it will be easier for people to pick me up. He even writes the name for me. When I start walking again, a car stops almost immediately, and a man with his driver say that he can take me there.
The man can speak a great English and he works with international companies. As it’s getting near sunset time now, I ask him to drop me off in a pagoda, so I can camp there for the night and carry on to Banteay Chhmar next morning. He offers for me to camp in his work site, saying that it will be safer. I consider it, but after seen the pagoda by the river, and feeling that I would be alright there, of course, I kindly refuse his offer and decide to stay at the pagoda.
The monks are nice but not super friendly and welcoming. They tell me to put my tent inside the temple, a big one up high some stairs. I was happy to be just by the river, but they insisted it would be safer at the temple. They also offer for me to have a big fan on, which is grate because actually it is extremely warm, and during the night, I envy a family who was staying at the pagoda too, but had their mosquito net only, outside. There is an old yellow building which I think it looks gorgeous, even though it’s kind of falling apart.
I go outside the temple and managed to ask for some rice and two fried eggs, all for about six cents.
Next morning, before leaving the pagoda, I am invited for some coffee and curls by some people. It’s nice!
On my way out of the town, I am picked up by a man who passed me, saw my sign and came back. He can speak great English and when I tell him my plan about asking to visit the temple for free, as I cannot pay for the ticket, he tells me he will call his boss and arrange everything, as he works with de administration of the park. Great! He drops me off just outside the entrance, and before leaving tells me I can have breakfast at the restaurant. I have fried eggs with rice again, and some soup.
Banteay Chhmar Temple is charming and quite big. You can walk all around and seems the ruins of what, most likely, was an exquisite place back in the days. I take my time exploring and taking some photos.
As I still have some hours of daylight, I decide to start hitchhiking to my next destination, another temple called Koh Ker. The route I take though is almost deserted, and I have the feeling it is not a good idea trying to reach Koh Ker from here. The reason why I chose this way is because I can go in a kind of loop, and seeing a different part of Cambodia, a bit northern, instead of going back to the main highway. But in the end that’s what I do because it’s clearly the best option.
A big family in a van, doing a family trip, picks me up. I explain to the husband who can speak a great English where is a good place for him to drop me off. They stop for lunch and offer me to eat something too, but as I just had some breakfast a few hours ago, I kindly refuse.
Walking outside another town again, more rain. I get some shelter in a hardware shop for some time.
I can’t really remember how do I get to Svai, but I do.
From there, a monk with his driver (?) and he tells me I can come with him. I climb in the back and we drive together for sometime.
When they stop at an intersection, the monsk asks me a few questions, while the (his) driver is filming with his phone. Laugh. By hearing my travels story, the monk gets really surprised in in a very nice gesture, he takes off his own bracelet, clearly a Buddhist / monk one, and gives it to me. He actually put on my neck, but later on I started using a bracelet. I was super touched by his gesture, and I think he is the first senior monk to be touched by my story and lifestyle. Before leaving, he also tries to give me money. They are a lot of notes, as they are small changes, but as I can figure out later it is something like 20 USD. I kindly refuse. Then, they stop a few cars trying to get me a lift to Koh Ker, even though I know it is too late now to get all the way there. They manage to get a family going some where I could go, in the way, so I get in.
Seap and Thia are a really nice couple. Thia gives me a dragon fruit right away. It is my first pink dragon fruit and I love it! Way better then the tasteless white one. They cannot speck English but they call someone who can. I explain to this person that would be great if their friend could let me camp in their garden, as it is getting too late to carry on to Koh Ker. They accept without any issues and we carry on to their home in Svai Leu.
They live really outside the town, at the bottom of a small hill. They tell me you can climb all the way there, and I would love to do that. I wish I had done that. Their “home” is very simple, consisting of an outside kitchen, a toilet, and wooden huts, very traditional in Cambodia, where they sleep.
I take a shower and wear a traditional purple dress which Thia gives to me. Her daughter and son in law arrive with their baby. Although they still look pretty much like babies themselves. We have dinner, mostly soups and rice, all quite tasty.
Then, lots of people come over, neighbors and friends, most likely just to see me. And I am really trying not to be cocky here, it is just quite clear.
A local police officer come, they chat about me, and then the police officer asks to take a photo of my passport. Annoying. Another police officer come over later, and they both ask to take photos with me after. Laugh.
I sleep with the wife in the wooden hut, with a mosquito net. I said I could camp but they don’t let me. In the morning I would figure that the husband actually slept in the van, unfortunately. The young couple and their baby sleep near the kitchen.
Early morning I go to the market where the wife has a food shop. Oh, yeah, I forgot to say but their van was loaded with vegetables and some fruits, and in the morning I figure out why. She has actually a big shop, mostly fresh food but some industrial products too, like sauces and noodles.
Still at the market, they get me some delicious breakfast: omelet with herbs, sweet fried pork, soup and rice.
The husband is going to work nearby Koh Ker, so he drive me all the way there. Unfortunately, it takes me sometime to realize how close I am to the entrance, as he (and I don’t really know why) drops me off at an intersection. I chilled for a while by the pharmacy where a woman and her kid leave too. I charge my phone and drink the Coke which the family gave me last night. Luckily, I finally decide to start walking, instead of just hitchhiking here. But I start hitchhiking a while after, under a shade. After something around one hour, a guy in a pick-up takes me to the entrance of Koh Ker, which is roughly one kilometre from where I am standing. Laughable, I know.
10 Years Around the World 