Sharing: Cambodia in my eyes

Before, Cambodia in my eyes is only the image of Hunxen - and the field filled with corpses. However, only after experienced Cambodia could I understood more about the culture and people of these exhausted country. 4 days 3 nights were so a short period, but it left me a different perspective about the country and people of Cambodia. What impressed me the most about Cambodia is the image of the poor children at Tonle Sap.

Only when coming to Tonle Sap did I see the poor life the the Cambodian. Their lives associate with Mekong river. Houses, schools, local committee, hospitals, churchs ... everything is happening by this Mekong river. However, this difference does not take away the loveliness of the people here. I had seen many children in their uniform playing at the school yard which was located on the surface of the river; but it was not only that; among the large river, some children were swimming nearby my boat as if they wanted us to buy their stuffs.

Among those children, I saw a little dark boy. He was one-armed sitting inside a steel basin on the Tonle Sap; his only hand was rowing as the lighting in order to keep the balance. Sometimes, he stopped and took the water out of the basin. Like many other children, he also asked people for little money. I had heard about the Tonle Sap before, but actually, when seeing those children, no one could not feel happy. I gave the one-armed boy a hat, and he was really happy. He immediately wore it on and waved their hand to thank and say goodbye to us.

Cambodia also brought to the tourists admiration of the massive Angkor. The high stone steps made visitors imagine that they were going to the heaven. The sophisticated patterns were carved into the hallway as though they were telling the tourists about Hanuman monkey legend. The dancing girls in Apsara dance, and the 4-face Bayon statues brought me from surprise to surprise.

It seemed that only at Bakheng hill - Siem Reap were there too many people coming to see the sun set. Around 5 PM, all tourists went to Bakheng hill. I only had to take a 3-km walk to the hill and it seemed like normal for everyone. When reaching the main area of the hill, you had to go up the small cliffs very carefully. On the top of the hill, at a big area up to a hundred square, there were hundreds of people from every countries and continents in the world especially Europe and Asia. The red sun and its corona slowly set; and the the last sun light went away, it also mean that the dark was coming, and in each people, there was a strange feeling like this place had brought people together although we were not speaking in a same language.

For me, Cambodia would be always an unforgettable image about the beauty as well as people of this country; and I feel more respecting to my country, my family, friends, and companions who makes my life more meaningful.

- Nguyen Thi Bich Diep -

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Posted in: Angkor, Asia, Cambodia, places, review, Siem Reap, travel, travel sharing