Cambodia - Phabulous Phnom Penh

That Botswana station was so Americanized. If it weren't for the odd African song thrown in, that station could've been in any US metro area. We may be the dominant entertainment culture in the world, but daaaaaaamn...

Let's try something a bit more exotic today. Y'all want to head to Cambodia?

first, some orientation...

About 90% of Cambodia's 15 million people consider themselves to be Khmers, descendants of the Angkor Empire that dominated the region for a couple of hundred years back about a thousand years ago. There's still massive ruins from their empire, and it's capital, Angkor, was the largest pre-industrial city in the world! Larger than anything the Romans or Mayans or Egyptians did! It's estimated that agriculturally, it could have supported a million people. Cambodians are so proud of Angkor they put it on their flag, and are the only country to have a building on their banner.

But like the Huns and Visigoths and Vandals that weakened Rome, Angkor was crippled by lesser tribes in the region, mainly from modern-day Thailand and Vietnam. By the mid-1400's, they'd abandoned the capitol due to ecological and infrastructural collapse. The civilization continued to decline as outside powers intervened until the late 1800's. A king, who'd been put on the throne by the Thais, asked the French to spot him protection against the Thais and Vietnamese. Oooooh snap! Cambodia stayed under French control until WWII, when the Japanese empire occupied it. After the war, France started to grant independence to Indochina, with Cambodia gaining full independence in 1953.

A government was set up and ruled for almost two decades. It was officially neutral during the Cold War, but everyone thought they sympathized with the communists. They had pretty sour relations with America, sidling up to China and North Vietnam instead. In 1970, a military coup (backed by America) overthrew the government while the head of state was in Beijing.

Angkor Wat from above. Reminds Ellen of the monkey city in The Jungle Book.

The new government that was established was the Khmer Republic. Five years of civil war ensued while the height of the Vietnam War raged next door. The Americans were pretty active in Cambodia as well since the Vietnam War seeped over boarders. There were controversial massive bombing campaigns and a brief invasion as the Americans tried to disrupt the North Vietnamese. Though the US was successful in upsetting that apple cart, it really fucked up things for Cambodia. It intensified their civil war, and by 1975, the Khmer Rouge had succeeded in toppling the government in Phnom Penh. That's just a quick overview mind you. Shit's always more complicated.

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

OK, so now we've got the Khmer Rouge in power and over the next 4 years Pol Pot starts this insane agrarian revolution. He clears out the cities and moves everyone to the country and destroys anything Western in an attempt to recreate the model from the earlier empires from over a thousand years ago. Of course, it didn't work. DUH. And, through their unadulterated cruelty, heavy handed tactics, and ensuing disease and starvation, the Khmer Rouge ends up killing about a fourth of their population - especially the Buddhist monks. They killed off every single one of them they could find, and there were a lot at the time. The Khmer Rouge basically gutted that institution. By the late 1970's there were less than a thousand left. The Khmer Rouge tried to kill all the intellectuals, too. Just wearing eyeglasses was a death sentence. (Watch out, Ellen!)

Pol Pot dictating his crazy to the masses.

The Vietnamese invaded in the late 70's, and civil war ensued until peace accords in 1991. The last of the Khmer Rouge didn't give up until the late 90's though, and today, there are still an estimated 4 million landmines in a country the size of Oklahoma. It'll be another ten years before they're removed or destroyed. Each month, there are an estimated 300-700 amputations due to people stepping on them. Think about that... Primarily due to landmines, 1 in 236 Cambodians are disabled, making Cambodia the most disabled country on earth.

Although Cambodia is war torn, they're dealing with their past and rebuilding. It's become an incredible tourist destination, and about 4 million people come to visit Angkor every year. In recognition and as a way to learn from their country's history, the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was established in Phenom Penh. If you had gone before 2002, you would have seen the Skull Map (yeah, it's a disturbing as it sounds... click with care). They've replaced it with a map of the killing fields and relocation camps, and we hear it's significantly less traumatizing.

Anyway, Cambodia is building up their agriculture, garment, and oil industries, too. Although there have been a few hiccups, they're pretty stable politically and are actively rebuilding their society. It's a poor nation with a poor infrastructure, but they're a resourceful people and are doing everything they can to flourish. Check out the bamboo trains! Gotta use what ya got!

Well, guess that about does it for now. Hope y'all enjoy Cambodia!

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