Magical Cambodia
ALEX HIBBERT finds some unforgettable memories on a trip to the Far East
MOST people will tell you that magic only really exists in the world of Harry Potter.
Or more open-minded folk might say you might catch a glimpse of it performed by magicians on telly.
As a cynical kind of chap I gave up believing in tricks long ago, but after a week exploring Cambodia’s awe-inspiring sights, cities and culture, I can safely say magic does indeed exist.
It’s there in the water I sail through in an ornate dragon boat, along a moat which once served Angkor Thom - the world’s largest city in the twelfth century. It’s there in the leaps, somersaults and folklo reled tales brought to life by Cambodian youngsters at the national circus Phare. And it’s there in the currents of the Mekong as teams of rowers from villages around the country urge long narrow boats through the water at the annual Water and Moon Festival – paying tribute to the gods in hope of a bountiful harvest.
These moments are just a few of the myriad during my trip that will stay with me forever.
Having travelled parts of south-east Asia before the region isn’t unknown to me, but Cambodia is unique. What makes it all the more amazing is that it is a country still in recovery from a bloody genocide, led by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge, which killed between two to three million people (around a quarter of the population).
Before and after that civil war devastated the country and its people, and to this day swathes of land are still inaccessible due to the land-mines that litter the landscape.
At the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum – inside the former grounds of a high school turned prison camp – instruments of torture lie beneath a parade of grainy ghosts; uniform rows of pictures of the people that passed through on their way to their deaths at the killing fields. While at the Choueng Ek Killing Fields Memorial, the sights of butterflies streaming through flowering fauna belies the atrocities that were carried out at the site in the name of progress.
It’s not an easy trip, but it feels like a necessary one. Every Cambodian has a story to tell about its bloody past, from losing entire families to coming to terms with never knowing those they would have loved.
And what they want most of all is understanding, so understanding can lead to prevention of anything like what happened ever happening again.
Our trip can be broken down into two defined parts – first to Phnom Penh and then a short flight north to Siam Reap.
Phnom Penh is the bustling capital, where tuktuks choke the roads and mazy streets unwind to reveal startling sights. It is the country’s heartbeat, where time should be spent exploring the fading yellow grandeur of its French Colonial architecture, sipping cocktails in the Foreign Correspondents Club on the banks of the Mekong, exploring bustling markets or fuelling up on the daring delicacies of the Khmer people (we recommend Redong, where fried ants and crispy tarantula make up the menu).
The city of Siam Reap is different. Sparser, smaller and more serene, it acts as a gateway to the country’s majestic Temples of Angkor. And though it doesn’t embody the progress of contemporary Cambodia that Phnom Penh does, Siam Reap’s routes into the essence of the Khmer’s culture and history mean it acts as the country’s true heart.
Here a short tuk-tuk ride takes travellers down roads which were once traversed by elephants and kings to the UNESCO World Heritage Angkor site, where through fogshrouded forests sprout colossal thousand-yearold Hindu temples forged from stone. It spreads out over more than 400 square kilometres and visitors to these ancient religious monuments can spend days lost scaling and exploring the vast network of temples. Angkor Wat is the most popular, a complex behemoth which hosts millions of visitors a year.
We approached it from the East Causeway, avoiding the crowds and meaning the sheer scale only reveals itself after you have snaked through brush-covered roads. Other must-sees are the 12th-century Bayon, the mesmerising state temple of Jayavarman VII, which features dozens of Gothic towers decorated with 216 gargantuan smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara and bas-reliefs depicting colourful scenes of everyday life in 12th-century Cambodia.
Another way in which Cambodians are trying to protect their heritage and future is the conservation of wildlife and both Siam Reap and Phnom Penh offer opportunities to discover more about how the country is serving its remarkable wildlife.
At the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, 25 miles south of Phnom Penh, the Wildlife Alliance cares for and rehabilitates animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
And the Free the Bears charity allows visitors to feed and help care for its 130 Sun and Moon bears rescued from captivity. While in Siam Reap, the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (or ACCB) helps protect and breed animals indigenous to Cambodia.
Here wild cranes soar overhead as guides explain how the ACCB is helping educate Cambodian people about how and why it’s imperative they help protect their extraordinary ecology.
My stay in Cambodia offers an abundance of transcendental moments, true feelings of wonder and amazement at the natural and man-made world.
Watching the pale supermoon hanging lazily over the water of that earlier moat while sipping on a gin and tonic, enjoying a gourmet dinner of traditional Khmer cuisine at a country villa set deep in amongst the rice fields of the Western Baray, watching fireworks burst out across the vein-like waters of the Mekong while sat across from the King outside the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh or dining on Royal cuisine and watching an ancient Aspara dance at the Raffles Hotel.
These experiences can all be arranged by ABOUTAsia, who specialise in creating luxury tailor-made tours for travellers around the south-east of Asia.
Each ABOUTAsia guide we travelled with offered us a true insight into Cambodian life and all of the company’s profits are used to help local education programmes, supporting more than 53,000 local children across 110 local schools.
And the perfect place for any weary traveller to stay while exploring the country is the Raffles Hotels.
In Phnom Penh the famous Elephant Bar offers a plethora of signature cocktails – including the Femme Fatale, which was created for American first lady Jacqueline Kennedy when she stayed there - and its Restaurant Le Royal is the only place in the city where original dishes from the Royal Palace of Cambodia can be served, by special decree from King Father Norodom.
In Siam Reap the Raffles overlooks the Royal Palace, offering guests access to Cambodia’s largest swimming pool.
And, as well as hosting me, it’s also welcomed Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama in recent years.
All guests are treated to a 24-hour butler service, who are some of the nicest and most genuine people I met on my trip and both hotels serve an incredible champagne breakfast. Staff service is almost telepathic; they seem to know exactly what you need just at the right moment and nothing is too much trouble.
And when I am sitting back at my desk amid the stresses and strains of everyday life on a cold, drizzly morning, I climb back into those memories and moments in time spent exploring a country which has left an indelible mark on me.
No tricks or distractions. Just magic.