Real Travel Adventures
International Magazine
New Features
Click Below:
By Bonnie Neely
By Ron Kapon
By Antonio Graceffo
By Mary McIntosh
By Linda Vissat
By John Sammon
By Amanda Hargraves
By Nancy S. Tardy
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
|
Click Below For Recent Features:
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
Travel Adventures
from
Real Travel Adventures Ezine
International
Travel Adventures
Stories & Photos
Your FREE online travel magazine e-zine of exciting travel adventures, travel reviews, travel photos from all ages and lifestyles of real travel in US and the world. International travel adventure - travel adventure magazine - travel reviews - trip planner - road trip planner - travel news - Real Travel Adventures Ezine with Book Review and Travel Guides for good reads and good listens on your trips and international travel adventures.
Sharing Travel Adventures & Adventure Travel
Discover Great get-aways, budget stays, and luxury travel to Dream About .Choose from Hundreds of Travel Reviews and and book reviews Outdoor and Nature Photos
Get Your Travel Review Published here!
INTERNATIONAL
MAGAZINE
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
The Road to Siem Reap
©2006 Antonio Graceffo
The smiling boys formed a lined in orderly fashion, and waited patiently for their turn to punch me in the stomach. There were about five of them, but luckily the oldest was probably only about twelve."Me next!" Shouted one boy, he reached back so far, on preparation for the knockout blow, that he almost fell over."Don't hurt your hand." I warned, as the blow landed solidly on my belly.
"We thought you were dead," said one boy. "But now, we know you were just kidding. And we are glad that you are alive."
My guide from Phnom Penh Tours, Thavrin, and I were at Pnom San Tok temple, 120 Km outside of Phnom Penh. When we pulled off the highway, every kid in the village came running out to greet us. It looked like a crowd of about fifty screaming children who mobbed our Land Cruiser. One of the bigger boys even jumped onto the rear bumper. They were all laughing and shouting, so I wasn't frightened so much as curious. When Thavrin opened the door, and began speaking to the boys, I understood. The boys in this village picked up
extra money by leading tourists up the mountain to the temple. As foreign tourists rarely visit, they were all very excited to earn a day's wage. They were pushing and fighting their way to the front to be chosen. One clever young man was walking on his hands to attract our attention. Finally, Thavrin selected an eleven-year-old boy, named Mai Lin, much to the chagrin of the other boys, who would have to wait in disappointment for the next tourists to come.
Half-way up the mountain, I realised two things. Mai Lin had no idea how to get to the temple. And Thavrin did. He had chosen a kid from the village only because it was the polite thing to do. Khmer culture has very intricate rules of politeness, of which the Khmers themselves seem to be unaware. That is to say, they always know and complete their cultural duty, but they couldn't always explain to you why they did this or that. In Thavrin's eyes, it wouldn't be right to bring a tourist to the village without sharing some small money with them. At the top o the mountain, Thavrin paid of Mai Lin, and he skipped back down to the village, a hero.
The unwritten rules of Khmer society also dictate who can make money and where. There is only so much cash to go around, and it would be unfair for to have double while another person goes hungry. For this reason, at the top of the mountain, we were met by a completely different set of boys, whose job it was to lead tourists through the temples, explaining the history as they went. These boys would never dream of leading tourists up the mountain. And the boys in the village would never encroach on this informal guide service. In Khmer society, everything is always balanced.
This temple, like so many in the Buddhist world, boasted an actual footprint of the Buddha. So many temples maintain the distinction of having a footprint of the Buddha, that even I, a lapsed Roman Catholic, couldn't doubt his divinity, because no human could have walked that much.Behind the temple proper was a smaller temple, which featured "the milk of the mother." Thavrin explained, "If we are in the jungle, and we meet a tiger or a dangerous situation, we pray to the mother for help. After, if we survive, we come here to give thanks to the mother." The temple featured two tremendous, stone breasts, covered in metal. The breasts were not identical, so Thavrin explained. "One represents the breast of a virgin, and one the breast of a woman who has already had children."The most interesting feature of this temple was that this was the place where the king's father, His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, had served as a Buddhist monk. There was a striking photo of the King as a young man, his
innocent face not yet marked by years of worry and endless political intrigues where he was forced to use his cunning brain to first win, and then maintain the sovereignty of Cambodia. For many reasons, the King had been a personal hero of mine since I arrived in Cambodia nearly eighteen months before, and seeing this rare photo of a young Norodom Sihanouk was very special.
The boys told us a legend of the temple. There was a wishing well where you could toss coins and ask for a blessing. Apparently, long ago a woman came to the temple and tossed in a coin. Suddenly two tigers appeared. But, instead of being afraid, the woman began dancing with the tigers. A king witnessed the tiger dance, and fell in love with the woman. He married her, and instructed her to teach the dance to all of the Khmer girls. Today, the dance is called Kontai Rai, and it is still widely known.
Now, why were a group of nice boys pummelling me at a holy Buddhist temple? The boys had been half following, half leading us through the temple, explaining their version of the history. One of the boys made a comment that I looked very strong. Another boy said, "I think I saw him fight Eh Phou
Thoung in a movie." Eh Phou Thoung is the Khmer boxing champion, and we had, in fact, made a very bad kung fu movie together the previous year.
A light of half recognition went off in the faces of the other boys, and
they stared at me wonderingly. "Yes, that was me." I said.
"Can you beat eh Phou Thoung?" They asked."Of course not." I laughed. "He killed me in that movie."
"I thought you were really dead." One boy confessed. "But now I know you were just pretending." He finished by adding, "I am glad you are still alive."
"Me too." I answered. "Me too."
The number one tourist destination in Cambodia is Angkor Wat. But along the three hundred kilometer route from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap there are some excellent temples to see. If you make the long drive, or better, bicycle ride, take a little time to stop off and see some of the less famous sites. The Khmers in these small villages are not as jaded as residents of Phnom Penh or Siem Reap and still make a big deal when they see a foreigner. You will be greeted with smiles, as well as people falling over themselves to be your tour guide.
Following Rd Number 6, approximately 80 KM North East of Phnom Penh, in Kompong Tom Province we stopped off at Kuhat Ngor, an 11th Century temple. Much of the temple was overgrown, and blended beautifully with the jungle setting. Directly beside the temple was a monastery, where modern monks lived and studied. The temple is a massive stone structure, which contains reclining Buddas, on the spot where the Hindu god, Shiva, once resided, before the Khmers changed to Buddhism. Beneath the pedestal, the earth was marked by a gaping hole where treasure seekers had defiled the temple.
"Every temple in Cambodia they do like this." Explained Thavrin. "They dig up the earth, looking for buried treasure."
It is a well-known "secret" that nearly all rural Khmers bury their life savings under their homes. Banks have been known to go bust in Cambodia, and country people everywhere distrust large, city-based institutions. This explains the financial squirrel behaviour, but one question still remained.
"Did they ever find anything buried under a temple?" I asked.
"As far as I know," answered Thavrin, "No."
"How many temples are there in Cambodia?"
"Thousands."
"Well, at least they are persistent." I said, in defence of the tomb
robbers. "No one can call them lazy. If I dug up a hundred temples and found no treasure, I would quit, but these guys just kept going. You have to respect that."
Actually, the west promotes a dual standard when it comes to tomb robbing:
When Angelina Jolie does it, it is O.K., but if I did it, it would be a crime.
Someone needs to explain that one to me."
The one true treasure mystery in Cambodia concerns the king's crown. It
disappeared during the Khmer Rouge time, and to this day, it has never been
found. Maybe we need to get Tomb Raider on the case. It's out there, all
covered in gold and jewels. Maybe you could be the one to find it. Do you
want to buy a treasure map?
Contact the author at: antonio_graceffo@hotmail.com
You can reach Long Leng of Phnom Penh Tours at leng@abercrombiekent.com.kh
See all of my books about adventures in South east Asia at http:www.amazon.com
<|<|<|Add to Bookmarks
Get Published Here! Contact Us!
Subscribers:So that your free subscription is not mistaken for spam, please copy and paste our E-mail address into your address book:mail@realtraveladventures.com
It's that simple!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Adventure Travels in your Free Ezine
If any links don't work
EXCITING NEWS!
CLICK HERE TO HEAR US LIVE
11:30 A.M. (NY time) some Wednesdays
EVERY Wednesday get Latest Travel Tips and views while you work on your computer
Streaming Internet broadcast on WWW.TTRN.COM "Talking Travel with Roy Lowey and Friends"
Every Wednesday 11 A.M. (New York Time)
Thanks for visiting us!
Real Travel Adventures International Magazine
Real and Armchair Travelers: Enjoy best trip reviews, travel features, and excellent travel photos in RealTravelAdventures.com, your FREE on-line international magazine. Send your funny or outrageous travel experiences & photos and get published!
Visit or dream of fascintating places with Real Travel Adventures e-zine! This site offers travel humor, photos, stories, helpful guidebooks, and more. Visit for fun or to seek tips for your next travel adventure...and then share your own stories with us here at
realtraveladventures.com, your free online travel magazine, where you'll find great book reviews, international travel adventures magazine, airline tickets, real travel adventures, camping, RV travel, RV's, Cruises, restaurant reviews, RVing, FamilyTrips, traveling with kids and children, Nature and eco trips, ecology, international travel, Ski Trips, Spas, Spiritual Retreats, interviews with Special People, Travel Humor, Travel News, Unbelievable, WeddingTrips, restaurant reviews and advisor, traveling adventures, adventure travels, travel, virtual and armchair travel, Back Roads, off the beaten path, where to go Camping and enjoy RV trips, where to Dine and Sleep, fun Family Trips, our Favorite Finds, Arts and Crafts, cruises and cruise vacations, romantic trips, traveling tips, travel stories, audio book reviews for your travels, books reviews, good books for a trip, wedding trip planner, wedding Trips, Honeymoons, Unbelievable adventures, Travel News, humorous travel stories, spas and retreats, spiritual retreats, meditation retreats, ski trips, week-end trips Near You, nature's Best places, ecology trips, travel guide books, traveling with children, e-zines, FREE Ezines, Free travel magazines, magazine, free online magazines, internet magazines, free magazine subscriptions, web magazines, true stories, humorous articles, funny features, human interest features, nature photos, environment photographs, photos, adventurous stories, real true stories, true adventrues, camping gear, vacation, holidays, safaris, Caribbean vacations, cheap hotels, great places to go, nature hikes, nature photography, family vacations, family holidays, trip planner, great trips, scenic photos, holiday vacations, holidays, holiday stories, foreign destinations, International travel trips. And you can Get published here too! Send us your travel stories and pictures.
© 2006 Bonita Productions Inc.
If you wish to use our features or photos you must first contact us