Vietnam and Cambodia

Jodi is sitting next to me writing so I'll try not to write too much of the same stuff...

After our first week spent in Vietnam (Saigon) and Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Battambang) there are several key themes that stand out. The most important of these themes is the absolute devastation of war.

In Saigon, (Ho Chi Minh City) we visited the War Remnants museum and saw the horror and destruction that was brought upon the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War. No matter what side you take on this war, there is no denying that a large portion of the Vietnamese population (civilian and military) was wiped out. This beautiful country has taken decades to finally begin it's recovery from the war and the effects of things like Agent Orange.

Sadly, Cambodia is still years away from catching up with Vietnam because of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rhouge and the "Year Zero" plan of beginning a perfect communist society by wiping out all the educated citizens and all dissidents (upwards of 2 million victims) and starting from scratch. The worst portion of this plan occurred between 1975 and 1979. Believe it or not, the US backed the Khmer Rouge on several occasions in its attempt to maintain power throughout the years.

How can this type of violence have been allowed to happen only 30 years ago? How do we allow this stuff to continue to happen today in places like East Timor and Burma (both a hop, skip and a jump from where I am typing)??? Of course we all know that it's also happening in many other parts of the world... but how do we let it happen?

The reason this sticks in my head so much is because in October of 1976, while all of this genocidal terror was beginning to happen in Cambodia, just a few miles across the Thai border, my family was in a refugee camp (after fleeing Laos) and I was born.

Somehow my life has taken the crazy path that it has taken, while lives like that of my moto driver in Battambang, who was born in a refugee camp on the Cambodian side of that same border (again, just miles from my birthplace) and his life has taken a completely different and undoubtedly more difficult path.

Can only a few miles difference in birth places make that much of a difference?



The second big theme that that has come out of our first week is the quick adaptation of capitalism in these poor societies. Both Vietnam and Cambodia are like little kids trying to act like teenagers when it comes to capitalism. It's amazing how it seems like every single person (except the monks) are so driven by the $$$
We can't walk 5 steps anywhere without being offered a service or to buy something. It really is amazing how both countries seem to have adopted the system in the exact same way, although the government systems (Vietnam is still a communist country, while Cambodia is a democratic country since 1993's ouster of the Khmer Rouge) supposedly differ so much...

Wow, this might be the most boring blog anyone's ever written... It probably reads like a 10th grade term paper... I'm gonna stop right here and add a few quick, more "bloggie" things so I am not so embarrassed about what I've written so far... I am guessing only 1 person even makes it to reading this portion...

Okay, more "bloggie" section:
Food - Delicious!!!
People - Smiles and waves from everyone!
Weather - effing hot!
Landscape - beautiful!
Massages - 1 and counting...


Up next Angkor Wat... if you don't know what it is, google it, then get excited for us!

Now go get a coffee because I know you've almost fallen asleep reading this!