Angkor Wat 1999

1999 Angkor Wat The Civil War over. Peace reigns once more Kampuchea. On a visa run I fly to Phnom Penh to have the Thai embassy stamped my passport with a 90-stay. I saw no guns on the streets. The pepole were tired of war. After a wicked night on the town and a morning fast ferry up the Tonle Sap, a hugh lake fedding the Mekong, to Siem Reap. Tomorrow Angkor Wat. In the morning at the suggestion of my humble guesthouse I hired a young boy as a guide and a motosai to tour the famed Khmer ruins. We set out at dawn before the sun rise to melt the flesh from our bones. The Hindu empire sought to recreate the paradise of Mount Meru, the home of the Gods. The ten year-old directed me through the massive main temple to the jungled wreathed Ta Prohm complex. By 11 tourists were invading the sights and we drove back to Siem Reap. On the way back Ktut sighed and said, "The French said they discovered Angkor Wat. There were three monks here and countless villages. They discovered nothing but an abandoned city. Abandoned by a people tired of greed " I wanted to say something about the Khmer Rouge marching the citizens of Phnom Penh to the rice fields. This was a time of peace. Back at my hotel I paid Ktut $20. My daily salary for the common man was $1 a day. I hired Ktut for two more days and we traveled through the ancient lands of an old empire. Free as the wind. Ktut expertly spoke of the various