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March 26th, 2015
The world can be a bizarre place. You only have to turn on the TV to be bombarded by the craziness entertained by the human species, especially when inflicted on one another. Or more intensely, visit some of the places where the senseless and irrational is readily at the surface. My penchant for these places has taken me, for instance, to the border between Palestine and Israel where gas cylinders and rubber bullets flew in from one side and hard sharp rocks from the other. Or to Syria, where I had a chat with the famous Yellow Man, to find out three years later that he had been severely harassed by the 'freedom fighting' anti-Assad thugs. In North Korea I have seen how a population of 25 million is held under complete control by a regime. In Rwanda I visited rooms and rooms filled with exhumed bodies, with many more left unseen after I couldn't stomach any more. In Auschwitz I was astonished by the sheer size of the camp, just one of many. I can recommend anyone to see such places; it helps to see the world as it is.

Sometimes the madness is so totalitarian that it's even a wonder that anyone ever escapes it. One such person is Bou Meng. Now, you might have never heard about this Cambodian guy, but he is one of those who has defied all odds. When in the early seventies the Khmer Rouge fought for power, he supported them, like many of his countrymen did. They did not know anything about communism but fought for a change and in many cases for the King who opportunistically supported the Khmer Rouge. But as soon as the Khmer Rouge took power the 'purification of the country' started to turn the place into in an agricultural social utopia, and many who were deemed enemies of the state began to disappear. It was not difficult to be labeled as such. Anyone who was suspected by anyone else for whatever reason would be taken, tortured and killed, with intellectuals the prime target for indiscriminate disappearing.

The ruins at Ta Prohm are still partly covered by jungle (Angkor)

Bou Meng and his wife were taken to the infamous Toul Sleng prison where they were photographed and separated. Then he was tortured for several hours twice a day for many weeks before he volunteered to draw a picture of Brother Number One, Pol Pot. As an artist he knew how to draw, and luckily the portrait he had made was undistinguishable from the photo that had been handed to him to copy. It saved his life, as otherwise he would have been 'turned into fertiliser' according to one of his guards. For years he drew portraits of the regime's cadre while droves of people were brought into the prison, tortured and eventually transported to one of the killing fields to be exterminated. In total about 20 000 people passed through Toul Sleng. Only seven out of those 20 000 survived. From the moment they were separated Bou Meng never saw his wife again. She was probably taken to the killing fields of Choeung Ek to be clubbed or hacked to death. The horror came to an end in 1979 when the country was liberated by the North Vietnamese. In total, about a quarter of the Cambodian population had disappeared under the rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. An astonishing number if you walk through a busy shopping street in Amsterdam and imagine that every one out of four people there being removed from society. For me it was also astounding that although I was a toddler when this killing spree happened, it did happen in my lifetime.

About 20.000 people passed through the Tuol Sleng prison. Seven survived (Phnom Penh)

Pol Pot was never brought to justice. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge he fled to the Thai border where his Khmer Rouge continued to fight, supported by both Thailand and China. He died in 1998 in his bed while under house arrest, allegedly of a heart attack. Like him, many of those that orchestrated the mass killings never faced justice. It is a salt that irritates the open wound that is still apparent in the consciousness of people; the freshness and the hugeness of the event can readily be felt in the atmosphere in Cambodia. How strangely the Cambodians can deal with the topic of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge came to me when my friend Christian and I were eating in a restaurant that was run by former street kids, a project that was set up to keep them out of prostitution. Eating at such places usually not only assures good food but also induces a doing-good feeling while shamelessly stuffing oneself with one dish after another. Our eyes were suddenly caught by the pictures on the wall. They were stylised Andy Warhol like prints of the same prisoner photos that can be found in the Tuol Sleng museum; photos of people holding their assigned numbers, with some people clearly already tortured and all of them extinguished weeks or months later. In the midst of them was a portrait of a man that we did not recognise at first, so we asked the waitress. Without any sign of discomfort she answered that this was a picture of Pol Pot. That was weird, one that can probably be compared to sitting in, say, a Bavarian restaurant and then seeing the stylised photos of Auschwitz victims hanging on a wall, with a glowing portrait of Adolf Hitler somewhere in the middle.

Framed! (Angkor)

Life could not be more different for Bou Meng nowadays. He sits in a chair on the Toul Sleng complex, between the portraits and ghosts of the many that have disappeared. He signs books, his books, and if you didn't know any better you would just see an old grey introverted man that sells books. And he poses for pictures; if you want to have a selfie with him you can have your go. And many actually do, given the flashes that pop up now and then in the area where he sits. Personally I do not have the need to post a photo of me with a survivor of one of the worst atrocities of the past century on Facebook, but many seem to do, especially Asian teenagers. They take out their selfie-stick, for which I find 'narcissistick' a more apt term, and click away. I wonder what level of inventiveness is required to come up with a fitting capture under the photo, and whether it is appropriate to put your thumbs up. Don't get me wrong; although I am more of a 'you-fie' photographer myself, I am not an anti-selfie man. It's also not that I do not like to look at other's people selfies, but don't bother posting them on Facebook unless you just smashed your face on the gym's treadmill.

Lazy time (Battambang)

Cambodia does not seem to attract the tourist numbers that Thailand does, but given the numerous bars that can be found in Phnom Penh which primarily cater for tourists, tourism is definitely on the rise. And with 'numerous' I really mean numerous; long lines of bars where cheap cold beers lure and where the Cuba Libre is liberated of alcohol. Pretty much all of these bars have one thing in common and that is the throngs of Cambodian women who hope to pick up one of the visiting tourists. It's actually quite hard not to be targeted and just enjoy a beer. In those bars it takes about thirty seconds to get someone to sit next to you. Such was probably accelerated by the curiosity value of the size of my friend Christian, a giant, who sat next to me. Then there was the blonde hairs on my arms which seemed to truly intrigue the Asian women with one in Thailand even calling me 'Monkey Man' all the time and trying to see if she could actually pull the hairs off before she found her way to a more promising prospector. The waxing influence of China can readily be seen here as more and more such places cater to the increasing stream of tourists coming from China. One place I visited was a karaoke bar where individual karaoke rooms could be rented, including several gorgeous women to sing along with you and your pals, pretending to be your friend, included in the price. Much more fun are the bars that are frequented by the Cambodians themselves and they sure know how to party until the very early hours of the morning.

Despite the horrors that the Cambodians had to face and the fact that their country is still an economic wreck (it ranks 43th on the list of poorest countries in the world), there is one thing that the Cambodians take extreme pride in and that is Angkor Wat. Even if you have seen it on numerous photos, its sheer size (I am not only talking about the stunning main temple) and exquisiteness will still baffle. It is possible to wander round the temples for days and with a bit of planning to dodge the tourist hordes you can feel like a real Indiana Jones or Lara Croft while exploring the ancient stones. It is the largest temple complex in the world and they, the Cambodians, built it. Its image can be found everywhere, such as on the national flag and on the label of the most popular brand of beer. It is an achievement that will probably never be repeated again in the future and a feat that nobody can take away from them.

Paul

Next time: Living Colours

Last time: Treasures of Thailand

Angkor Wat	The massive heads at Bayan (Angkor)

One can wander for days around the temple ruins of Angkor	The iPhone generation (Angkor)

The stone-cutting of Banteay Srei is the most exquisite that can be found on our planet (Angkor)	A monk guarding his temple (Angkor)	Angkor Wat at sunrise

You expect Indiana Jones popping up anytime (Angkor)	Cleaning the temple lake (Angkor)

A traditional Apsara dancer (Angkor)	The butterflies have beautiful patterns (Angkor)	And mesmerizing colours (Angkor)

The inside of an orchid (Angkor)	Working in the fields (Angkor)	The Prasat Preah Vihear mountain temple has been the source of skirmishes between Cambodia and Thailand

Snack? Anyone? (Siem Reap)	Cambodian circus is world famous and involves a lot of acrobatics	Playing (Battambang)

Nun (Battambang)	The Killing Caves at Battambang	A friendly reminder (Choeung Ek)

The tree at Choeung Ek which the Khmer Rouge used to smash babies to death	The abandoned French church on Bokor Hill	Tree Frog (Kampot)

A bite of this Giant Centipede causes huge swellings and pain for weeks	Curious caterpillar (Kho Rong)	Long beach at dusk (Koh Rong)

The women in the bar keep customers playing pool, and keep them drinking (Sihanoukville)	Happy (Sihanoukville)	Listening to the words of the Buddha (Battambang)

The extremely weird Stegosaurus depiction at Angkor: are those damn Creationists right after all?