Cambodia is Vacant

My parents flew across the Pacific to see us. We planned an excursion to Cambodia. Their first view of it was from the edge of a tall cliff. This vantage point, called Preah Vihear (Khao Prah Viharn in Thai), has a profile similar to a sinking ocean liner. The bow points skyward at a fairly sharp angle. At the tip is an ancient temple.

The Thai-Cambodian border at that point is effectively formed by the rim of this escarpment. An international court awarded the disputed temple site to Cambodia some years back, so technically we were already in the country as we climbed the steep steps from the Thai side up to the ruins.

The monument itself, relative to others in the area, is nothing too special. But the effort to reach it was more than rewarded by the view of a wide plain that revealed itself when we were just one step away from the cliff edge. If we didn’t know better, we’d have said the country looked as peaceful as the sea on a windless day.

Alas, the nearly roadless expanse in front of us appeared empty and serene partly because it’s chock full of landmines. Few people choose to live in that part of Cambodia, for fear of losing a limb. Development there proceeds only as quickly as the demining efforts, which is to say not very quickly.