Be sure and check out Cambodia Chronicles part one.

The average annual salary in Cambodia is around 300 dollars a year. I didn’t know this when I held my 500 dollar camera, but I definitely felt like something wasn’t quite right with this situation.

Unlike when we arrived, the children were gleaming with smiles and chasing us down the road as we set off again. Again the terrain changed quickly and we found ourselves in the middle of the jungle (during dry season) driving on small sand paths. As qualified for the trip as we had made ourselves out to be, not one of us was prepared for the sand. In the sand you lose all control of steering and power. We were constantly wiping out, getting up and wiping out again. Eventually we learned that by putting pressure on the back tires you can keep your bike afloat at the right speed with out crashing. This madness continued for a few hours until we finally hit some hard dirt. We regrouped, drank some water and then set off once again. This time we were all excited to ride on normal turf and we felt as if we were back into expert status or even beyond. We buzzed around the paths like busy bees on a honeycomb frenzy not paying attention to where we were going. The small paths split up into smaller paths and eventually three of us including myself ended up lost in some open field only forced to stop because one of us, Will, crashed his bike. After checking to see if he was okay we looked around and slowly began to realize there wasn’t anything in sight.
We didn’t turn back right away, instead we took the moment to enjoy the vast openness of the field, the sound and atmosphere, really soaking it in. Where we were. This was something I hadn’t experienced before. A life without electricity, television, or traffic. It was truly peaceful.
Shortly after we chatted for a bit, one of the others came up behind to guide us back to the rest of the group. No problems. Joe, my brother who was one of the 4 of us was having a similar experience. He road ahead too far, and his bike broke down. The rest of the group stayed back to wait for the three of us who went in the wrong direction, so poor Joe, was stuck way ahead thinking everyone went a different way. It’s actually a little scary when you think that you have no way to communicate. We didn’t have cell phones, phone numbers or spoke the language. We were just going.

Eventually after about half an hour we caught up with Joe. We continued on to the first village where we sat down and had lunch. We chatted about the “what if’s” of the day.

We continued on that day until reaching our first camp, amidst the lost temples of Preah Khan. The temple complex was out in the middle of the jungle, free of tourists, and only a few locals de-mining in the area. The temples are difficult to get to, which made them so unique. I’ve read that they are planning on building a new road out to the temple complex, which I suppose is good for the tourism industry, but really bad for the raw and special “Cambodian feeling” you get when it is seen as a lost jungle temple. In my opinion the temple will lose it’s personality if it is made a tourist attraction (even though we are tourists ourselves). It’s really a sad thing, but at the same time it will provide a source of income for many Cambodians. This is why I have said before that Cambodians really have to be careful about how they handle the tourist industry.

The temple was built in the 12 century by the same Cambodian king who had built Ankor Wat. During this time Cambodia was called the “Khmer Empire” and was a dominent power in the region. The temples are amazing. Something you would see out of Tomb Raider (which was shot at the Ankor temples). The setting is what makes it. The jungle sounds, vegetation, and feeling of being fortunate enough to camp in a lost, ancient temple tucked far away in the jungle.

That night we set up our bunks (mats and mosquito nets) and had a barbecue. The sounds coming from around us were amazing. The nightlife of the jungle is full of energy. I was hearing sounds that I could in no way tell what kind of creature they were coming from, which was a great way to fall asleep.

The next morning we woke up early and packed up. We all lined up outside of the entrance to pose for a shot and then headed off again.

We traveled through paths, sand and dry brush for hours. We stopped when one of the guides that was with us crashed his bike. It was a minor crash, however we had to wait for a bit while they repaired the bike. While they were repairing, we noticed a brush fire off in the distance. The longer we hung around waiting for the bike, the more this brush fire grew. Our fears began to grow as the fire spread closer to us and the paths we had to drive on. The small brush fire, within about 20 minutes had grown into, as far as we could tell, a forest fire. We frantically ran down the hill to where the Cambodian guides were and explained how we could be in some trouble if we don’t get moving. The guides seemed to nonchalantly calm us down, and shrugged it off as nothing to worry about. We insisted the fire was big, and they should have a look. After showing them, they still didn’t seem to mind the flames and smoke rolling around us. This is when we realized brush fires in Cambodia during dry season are common. But for me, I had never seen a fire that big run out of control without anyone thinking twice about it.

We managed to get going just as the fire was about to engulf our only path and we continued on only to notice more fires as the day went on. At one point I remember having the feeling that the whole country seemed to be burning. We even noticed some small homes (unoccupied at the time) burning.

What we later learned was that fires are started for a number of reasons. One, locals will set fire to create room for cultivation. Two, fires are used to trap wildlife for poaching, and three, fires are started accidentally. The problem I saw was there was no control. I don’t know anywhere where you can let a fire burn uncontrollably across a forest. Cambodia also has a large problem with deforestation. They have lost over 30 percent of their forest since the 90’s due to illegal logging, and of course forest fires.

That evening we arrived in Tbeng Meanchy (te-bung mean-chee), a small town with cattle wandering aimlessly in the streets. We found a small motel, unpacked our things and then went for a walk on the town. Paul and the other guides took us out to this rickety old bridge that stretched out across a wide shallow river. There was a group of kids jumping off into the muddy water. After a long day of dirt and sweat, surprisingly only one of us (Will) had the guts to jump in with them.

Keep reading Cambodia Chronicles part three.