SLIPPERY ROAD TRIP IN REMOTE CAMBODIA

It doesn't get much more remote than this

I'm riding shotgun with my faithful driver Shanghai, heading out on another road trip across northern Cambodia. We're headed to the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, which is still a conflict zone. Local news has been dominated by a recent battle there between the Cambodian Army, and the even more powerful Thailand Army. Both countries claim the old temple.

But it's far from Anlong Veng, and first I have to get there. As soon as we leave the former Khmer Rouge stronghold, the blacktop runs out, becoming bumpy dirt road. Our ride for this long haul is Shanghai's ancient rickety ’85 Toyota Corolla. Bouncing over the ruts, I ask him if we'd be better off with another vehicle.

“No problem,” Shanghai says in his heavy accent. I’m not so confident. I’ve heard some of these roads are best covered only with a 4X4.

After two hours, we swing through the junction town of Sra Em, and turn north. The countryside is flat, scattered with brush and trees. This remote region is sparsely inhabited; dotted with thatched shacks and simple stilt homes. There’s neither cell phone coverage, nor electricity. This is one of the poorest provinces of Cambodia.

Soon, it starts to rain. Shanghai has already warned that if it rains, this road gets really bad. Uh oh, I will soon find out what he means.

We start swerving, and Shanghai slows down. It’s not the ruts or potholes causing problems anymore, we're on a flat stretch. But here the road is under construction, being prepped for blacktop. Now the problem is the reddish, clayish soil. When wet, it’s like driving on snow or ice! Shanghai isn't even driving very fast, and we’re sliding and fish tailing all over the road. In all my years driving on dirt roads in poor countries, I’ve never seen anything like it!

Cambodian Army soldiers slog through the muddy road

Now I'm really worried. We pass a parked convoy of government SUV’s, and a deminer's truck. They're worried about the slick roads, so they parked their four wheel drives! And we're only in a two wheel drive, decades old Toyota Corolla. Shanghai says again, “No problem!”

The rain continues, and after sliding from one side to the other down the highway for a few kilometers, the government convoy of fancy SUV’s passes us. I can see that we’re not the only ones with traction problems. Even though they have 4X4's, they’re spinning wheels and sliding all over the road just as badly as we are. Finally a white SUV swerves sharply, nearly ending up in the ditch. Everyone stops for a few minutes. The driver slowly pulls back from the edge, and we continue.

Then the rain worsens. Uh oh. As Shanghai shifts gears, the Corolla stalls. Then it won’t start!

“No problem,” Shanghai says again, repeating one of his few complete English phrases. With the rain still pouring down, he gets out, pops the hood, and the trunk. I breathe a sigh of relief; he’s brought a spare battery.

But my relief doesn't last long. He hooks up the spare, and turns over the engine. It doesn’t start! That extra battery isn’t powerful enough either. Now we’re really in a fix. Those other SUV's we were tailing are now long gone. We’ll be here a while. I won't make it to Preah Vihear.

Then a white pickup stops behind us. They’re Cambodian Army! Shanghai talks to them, and they agree to give us a jump start. They pull up next to us, almost hitting our car from the slick road. Out come the jumper cables, the Toyota breathe to life, and we’re off again.

Troops on a truck head for the temple

We round a hilly curve near bridge construction, to find more ruts and puddles, and soon we’re stuck in a rut.

“Uh oh,” he says. We’ve had lots of 'uh ohs' today; we’re really stuck this time. But he quickly slams into reverse and guns it. The engine whines as we inch back, wheels spinning, mud spitting in front of us. Then he slams it into first, and slowly, the Corolla climbs the small hill, up and over. I clap my hands in applause. Shanghai laughs. I love this car.

Driving on we pass Cambodian soldiers lugging heavy packs trudging along in the rain. An overloaded pickup truck passes, packed with more soldiers in combat fatigues. They are all headed for the temple. We pass several Cambodian Army bases, some with buildings, others with tents. More are under construction. I see Russian, Chinese, and US made army trucks parked in makeshift shelters. We're getting close.

I spot bunkers made of dirt and logs. I wonder why they aren’t manned, until I see signs warning of landmines. Nearby trees have red marks painted on them, another common warning for mines. There is still a lot of demining needed here.

The rain reduces to a sprinkle, and Shanghai points to a far off ridge, saying, “There it is.” A tree covered ridgeline known as the Dangkrek Mountains rises off the horizon. At the highest point, 550 meters up atop a cliff, is the Preah Vihear temple.

Arriving at my destination - the Dangrek Mountains

We arrive at the village of Kor Muy near the bottom of the mountain ridge. Kor Muy doesn’t have much to offer visitors except a few simple guesthouses and primitive restaurants. It’s a ramshackle village, built in the shadow of Preah Vihear. Shanghai says this is as far as he will go; I think he's afraid of more shooting up by the temple.

We climb out of the old Corolla, to find its silver color has turned brown. Speckles of dirt and clumps of mud cover the car from one end to the other. I'm thankful; somehow, it got me here.

Since the fire fights started between the Khmers and the Thai Army, all of the tourists and many of the villagers left. Still, the village population has increased five fold, from the arrival of Cambodian Army reinforcements.

I look up at the ridgeline, and wonder if there will be more gunfire today. Should I continue on? I've come a long way to get here, and it's a long way back. 

I'm heading up. 

(*NOTE*- This post was written several years ago when the temple conflict occurred.)

END OF A DESPOT

This simple field marks the historical end of a dictator.

I'm back in the remote border town of Choam, and I’m looking at a simple field. With green grass and a few trees, there’s a well worn path right down the middle. It’s a quiet, lonely field; I’m alone except for a few loose chickens. I head down the path, towards a small structure at the far end. 

I approach what looks like a small, strange little shelter. It is only a rusting corrugated iron roof, supported by wooden poles. Short in height, it's not much for a shelter, but one man could lie down under it comfortably. Beneath it is a pile of dirt and ashes.

A blue sign nearby states its importance, “Pol Pot Was Cremated Here”.

The man who destroyed Cambodia, the man most responsible for the genocide that killed over a million people, was burned to ashes right here in this empty field. The old communist's body was cremated in a hurry; his funeral pyre was more like that befitting a pauper. His corpse was covered by a pile of old worn out tires, discarded wood, a mattress, and set alight. There were few mourners.

A man with humble beginnings, Pol Pot, the leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge, had risen so high, only to crash and burn like Icarus.

A dedicated communist, after he took over the Khmer Rouge he traveled to Beijing where he met Mao Tse Tung. While there he witnessed the oppressive excesses of Mao's Cultural Revolution. Mao's radical policies inspired Pol Pot to be even more extreme once he seized power in 1975. Favoring the Chinese brand of communism, he later led purges to execute cadres who favored Soviet style communism promoted by the Vietnamese, whom he despised.

This small shelter marks where Pol Pot's body was unceremoniously cremated.

His power over all of Cambodia was absolute. But when he ordered the Khmer Rouge to raid Vietnamese border villages hoping to seize lost territory in 1978, he sealed his own fate. The Vietnamese Army countered by invading Cambodia, with their army rolling into Phnom Penh in a matter of days. Pol Pot fled to the jungle, where he continued to lead the Khmer Rouge for years.

I look at what remains of his cremation site. A knee high wooden fence surrounding the shelter is falling apart. Clear empty bottles have been buried upside down in the ground, making a strange glass rectangular border around the base. Bits of paper and litter are scattered about. The only thing cheerful about his memorial, (if you can call it that) are some purple and white flowers growing around it. Pol Pot finally died in 1998, shortly before the long years of war in Cambodia finally ended.

Mystery and rumors surround this despot's death. He may have died from malaria, or some other jungle disease. Since Pol Pot had been reported dead in the media many times before, Cambodians didn’t believe that he was really dead when his end finally came. It was only when a journalist’s photo showing his pale corpse was published worldwide that the truth finally hit home. One of the worst genocidal maniacs in world history was finally dead. The Khmer Rouge would never return to power, and all of Cambodia breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Pol Pot ordered the horrific genocide. 

Even the location of Pol Pot's cremation site here is suspicious. It’s within sight of the Thai border, only a quarter mile away. I remember my friend Mali that had lost a leg to a landmine, she had been his cook. Pol Pot had lived in Thailand in secret for years, while he continued to lead the Khmer Rouge trying to regain power. Did he die in Cambodia, or did he really die in Thailand? Details are murky, and witnesses are still silent today.

By the time Pol Pot's final days came, he was no longer the leader of the Khmer Rouge. His second in command, Ta Mok, 'The Butcher', had mutinied against his long time friend. Ta Mok had him tried, convicted and imprisoned in a jungle hideout. Local whispers say that Ta Mok ordered him killed afterward, maybe poisoned. The timing of his death is also curious. Pol Pot died just as the Khmer Rouge were finally losing Anlong Veng, their last major stronghold against the Cambodian Army.

At the foot of the shelter site, I find a small wooden altar, with stubs of incense sticks. There’s also a small spirit house, with more used incense left by Buddhists. How ironic! Pol Pot was not only as evil as they come, but he was also a brutal atheist. Back when he was in power, he would have ordered the execution of those that he saw practicing Buddhist rituals. That doesn't stop some Buddhists today from praying to his spirit.

A small sign nailed to the corrugated metal roof, says in Khmer: “Please Respect”. That sign was placed here due to looting. Among Cambodian Buddhists, there are those who believe Pol Pot still wields power in death, and some have dug through the dirt and ashes here, and pulled out most of his bones! Some Buddhists who took them, keep the bones for 'good luck', praying to Pol Pot to help them win the lottery! How ridiculous. A few foreign tourists have also grabbed bones from the despised communist, not for good luck, bus as macabre souvenirs.

I think back to Hanoi, where I saw Ho Chi Minh's body, displayed with honor in his mausoleum. Mao and Lenin's body are still displayed in the same morbid manner, cold corpses of old communists, whose ideology died with them. But there is no display of honor for Pol Pot. His flesh is now in ashes. He escaped justice through death, but his final indignity, is that his own bones have been scattered as gruesome souvenirs and good luck charms.

Many would say, that's the exact memorial that he deserves.

POL POT'S JUNGLE HIDEOUT

This bunker was part of Pol Pot's jungle hideout, close to the border with Thailand

I’m looking at what used to be someone’s hidden jungle home. The owner of this remote abode in northern Cambodia was one of the 20th century's most genocidal maniacs.

What was once a solid military compound, has greatly deteriorated. Looking at the ruins, I can tell from the remaining foundations that there were four brick buildings. Only one has a couple of walls still standing. There are short, twin concrete water towers. Remains of a grey brick security wall no longer keep anyone out. Most of the rest of this important compound has been torn down, and carted away. Bricks were sold as scrap, or used for building elsewhere. 

This ruined home belonged to Pol Pot, the undisputed leader of the murderous Khmer Rouge.

Now that the megalomaniac that lived here is gone, nature is taking over again. Weeds creep up through cracks in the foundations. The wind blows leaves and dirt across broken tiles. Saplings are growing on the untrimmed lawn.

Pol Pot, genocidal Khmer Rouge leader

There is only one structure here that is nearly intact; an old bunker near the edge of the mountain ridge. 

I climb atop the red brick shelter, and peer through the young brush. I have a commanding view of this land east of Choam. This house in Cambodia looks like nothing now, but it still has a great view over the vast plain far below.

His real name was 'Saloth Sar', and he was born in a village near Kompong Thom in 1925. At one time he worked as a carpenter. Ironic that he worked in a building trade, since he went on to lead the destruction of his own country.

In his student years, he went to study in France. It was there that he was introduced to radical communism (just like Ho Chi Minh before him.) Although the communist party in Cambodia was first founded and led by other Khmers, Pol Pot later took over the party in 1963, when few had ever heard of him.

As I look around his former compound, I find it rather small for such a powerful leader. Did Pol Pot actually spend much time here? Much like the celebrated home of Ho Chi Minh that I saw in Hanoi, and the cave home of Kaysone that I saw in Laos, the number of nights that Pol Pot actually slept here is disputed. 

2 Army guards helped push-start our car

This remote compound wasn’t even built until after 1978, when the Vietnamese Army drove the Khmer Rouge out of Phnom Penh and out into the jungles. The reason that Pol Pot had a house built for him here, was the proximity to the Thai border. Whenever a Vietnamese or Cambodian Army offensive threatened to capture the Khmer Rouge leadership, they simply fled to safety out of reach in Thailand, only a few kilometers north.

There are two unarmed soldiers guarding this infamous house. I approach the sargeant in charge, a short soldier with a boyish face. 

“Where are you from?” I ask.

“Siem Reap Province,” he answers.

“Were you Khmer Rouge?” I inquire.

“No, I Hun Sen Army,” he says proudly. There’s no question where his allegiances lie. The other soldier wearing a tee shirt also says his loyalty is to Hun Sen. Apparently the Hun Sen government doesn’t trust the former Khmer Rouge soldiers that live down the road to guard the house of Pol Pot. That's not surprising. They were once 'comrades', until Hun Sen defected to Pol Pot's sworn enemy, the Vietnamese.

The lowest level below is now occupied by snakes

With the soldiers watching, I check out the bunker. The doors are gone, looted long ago. Two small entrances lead into the bunker's lower basement, where nature’s debris has taken root, along with a few animals. I peer down into the shadows, and hear some rustling movement in the debris.

“Snakes down there,” my guide Shanghai says. Somehow, it's fitting that Pol Pot’s bunker has become a snake pit.

We shake hands with the lonely soldiers, and say goodbye. We climb into Shanghai's car, only to discover that the battery is dead.

The two helpful 'Hun Sen' soldiers and I give it a push start, Shanghai's old vehicle sputters to life, and we’re on our way out. 

As we leave the genocidal leader's house in our rear view mirror, I’m thankful that I don’t have to spend a night out here in the jungle.

Most of the compound was looted; 2 old water towers remain

BEHEADED STATUES OF DISGRACED ARMY

One of the few paved highways in Cambodia

I'm on a rare road today, a Cambodian highway, paved, smooth, and brand new. This used to be nothing more than a bumpy dirt road laced with landmines. Somewhere near here my friend Mali stepped on a landmine and lost her leg. We're about 70 miles north of Angkor Wat, in what was dangerous Khmer Rouge turf, one of their last holdout zones.

The roadside here used to be dotted with intimidating war refuse: abandoned Khmer Rouge tanks. Late in the war, when the communists had an old unfixable Chinese tank, they just pushed it to the side of this road, and pointed the turret south towards the enemy. That gave them an instant armored bunker, useful for keeping the Cambodian Army away. Those menacing metal hulks were left there for years.

Thankfully those metal monstrosities are gone, and after the peace agreement, foreign funding built this modern two lane highway. If the Khmer Rouge ever rebels in this area again, it will be much easier, and quicker, for the government to rush federal troops here on this new blacktop road. Even better, this national highway has a more beneficial use: commerce. With this road going all the way to the Thai border crossing, there is increased trade, and an improving peacetime economy.

Cruising north, I see a long ridge stretching across the horizon. These are the Dangkrek Mountains, a long mountain chain stretching from northwest Cambodia, all the way east to the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, and beyond. Beyond that mountain ridge, is Thailand.

Monument to radical Khmer Rouge, surrounded by spirit houses

The flat road starts to curve, and we start climbing the first set of hills. Coming up the Sa Ngam Pass, the road splits, as it rounds a large boulder. Carved into the boulder itself, is the last monument left to the murderous Khmer Rouge regime. Or what’s left of it anyway. There are two small soldier like statues, and both have been decapitated. One has lost a hand, an arm, and both legs. A taller statue of a Khmer woman has lost both arms. She still balances a stone food bundle on top of her now faceless head.

“Thai (people) do this. Take to Thailand and sell,” explains my driver Shanghai. Maybe that's true, but it’s also possible that poor Khmers chopped off the heads and sold them, as happened at Angkor Wat. Or maybe Khmers did it out of revenge, for all the murders that the communists committed.

Examining the smallest, legless torso wearing military gear, it appears that this was a statue of a child soldier. The extremist Khmer Rouge had no ethical problem with turning innocent children into murderous soldiers. They thought their young minds were more ‘pure’, and more accepting of radical communism. They believed that most adults, had been ‘poisoned’ by exposure to the old regime.

Two beheaded statues of fighters

In contrast to the dark stone of the ruined statues, the monument is surrounded Buddhist spirit houses on pedestals, made of many colors. There are so many, they nearly block the statues from view. Thousands of Khmer Rouge soldiers died fighting the Vietnamese and Cambodian armies. Given there murderous history, there never has been, nor will there ever be, an official memorial to their dead soldiers. The remains of these old communist carvings have become a memorial to them, by default. With no graves or headstones to pray over, these spirit houses and incense were left here by their mourning Buddhist families.

Continuing on we drive through the border town of Choam, and turn off the highway. Up ahead, the road is closed. Cheap red and white fencing blocks the road. It's spooky; there's nobody in sight.

“That the new border crossing, but no use,” Shanghai tells me. The crossing is closed today, due to ongoing border disputes. “The Thai build on Cambodia land. Now big problem with Cambodia and Thailand.” My driver goes on to explain how Thailand is taking a little more Cambodian land each day. In Pol Pot’s time, the border was further away. Apparently the Thais respected the Khmer Rouge more than they respect the current Cambodian government.

Moving down side roads, we pass small shops and shacks. Then we take a garbage strewn road east out of town. The garbage thins out, tuning into a bumpy rural road. We're not traveling far, but Shanghai has to drive slowly to make his way over this rutted, potholed road. Going up the small hills, his old car strains for traction on the reddish dirt.

The border crossing to Thailand is closed

Shanghai explains, “Since last year, road more bad.” Rural roads here are rarely maintained. As the kilometers go on, we pass shacks and Khmer farm houses. A few settlers are clearing land for planting. We come to a picturesque field, a wide open space, bordered by lush jungle. It’s a prime location for a homestead or farmer’s field, but its unplanted.

There’s a small red sign right in the middle of the field, with a skull and crossbones. This is no 'Pirates of the Caribbean' joke. What that sign means, is that this whole lovely looking field of several acres, is one big minefield. Until somebody comes up with a couple thousand dollars to clear it safely, this prime field will remain uninhabited.

Since this was one of the last Khmer Rouge strongholds, this whole mountain ridge was heavily mined. That makes this part of Cambodia a very dangerous place to settle. Along the bumpy road, I see numerous signs posted by demining organizations. One sign reads, “Humanitarian Mine Clearance, Minefield cleared by CMAC, Police Batallion Headquarters”.

Passing shacks, I note a few soldiers lounging about. Many of these men are also ex-Khmer Rouge, now wearing Cambodian Army uniforms. As part of the peace agreement that ended the war, some men kept their territory, changed uniforms, and became part of the Cambodian Army. Many of these shacks belong to them and their families. It is a difficult place to homestead though. With many thousands of mines still buried in this area, there is little agricultural land available to turn these ex-soldiers into farmers. 

WAR CRIMINAL'S HOME

Gaudy murals are on the walls of the war criminal's home

I'm in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold town of Anlong Veng, and I'm entering the most important house in town. This home once belonged to a man born as “Chit Choeun”. He is better known to the world by his nom de guerre: “Ta Mok”. His victims had another name for him: “The Butcher”.

This house is not that of a simple communist. It's a big compound, two big cinder block houses sitting on a hill. In a poor place like Cambodia, that makes this place something like a mansion.

I walk up the stairs, and enter the home of one of the world's worst war criminals, who ordered thousands killed. There’s no furniture in his house; it's all been looted. But the floor tiles show that Ta Mok could afford luxuries that few other Cambodians could.

Looking at the walls, I’m surprised to see big, gaudy murals! They depict the ancient temples of Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear. Another shows a jungle scene with animals. As for the artist's skill, it looks as though a high school art student painted them. I wonder if Ta Mok ever realized, that the reason he couldn’t find a competent artist, was because he and his Khmer Rouge goons had already killed them all.

Ta Mok's looted lair is atop a hill in Anlong Veng

I walk up to the next level, and find another wall painting; a large, detailed map of Cambodia. Ta Mok may have planned his military operations here. The corner of the room opens up to a balcony, so I step out for a look. His home overlooks a lake; old Ta Mok had the best view in town.

This shallow lake wasn't always here, it was created by a dam built during the years of forced labor under the Khmer Rouge. This recently made artificial lake that surrounds his house, has killed all the trees. At this time of year it’s not even a lake, it's more of a swamp. Add environmental destruction to Ta Mok's list of crimes.

Across the water on a dry section by the swampy lake, is what appears to be an outhouse. I heard this used to be Pol Pot’s Anlong Veng residence. That small structure is all that remains, the rest was looted, including the bricks.

Further north by the Thai border, Ta Mok had another home. Most of his buildings there had been looted and torn down too, leaving only foundations. Only a strange, one room wood and concrete building remains there. Also looted, the doors and even the floor were gone. Graffiti in several languages lines the walls. The largest lettering said, “TA MOK, ASSASSIN DE L’HISTOIRE”. (Ta Mok, assassin of history.) The only resident still living in that house was a stray dog.

View from Ta Mok's window has 'Pol Pot's outhouse' at center

Here in Anlong Veng, I walk into one of the Butcher's empty bedrooms. POW! I smack my head on a low doorway. Sometimes, it's not good to be tall. This house was built specifically for Ta Mok, apparently he was short. I wonder if he had a Napolean complex.

There's nothing else to see in his looted house, so I walk out into the yard. There’s a constant ring of cowbells, as loose cattle are roaming the grounds. I walk over to a garage area. There are two tiger cages in here. Given his nickname, I wonder what Ta Mok kept in these cages, tigers, or people. Out in the yard, is a Chinese made police wagon. The engine and front wheels are gone, but the prisoner compartment on the back is still intact. It’s painted a sinister black. The bars on the windows are slightly bent. Were these bars bent by the hands of desperate prisoners, sent to their deaths by Ta Mok?

Ta Mok was a hardened communist, but I still wonder, what drove him to murder so many of his own people? He had lost a leg in combat in 1970, did that turn him even more violent? (I've noted a sick trend of lost body parts among Khmer Rouge leaders. Duch, the warden of the S-21 torture center, had lost a thumb. The current deputy governor of Anlong Veng Province, he had lost an arm. Hun Sen, the current Prime Minister/dictator, he lost an eye. Did losing body parts bring out the evil in these men?)

In the late 1990's, the noose finally began to close around the Khmer Rouge. The end of the long war drew near, and the last major town they held in Cambodia was Anlong Veng. As such, Ta Mok was the last major Khmer Rouge leader arrested for war crimes; he was finally captured in 1999 in Thailand just across the border. Even bribery couldn't save him anymore.

Truck used for transporting unfortunate prisoners during the Khmer Rouge genocide era

Leaving the Butcher's home, I walk down the highway to the town cemetery, where I find a pile of rubble. This is where Ta Mok's story ends. He died in prison in 2006, denying his victims the satisfaction of a trial, and his body was brought here to Anlong Veng. 

I'm looking at his former gravesite, a pile of red bricks, white pillars, and concrete. Given Cambodia’s current poverty, his tomb was fairly elaborate and expensive. 

If this memorial was torn down by angry survivors, or by families of his victims, that would be understandable. But it wasn't. Unfortunately, his tomb was torn down to make room for a larger, more elaborate, expensive gravesite. They are totally redoing the Butcher's mausoleum!

This new memorial to a monster is supposedly being paid for by Ta Mok's extended family; they still live in town. They own three better than average homes out by the main highway. It seems his family managed to keep some of their patriarch’s ill gotten wealth after the peace agreement.

Genocidal Ta Mok's 'new' tomb under construction

Despite the fact that he ordered the execution of Buddhist monks, and the destruction of Buddhist pagodas, Ta Mok's mausoleum is being built in Buddhist Khmer style. Images of the Buddha, nagas, and elephants are all beneath the layered rooftops. Inside, a large concrete slab covers his grave. 

It’s an elaborate, ironic mausoleum. Back during his days as a communist general, Ta Mok would have ordered the execution of anyone who would have built a Buddhist memorial, such as this one that is being built for him here! It's as if Ta Mok's family is trying to rewrite history.

As I watch, Khmer workmen clamber up the scaffolding, and work on the roof. Still under construction, the edifice is merely a bland grey cement color. It should be painted red, for the blood of all the innocents that he ordered murdered.

Laborers build a Buddhist mausoleum for a radical communist!

But whatever color it is painted, the paint job probably won’t last. Once the mausoleum is completed, it probably won’t be long before spray paint covers this 'glorious' mausoleum with graffiti strewn condemnations. 

In Ta Mok's case, those condemnations are well deserved. 

Infamous war criminal Ta Mok (Archive photo)