Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle

DREAMSCAPES FALL 2018 28 strange music blasting from the odd wed- ding, snippets of lively conversations among the locals, and the never-ending sound of peeping chicks. I see an elderly couple making rice paper underneath their home, sparkling temples and Buddhist shrines seemingly plopped in the middle of nowhere, bustling markets packed with exotic foods I'm scared to try, shirtless men fishing in streams, floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake and an unex- pected forest of pine trees in the hills of Kirirom National Park. The experience is something I would never get just sitting on a bus. This is how travelling should be. "I want to show the tourists how beautiful our country is and share our culture," says my local guide and avid cyclist Hang Chhoeurn, noting many tourists flock to Cambodia with one thing on their agenda— seeing the famous temples of Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world. THE FINAL STRETCH But beyond the grand sprawling temples and bustling streets of Siem Reap next door is a country rich in culture with a very dark past that often creeps into my thoughts as I observe Cambodian life from the seat of my bike. The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), otherwise known as the Khmer Rouge, took control of the country in April 1975, turning it into a detention centre that later became a graveyard for nearly two mil- lion people during the genocide. Millions of landmines are still buried throughout the countryside and continue to claim around 100 victims every year. It's not uncommon to see people with missing limbs in many parts of the country. Despite their dark past, the locals are friendly and I'm constantly greeted with enthusiastic "hellos" that give me a much- needed push to keep on pedalling. By the final day, we're all feeling the six days worth ABOVE: A vendor sells his wares at a Cambodian marketplace. BELOW: A rural fisherman casts his net. OPPOSITE TOP: Saffron-robed monks are a familiar sight across Cambodia.

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