Cambodia #6: In Which I am Protected from Large Monkeys by Small Children

On Saturday, I went with a friend on a bike trek across the countryside to Udong, the old capital of Cambodia. It was incredible: not just because I biked more than 46 km, or because I finally got out of the city, but because we were literally biking through rice fields, along cow paths, through front yards. I felt like I was able to see a little of what life is really like for most Cambodians, not just those who live in Phnom Penh.

Udong is quite a small town now: there are just a few places to eat, and some vendors on the side of the road at the base of a long ridge. On the ridge, there are several stupas and incredible views of the Cambodia countryside.

Vihear Preah Ath Roes in the first building you come to once you climb the 166-step staircase to the top of the ridge. The original building was erected and dedicated in 1911 by King Sisowath. The Khmer Rouge bombed the building in 1977, destroying the huge Buddha inside the building and leaving just a few sections of wall intact. Big Buddha, as it is called, has been reconstructed and the building is being slowly rebuilt, but it is still eerie: there are still bullet holes in the walls, it is still possible to see which walls were bombed.

The rest of the stupas are beautiful and intricate, and the views breathtaking, but the best part of the tour is the way tour guides work. As we started toward the hill, a bunch of kids came running up and started telling us facts about the place. Between Steph and I, we had five tour guides. And these kids are not just tour guides. They also work as your insurance against the monkeys that hang out on the ridge. On the way down the hill, the steps go through so denser forest, and within the forest lurks some large monkeys. The monkeys can be vicious, biting tourists and stealing cameras, or anything shiny, from right out of their hands. The kids were constantly looking out for them in the trees as we descended, and if one even started to look like it was heading our way, the kids would chuck rocks are hard as they could at the monkeys to get them to go away.

It is a little bit funny how diligently they keep an eye out for the monkeys, until you realize why they are so on top of it. For the kids, there is a war being waged against the furry creatures. These children work all day for the few dollars they get as guides to help put food on the table at home, and to help pay for school and English lessons. If the monkeys start hurting visitors to Udong, people will stop coming, and the kids will lose their livelihood. So, they keep a constant eye out, and they fight the monkeys off with rocks the size of my fist. It is a sad, but common, story here.