Thursday, January 19, 2006
Angkor Wat : Part II
Today, we spent another day in Angkor, this time cruising around the outskirts of the main temple area to visit some smaller, less mobbed temples. We had a great time, but we are definitely templed out. We saved the best for last, and are happy to report there will be no further temple pictures. We also took a detour to visit the landmine museum. It is really just a ramshackle shed out in the middle of what used to be a minefield, but it was a unique experience. The man who runs the museum was a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge, and himself laid many mines in his country. Today, he is working to remove landmines throughout Cambodia, as well as helping those affected by the mines. Moreover, he is trying to educate the world about the problem and desperately trying to stop the countless deaths and dismemberments that occur annually as a result of these mines. Interesting enough, there was a list posted of countries that would not sign a ban on the use of landmines. There was one country amongst the rogue third world nations on the list that didn't quite fit in. It was none other than the USA. Sad.
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3 comments:
Landmine Music huh? I'll bet that was interesting...
Yeah... landmine victims all band together and play instruments for tips. They were actually quite good - sounded kind of blue-grassy with all the strings. As you can probably tell, they are all either missing limbs, blinded, or deformed by the landmines. But like I said about the Cambodian people, they have a spirit that I absolutely admire - they would all smile and clap when they completed a song. I'm not sure I could even feign a smile if this shit happened to me.
Who is that guy?
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