KAMPONG KILOMET 9 @ TONLE SAP

The Tonle Sap lake, the largest in South East Asia, is an incredible lake that provides fish protein and irrigation waters for close to 50% of the population of Cambodia. (Source: The Lonely Planet)

Fishing is therefore a major activity. The Tonle Sap swells in size during the rainy season of May to October when the level of Mekong river rises. The flooded forest becomes a natural spawning ground for the fishes. Around October, as the Mekong level starts to fall, the Tonle Sap reverses its flow, draining its water back to the Mekong, bringing along its abundant fish supply. Naturally, it is during this period (Novermber - January) that fishing activities are at its peak. I was therefore, fortunate to be part of this annual excitement.

Kampong Kilomet 9 sits by Tonle Sap's river bank, a Cham Muslim community. The Cambodian name for this Kampong is CHRANGCHAMREH.

Some families lived on the river, literally. Others on rafts on the Tonle Sap bank. Most opted for solid ground, a few metres away from the river bank. They all add to the chaotic vibrance of houses on stilts, on the river edges and on the river.

HOUSE ON THE RIVER

HOUSE ON THE RIVER EDGE

HOUSE ON THE RAFT

Breakfast stalls serve the fisherfolks the local delicacies. Good harvest can equal good makan, however one chose to eat - squatting seems a favorite choice, on benches provided for the bottoms!

Activities start very early, at the break of dawn. After all, bountiful harvest do not come often.

It's reported that during this period, an individual fisherman can bring in between 100kg - 200 kg of catch daily. That's a whopping figure, and that harvest comes from the river, not the sea.

The catch is processed by the river bank itself. The heads are cut off by a machine, the fish are washed and sifted into a waiting basket. From there, a group of ladies by the river bank mix salt to the fish. The salted fish are meant for buyers who lived in the interior parts of Cambodia, sparingly surviving on this salted protein for a year until the next harvest.

You can see smiles all around amidst laughter as they go about carrying out their respective tasks

Fishes are also dried for consumption. It's a local delicacy.

Horses are used to transport the fish. These horse carts are MPV's of Cambodia. In fact, any moving object is an MPV in Cambodia!

For the village folks of Kilomet 9, it's another good day with a good harvest. They of-course wish for the good days to continue forever.

THE FISHERMEN OF KAMPONG CHAM

My name is Rashid. I lived in Angkor Ban, 100 kms east of capital Phnom Penh. I am a fisherman, but not throughout the year. Life is hard, but we manage. Around this period (December and January) there is abundance of fish. This is the time to work hardest, for the best harvest.






Angkor Ban is a village by the Mekong river. My forefathers settled here long ago, So did other Muslim families of the Chams. Several other villages dotted the river banks. We are all third generation fishermen.
Fishing is our traditional occupation. Our children usually follows our footsteps, as I did years ago. Like any parents, I wish to give them a better life.

The government asked us to register the births of our children, for promise of a better life. We register them of course. And we hope for a better life. Meantime, life goes on.

Today (30th Dec 2006), a day before Hari Raya Qurban, a relative now living in Malaysia brought two Muslim friends to visit us, bringing along donations for Qurban. Alhamdulillah. We are happy to receive our guests. They find our fishing activities interesting. One wants a closer look and I am happy to oblige him. So, I row him up close to capture the catch. He uses his camera to catch the fish!

Later, we were happy to feast them with the catch. Fresh fish direct from the Mekong. Back home in Malaysia, my two friends will be eating frozen fish. And they will be eating at a dining table. We live in simplicity. Where we eat, we sleep. We receive our guests there too, whenever they come, which is rare.

What do we do with the fish abundance during this period? Not much. We catch. Folks from the interior will come, buy the fish and process in-situ. First, they clean the fish, chop off the heads and later mixed the fish with salt. The fermented fish will be transported back to the interior. Eaten sparingly, the supply will last them for a year until the next harvest.

CHILDREN OF CAMBODIA

Children fascinate everyone. Their innocence, their smile, their cry and whatever they do. Children have always been a favorite subject for my camera. So I dedicate this page to the children of Cambodia.

Their smiles soothe our souls

Their cheekiness tickle me

Their nakedness bother no one

And those surly eyes....oooo...la...la...

And those threatening eyes ..."don't come near, I have a knife"

And don't you photograph me either

But you can photograph me

And me

And me and my brother

But if you photograph me....I will CRY

And you won't catch me either

Well, , maybe not you. But I caught her and she doesn't mind !

So you like my round eyes

And my big HA...HA....HA....

And my compliance

And my sense of responsibility....."He ain't heavy, He's my brother"

And my other sense of responsibility...to school

BUT....BOYS WILL ALWAYS BE BOYS

THE ATROCITIES OF THE KHMER ROUGE

Day 5 (2nd Jan 2007) - THE TUOL SLENG PRISON

Today, it will be a grim day. A visit to Tuol Sleng Prison. I bought a book on the Pol Pot Regime and I believe most Malaysians have seen the movie, The Killing Field.

The Prison was a school, hastily converted into a prison. For US$ 3, you will be left dumb-founded to understand how a fellow human can do what even animals will not do. There are stories of children (teenage Khmer Rouge soldiers) killing their own family.

Several thousand of victims (peasants, workers, technicians, engineers, doctors, teachers, students, buddhist monks, ministers, Pol Pot's Cadres, soldiers of all ranks, Cambodian Diplomatic Corps, foreigners, etc) have perished here.

What guilt would a mother with a several month old baby have done to warrant a torturing death sentence, to witness the baby thrown in the air and speared with a bayonet, and later suffered the same fate? Bliss in death for the mother.

What indoctrination can get one to enjoy pulling out the nails of one's fellow mankind with a plier?

As you make your way into this well-preserved prison, an eerie feeling and silence feel the air. There is a sign aptly telling visitors to be quiet. Actually, one need not be reminded. The place itself is not a place of joy. One will find it hard to smile, let alone laugh.

Rows and rows of well-documented black and white pictures of prisoners are displayed. Most showed fear in their faces. All had perished, in pain.

A notice to prisoners, reproduced for visitors to apprehend reads like this :

1. While getting lashes or electrification, you must not cry at all

2. If you disobey any point of my regulations, you shall get either 10 lashes or 5 shocks of electric discharge

3. Do nothing, sit still and wait for my orders. If there is no order, keep quiet. When I ask you to do something, you must do it right away without protesting

Rows and rows of handcuffs used to clamp prisoners during torture grip your senses. And your mind will wander to that period of the Pol Pot regime.

Instruments of torture are also visibly displayed, along with photographs and artist's impression of torture.

Photos of human skulls and skeletons hang on the wall. To see the actual, one can visit the Killing Field itself, located about 15kms away. I chose not to.

Lonely Planet said one should visit this place last, on one's travel itinerary. Today however, is my second last day, I'm glad I didn't visit this place on my first day. But, visit you must.

IN THE LAND OF KHMER ROUGE - PART 2

Day 4 (1st Jan 2007)

Welcome the New Year. A very quiet affair in Kilomet 9 and the rest of Cambodia. With commitment of handing over the Qurban donation completed, it was time to explore Phnom Penh. My Lonely Planet (Cambodian edition) guide book became handy. The Cambodian Edition is actually a reprint in Cambodia (a ciplak), and costing a fraction of its original cost :-)

Ustaz Dr Rahmat will leave for home today, regretfully, he said. Dr Rahmat obviously have fallen in love with the friendly Muslims of Cambodia. And I must stress strongly, NOTHING BEYOND THAT! Right, Dr Rahmat? But, I must show at least one shot of a Cambodian wedding :-) Hmmm



First, there are several market places to explore. The Cambodians called these markets as Psar Tuol Tom Pong, Psar Olympic, Psar Thmel. Something familiar here? Well, what can you find at these Psars? Whatever we can find in our Pasars too, well maybe a little bit more exotic.

Let's look at some of the delicacies. Yummy...err....i.e. if you can stomach them. How about deep-fried scorpions (I think) or some other exotic crawlies. Looking at the abundance, these poor crawlies must be real delicacies. Who knows, perhaps these are aphrodisiacs. Never mind, no thank you.










But the sweets have resemblance with Kelantanese sweet delicacies found at Psar Siti Khatijah in Kota Bharu. So, you notice my spelling error?? Hard to resist but resist I must. H & H factor (Halal & Hygiene).











Of course, being once a French colony, French loafs are sold everywhere. On the streets, in the open where the dusts that settles on them add certain flavors not found in the ori French loaf. You my friend, must have s great resisting stomach to eat them. On our way to Kg Cham, we bought some, sold in a covered container.

The ladies will of-course love to visit the Psars. I dare not show too many pictures, suffice just one display of the expensive branded handbags. Hmm....Well, I bought a North Face haversack for US$ 8 and 2 T-shirts for US$ 3.



Beggars there are, but not really a great annoyance. Trying to be sympathetic may spoil your shopping. If you want to, give once you have done all the shopping and wanting to leave the Psar. You don't want them accompanying you when you flashed out your US$. You will feel downright guilty buying all those non-essentials while a poor lady with a kid looked at you in self-pity!

Makan in Phnom Penh will not be a problem. There is even a Malaysian Restaurant. Owner, Mariyam speaks Malay, married to a gentleman from Klang. They operate a tour agency too, both in Phnom Penh and Klang.



After lunch, it was off to send Dr Rahmat to the airport. Lucky we did not have to rely on the trishaw, otherwise, Dr Rahmat may miss his plane. Somehow though, I have this funny feeling that Dr Rahmat may not really mind missing the plane.

There are other places to explore, but I have decided to leave that to the following day.