Reminiscing about Cambodia

This weekend, my friend hosted her annual mother/daughter brunch where a group of us who have been friends since middle school get together for delicious food and conversation-- and we bring our mothers.  Sunday's menu included beautiful pastries, savory egg dishes, sparkling mimosas and the range of conversation that manifests when a diverse group of women get together.  While my friend the hostess, who is pregnant, talked about the new cribs for those who are petite (at 5'2 I am surely filing this information away), myself and one of the "moms" talked about Cambodia.  After working for an NGO (and traveling) there last summer, I fell in love with the country and talk about it every chance I get! As we talked about Angkor Wat over cinnamon bread, I found myself recommending all of the books that I read when I learned that I would be teaching there. Since Cambodia does have the tragic history of relatively recent genocide, many of the books I read were devastating, but, despite this, they did have a message of human resilience and of hope and I recommend reading them for more than just the history lesson.

The first book that I would suggest is Francois Bizot's The Gate, which is told from the perspective of a French academic who was imprisoned by the Khmer Rouge.  A compelling and moving story...

The second book, which might be harder to obtain, despite the prevalence of photocopied editions that I found for a dollar all over Southeast Asia, is When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him.  This book, while lacking linguistic flourish, is moving for its oral history approach to telling the story of the genocide as experienced by the people who lived it.

Lastly, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung.  A must-read for anyone who cares about human rights and dignity.

On a less depressing note...for those who ever have the chance to visit Cambodia--seize the opportunity! It is an incredible and amazing country to travel through for its depth, beauty, wonders of the world, people, and Khmer curry, of course! 

And what to drink while reading these powerful pieces? I would suggest wine as they are all heavy reading.  While I am usually not a big fan of hotels when traveling (it sort of defeats the purpose of getting to know a country), I did go for a drink at the amazing Hotel De La Paix in downtown Siem Reap where they had these beautiful and inventive sofa swings where you could enjoy your beverage and a book...

Yes, I wouldn't mind one of these drinks again in that amazing setting after a day exploring temples in a tuk tuk...

Happy Reading!