The communist revolutionary Pol Pot sought to exterminate all religious and educated people. To conserve bullets, his regime brutally beat victims to death in the Killing Fields. The peaceful Buddhist population did not resist violently, as they believed in karma rather than revenge. Even today, the country continues to suffer from the lasting effects of this loss of educated individuals.
Many tourists visit Angkor Wat, but just beyond Siem Reap, it feels like stepping back in time. The children appear so innocent, waving and smiling as if we are their entertainment. In the tourist areas, they sell things, but in the countryside, they seem genuinely excited to see us, expecting nothing in return.
We visited a village where the Mekong river floods so the houses have to be on stilts. The people are experts at drying and smoking fish.
The boat ride itself was super relaxing.
We also went to a village that is completely floating. It’s great if you have noisy neighbors, you can just choose another location.
We had lunch at a cooking school that is helping people from disadvantaged backgrounds. after a year at the school, they’re able to get jobs in five star hotels. The food was incredible.
Then we went to a museum, where a young man who served in the Khmer Rouge army as a child is working to take out land mines. About 100 people a year die from land mines in Cambodia. Many million remain. Landmines are designed to maim and not kill so that the enemy has to care for the wounded. The soldiers leave but the mines stay. it’s very painstaking work. Sometimes they can use these giant rats to sniff out the land mines.
In the evening, Jim and I treated ourselves to massages—an incredibly relaxing experience and surprisingly affordable.
Marsh Travels 
Cambodia has got to be like stepping into a time warp. We have mission groups that go to Thailand and Cambodia nearly every year and report back with incredible stories and pictures. I would love to see the traps that they use to catch those giant rats!
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