Siem Reap, Cambodia –
Eyes closed. Mouth open in anticipation of his next delicious morsel. The giant head sticks out of the ground, waiting for a child to come along. Why put any effort into finding his next meal, if they will come to him, eagerly climbing into his mouth?
What were they thinking? Is this some sort of cruel joke? Or is there some Cambodian folk tale about giants that are buried up to their heads? Maybe they are coming out of the ground, and that this is how certain mountains or other landscape features were formed…
I was wandering around the Cambodian Cultural Center, in Siem Reap, when I came across the strangest playground. It was a children’s playground with a variety of large heads and arms sticking out of the ground. These heads were in a variety of colors and emotional expressions, from very happy to angry, and everything in between. It looked like a colorful family of giants had been buried up to their shoulders. I could picture in my mind numerous small children running from this place absolutely traumatized, scarred for life, doomed to waking from nightmares of these heads coming to life, screaming for someone, anyone, to free them from their prison of dirt for years to come.
There must be some Cambodian folk tale that relates to this. After all, this is the Cambodian Cultural Center. If so, then I would guess that some of these giants were happy with their situation, given that some of the heads were laughing and smiling. But there were others that were obviously unhappy with this turn of events.
But this is a playground for little kids, complete with slides, swings, and seesaws, all sized for the very young.
The Cultural Center consists of numerous small “villages” of the different types of tribes that make up Cambodia, from the floating villages on the Tonlé Sap to the hill tribes near the Laos and Vietnam borders. All of these villages consist of a couple of building shells in the tribal style, a seating area, and a stage area where a show is performed reflecting the tribe’s culture. It’s a kitschy way of bringing the country’s history and diversity to life. Not having seen any but one of the shows, I can’t imagine this appealing to most tourists, especially those who are not from the country. It’s almost as if it were designed as an educational resource for school kids and Cambodian families.
There’s even an ex-pat village, designed to look like a typical small-town in America, complete with a small, one-room church. At the entrance to this ex-pat village is a statue of Superman, missing his head. Quite an odd impression of what life must be like for their relatives abroad.
Most of the shows are performed in the late afternoon and into the evening hours, when the sun isn’t as harsh and temperatures are more tolerable. However, I was there in the middle of the day, and the only show for hours was the traditional Cambodian Wedding Ceremony, performed at the “Millionaire’s House.” Why was I there at that time of day? Because I needed something to do for a couple of hours until it was time to head to the airport. My driver had wanted to take me to the military museum, but after paying my respects to the dead at the Killing Fields Memorial, I had no taste for anything associated with war. This was the only alternative he came up with.
The Wedding Ceremony was interesting enough, although between me and the Japanese tour group that seemed to be the only others foolish enough to visit at that time of day, they couldn’t coax any audience member to “give away” the bride, so they had to stick with one of the cast members to do the honors. Once the performance was over, I was left to wander the grounds on my own, visiting the various villages, hiking the trails, and looking for anything of interest.
Towards the end of the loop through the grounds, I came across a series of miniature replicas of various places in the country. Great temples and palaces from the country’s history, complete with the terrain and landscaping that accompanied the structure. These provided a snapshot of what these places must have looked like in their prime.
Too bad I was too hot and tired by that time to enjoy them. All I wanted was an air-conditioned room to stand in, something I found in the gift shop as I left.
For more photos from the Cambodian Cultural Center, click here.
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