Kratie/Sambok: Day 1
The drive to Kratie took awhile because the roads were so bad. We got to Kratie around 1pm and checked into a hotel to rest for a couple of hours. Kratie is poorer and dirtier than Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. I haven't talked much about how dirty Cambodia is, but this hotel room was almost unbearable for me. It was only $13 a night...so you can imagine the quality of the hotel. If I were to rate it on the star system, I'd say it was half a star! I'm doing my best to hang in there...but I'm such a clean freak that today was extremely hard!!!
In my previous post, I was trying to figure out Kratie and which city I was born in. I was born in Sambok, which is in the Kratie province. However, Kratie is also a city...so that's why I was so confused. I listened to the recording I did of my parents earlier this year and now everything makes more sense. At the time they spoke about Pol Pot and the cities in Cambodia, I didn't quite understand it since I wasn't familiar with the names of the cities. All my siblings were born in Kratie...I was the only one that was born in Sambok. My parents lived in Kratie until 1974/1975 and moved to Sambok (my grandfather also lived there), where they were eventually forced to work in the fields by the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge took over Kratie in 1970...but they didn't conquer Phnom Penh until 1975. Once they conquered Phnom Penh, all of Cambodia came under their rule and no one was allowed back to the city (i.e. my parents weren't allowed back to Kratie). Everyone was forced to the countryside to work in the "killing fields".
We visited the location of the house I was born in. The house is no longer there...it fell into the Mekong River after my parents abandoned it. It's just woods and trees now...no one has bothered to build another house there. The neighbors still remember my parents...after almost 30 years!!! I took a few pictures of where the house use to be...so if you see a picture of me in front of a wooded area...that's the place!
We also went to my great-grandparents grave (my mother's side). The grave is at the bottom of Sambok Mountain and it's deep in the woods. We had to stop off at a relative's house to pick up a hack-saw so we could get through the woods. The driver drove the van pretty deep into the woods until he couldn't go anymore...we had to walk another 50 yards or so to get to the grave. I was terrified of the mosquitoes...if you are wondering why I am dressed so raggety in the pictures...I had to wear stuff that I didn't care about getting dirty and something that could cover me up as much as possible!!! My cousins picked up some fruits and chicken to offer to my great-grandparents. In the Chinese culture, when you "pray" to your ancestors, you bring food as an offering. We each took some incense and "prayed" to my great-grandparents. It started raining just as we were wrapping up...so we had to rush back to the van. I'm happy to report no mosquito bites from the woods (but I just saw a mosquito flying in the room...so I'm sure I'll still get bitten).
After that, we went by one of the temples in Sambok. At this particular temple, my parents donated money during one of their visits to Cambodia for the monks to build a staircase. The staircase looks really nice...leading up from two sides. There is also a picture of my parents from when they donated the money. We also went by a bridge that my great-aunt from San Jose donated money to build...about $40K!
Kratie: Day 2
We spent the morning driving around Kratie to look at the homes of where my parents and grandparents use to live. My grandmother from France is also on this trip...so it was wonderful for her to return to her old house. The couple living there was generous enough to let us inside the house. The house is so old and dirty...I can only imagine what it looked like back then.
My parent's house was tougher to identify. My relatives were able to narrow it down to 2 homes that were side by side, but they couldn't figure out which one it was...so I took a picture of both of them. :)
It was great to finally to learn more about my background. My earliest memories were when we first came to the US and I have no pictures (not even baby pictures) from Cambodia. I only hear the occasional story when my parents speak about it...and next time they tell me a story, I'll have something to reference it back to! Now...if I could only get my parents to remember by birthday! I'm still not even sure I was born on Oct 24. A few years ago, my parents were going through their things and came across the booklet where they kept our birthdays. My brothers and sisters all have a page that was torn from the Chinese calendar on the date they were born. I didn't have one (since they were too busy trying to survive in Sambok)...but there was a birthdate for Nov 16, 1975 written in the booklet. The month and day is the same as my brother's b-day, but the year is my birth year. My mom couldn't remember how that date came about and whether it could've been from the Chinese calendar, etc. We never did figure out if that was supposed to be my birthday or not. I still go by Oct 24 until we can prove it otherwise! But maybe as I get older, I'll go by Nov 16 so I can be 23 days younger. :)
I'm glad to be back in Phnom Penh today…staying in a nicer hotel! Tomorrow will be my last full day in Cambodia...not sure what I will do yet on my last day. I told my relatives it doesn't matter what we do...what's important is that we get to spend time together...
