Our Angkor Guide, Sky

Our visit to Angkor was really enhanced by a wonderful local guide, Sky. He is a native Cambodian born around 1969 and someone who lived through the Khymer Rouge/PolPot regime. He told us that during this period when Pol Pot wanted to return the country to a subservient agrarian style, all families were separated from each other as a means of control. He lived by himself and frequently ate bugs and stole raw rice from the fields for which when caught they were severely punished. One punishment he endured was being tied to a tree by other young children in the Khymer Rouge and then covered with fire ants. Young children killed other young children. After the war he was reunited with his mother 2 brothers and a sister. His father, 2 brothers and a sister did not survive. He shared with us how as a young child he did not know what education was. Later after the regime was gone he found that if he learned to read and write he could find work. This led him to studying English, Japanese and Spanish and a very happy life with his wife and children. We were all sorry to have to leave him behind as we left for the river boat trip as his wonderful kindly disposition, knowledge of Angkor and sharing of his life story enhanced our trip.