The Second Gilded Age: What’s Next

The Guilded Age of America refers to the period of American history in second half of 19^th century and early 20^th century when so much wealth were accumulated and concentrated in so few people’s hands with Industrial Revolution.  The excess and extravagance were best displayed by the mansions of Newport as discussed in my last March's blog.   Super rich industrialists such as Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt are familiar names and success examples to many till this day. 

The first Gilded Age was met with the backlash of the Progressivism that attempted to redress some of the problems that had arisen.  Progressives did pass legislation such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to rein in big business, combat corruption, and protect the consumers.  The pendulum did not swing back however until Oct 29, 1929 when the stock market collapsed and Great Depression set in officially.  There are many schools of thoughts by the economists for the causes of the Great Depression.  One suggests that inequality of distribution of wealth and income is a main factor as the economy produced more than it could consume (due to insufficient income).

A century later, history repeated itself in a new and much more sophisticated form that revolving around the concentration of power and wealth in and through Wall Street.  Some have called this development as the New or Second Gilded Age of America.  Many have noted the disappearance of the middle class.  Now we all know that the first sign of trouble was the burst of the housing bubble of 2007, after two decades of unprecedented growth, dominance, and prosperity. The meltdown of the financial system began when Bear Stearns, one of the oldest and largest investment banks went down on March 17, 2008 and was helped by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York through an emergency loan.  For the subsequent 6 months, many tried to avert the disaster behind the scene only to see the beginning of the free-fall and “run on the bank”, starting with Lehman Brothers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sept 15^th, 2008.

The recent book – Too Big to Fail - by Andrew Ross Sorkin of New York Times gave a detailed and vivid account of the meltdown and rescues of the whole financial system by Federal Government. The book is a Who’s Who of the financial world from Government officials including Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve Chairman), Hank Paulson (former Treasury Secretary), Tim Geithner (former President of NY Federal Reserve Bank and current Treasury Secretary) to Wall Street powers then including Dick Fuld Jr. (Lehman Brothers), John Thain (Meril Lynch), John Mack (Morgan Stanley), Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs), Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan Chase), Vikram Pandit (Citigroup), Ken Lewis (Bank of America), et.al.   The high drama couldn’t have been crafted by any reality show as so many strong characters collided in such a small space and time as co-competitors and frenemies.  For the corporate CEOs, they did share one thing in common that is to save themselves and their egos; it is clear they can’t separate it easily from their companies and stake holders. For the government officials, they were convinced that the American financial system, thus the whole economic system, is on the brink of a colossal failure and they were determined to do whatever they could to prevent the second Great Depression from happening.

The saga is far from being over.  For one, the economy is still very weak and we are certainly not out of the woods yet.  Perhaps more importantly, the structural issues remain including badly needed regulatory reforms.  A key consideration for the massive bailouts of financial institutions of over 1.4 trillion dollars since Sept 2008 was the concern of “too big to fail” that few big banks’ failure will take the Main Street down.  Now there are even fewer large banks compared to pre-Sept 2008.  Will the big banks be broken up and how?  Will the congress repeal the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act of 1999 that repealed the Glass–Steagall Act which was created in the wake of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 to prohibit banks from both accepting deposits and underwriting securities?  What else are needed?  In the midst of all these, Supreme Court recently delivered a sharply divided and controversial ruling on campaign finance that allows unlimited political contribution by corporations and organizations (such as labor unions and lobbyist) which would further diminish the influence of independent individual. 

Wall Street serves an extremely important function in our capitalistic society.  By the very nature of capitalism, there needs to be an effective mechanism by which capitals are raised and concentrated, and efficiently moved and utilized.  There is nothing wrong to have investment banks address corporate financial needs.  There is nothing wrong to have banks issuing home mortgage loans, leveraging its depositors’ savings.  What is off putting is the “financial products” and security papers/derivatives that were “engineered” and traded out of thin air and human greed and ignorance.  One has to be impressed with the creativities of those financial magicians; risk is no longer a bad thing and liability.  It can actually be divided, bundled, insured, and traded at a dollar value, when all it does is to build a bigger domino as these spread risk is still the same one coherent risk and act in unison (that ultimately brought down the house). 

To complete the equation, we got short selling that allows one bet and profit from others’ misfortune.  The problem is we can no longer separate Main Street from Wall Street easily although some politicians including President Obama from time to time appeal to the populist rhetoric of “us vs. them”.   With popular vehicles like mutual funds, retirement funds, pension funds, etc., most American’s financial security and future relies more and more on healthy or extraordinary performance of Wall Street.   Then what is a reasonable expectation and what are or should be the balancing mechanisms to keep our own sanity and reality in check?

President Obama’s first State of the Union Address of last night reaffirmed his intent and push for reform of the financial system without details.  Judging from what he has been saying and doing, we will not be seeing the return of Keynesianism that shaped and guided the country into a social liberalism after the Great Depression till 70’s.   He talked more like a centrist to left with a Neoliberalism substance.  I am sure there are quite a few smart guys wrestling with this issue.  We will see how it plays out this year.

Talk to you soon!

Việt Nam – Ascending and Descending Dragon

With several short and direct flights a day from/to Siem Reap/Angkor Archeology Park of Cambodia, major Vietnam cities are logical candidates with which to combine a visit of Angkor; that is exactly what we did.  To be honest, Vietnam was not high on my list of places to visit due to my own lack of curiosity; I thought it is so close to China both in location and in culture.  Well, my recent short visit of the 1,000 year old Hanoi city (old name: Thăng Long 昇龍or “Ascending Dragon”) and Halong Bay (下龍灣 or Bay of “Descending Dragon”) changed it as I got a first hand and closer look, and interacted a little with people there.  It is confident, lively, friendly, charming, and rich in culture and history. Of course, this is a extremely limited sample of a small part of the north given that the country is narrow and long with a roughly 2,000 miles long of coast.

We arrived in the evening and checked into an older hotel near Hoan Kiem Lake at the Old Quarter (or “36 Old Streets”) of Hanoi, after 45 minutes of car ride.  Right across the street from the hotel, it is a popular traditional market and in every direction you turn to, you would find countless shops, restaurants and foot traffic of tourists as well as locals.  How exciting!  There is no doubt this is the heart and soul of old Hanoi.  What would be a better way to feel Hanoi than breathing and soaking the air right in it?

The first surprise: we were awaken at 7:30 a.m. the next morning by a 30 minutes broadcast from permanent loudspeakers on a pole right outside the hotel at the street corner (see photo to the right).  Is this real life George Orwell’s 1984? Since it was in Vietnamese, we did not understand what it was saying.  Nobody seems to be bothered or pay much attention to it though.  Not far, there is an Internet Café where one can surf Internet in blazing speed and get overloaded with information (filtered?).  Later, we learned that the contents of this daily broadcast include news, ruling Communist Party updates, policy and local announcements, etc., continuing a practice of the single-party communist Vietnam of decades.  We also learned that in country side and villages, such a broadcast could start as early as 5:30 a.m. and more frequent and longer during the day.  It also includes music for morning exercises and if you are lucky that your room is close one of those loudspeakers, you would for sure get up early every day!

After an uninspiring breakfast at the hotel, we started our private one day city tour in a van.  The first stop is to visit the largest memorial in town – the  Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which was constructed between 1973 and 1975, presumably after U.S. stopped bombing Hanoi.   It is situated at the Ba Dinh Square (Quảng Trường Ba Đình) and is a part of so-called Ho Chi Minh Complex.  Ho’s preserved and embalmed body lies in a sealed glass casket for public viewings daily (when it is not being taken to Russia for maintenance).  Strict rules such as no talking and no hands-in-pockets are enforced by numerous guards deployed throughout the visit route to make sure you do not show any sign of disrespect.  The arrangement reminded us our visit a decade ago to the Mausoleum of Chairmen Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Square of Beijing.  There are several parallels of the two leaders such as both had announced the formation of a new Republic at the respective Square where their Mausoleum is located.   Of course, Vladimir Lenin was the first one who got such a treat at the Red Square of Moscow in 1924.  As far as I know, the only other leader had his body preserved and can be viewed is Kim Il-sung of North Korea.  They have at least one thing in common: they all from single-party Communist countries. To be fair (to Ho), the arrangement was probably one of few times that Ho’s wish were not followed.  He actually wanted to be cremated, according to some accounts.

Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) requires no introduction.  He is considered the founding father of Vietnam Republic who proclaimed its independence at the Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi on Sept 2^nd of 1945 after the abduction of Bảo Đại, the last emperor of Vietnam.  It wasn’t until 1954 however that French finally left Indochina when defeated by Ho’s Viet Minh force in the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu.  The ensuing Geneva Accord divided the country into two by the 17 parallel temporarily, pending an election in 1956 that never took place.  It sets the stage for the civil war and further conflicts for the following 2 decades between the Communist North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and the South Vietnam led by initially, the rivaling non-communist leader Ngô Đình Diệm and former emperor Bao Dai with the support of U.S.

Truman doctrine, Korean War, and the concern of the communism expansion in Asia clearly drove the American policy in Asia Pacific then.  The conflicts eventually evolved and were escalated into the disastrous full scale Vietnam War that finally ended in 1975 when U.S. withdrew from Vietnam.  The final tally of the casualty includes 3-4 millions of Vietnam people (from South and North), 1.5-2 million people in Laos and Cambodia and close to 60,000 of American soldiers.  More than 10 years later, Vietnam launched the Doi Moi of 1986 and began to incorporate market economy and more personal freedom into its otherwise rigid authoritarian socialist system.  Over the following 2 decades, it has successfully reestablished diplomatic relations with the West including U.S. and joined many international organizations such as WTO.  Today, it is one of fastest growing economy in Asian and the world.  Still many Vietnamese, especially the in north, continue to honor Ho as a god-like figure and recite his legacy.

Back to the city tour:  the Ho Chi Minh Complex has many more historical sites such as the opulent Presidential Palace which was former French Indochina Governor’s residence.  Ho Chi Minh had chosen instead to live initially a much more humble small residence in the complex which used to be occupied by the electrician in French colonial days.  Portraits of Lenin and Marx are hung in his study and a Radio which is a gift from Castro is clearly visible in his bed room.  His later official residence was a new construction – a house on stilt, simple but elegant.  The garden and pond are nicely maintained, completed with a large bunker and some single person bunkers, built and used during the Vietnam War.  On the south side of the Complex, there is a Single Pillar Pagoda on the edge of a tiny pond and a temple. There happened to be a private funeral ceremony when we were visiting and we observed the rite of burning of paper models of objects, a custom similar to what some Taiwanese people observe derived from the belief and wish that the deceased will be able to enjoy the tributes sent through the burning. There is also a Ho Chi Minh museum that we did not go in.

Museum of Ethonology is a popular tourist destination in Hanoi. It is certainly a quick way of sampling the culture and custom of different (54) ethnic groups in Vietnam.  Many are not unfamiliar to me since they also live in the Southern parts of China. For that reason alone, if it was completely up to me, I would probably have opted to visit the Musuem of Art instead.

Temple of Literature is literally a Temple of Confucius that was built nearly one thousand years ago.  It is a reminder of how much the influence of Chinese system has been in ancient Vietnam.  The compound is sizable that also housed the Imperial Academy.  Chinese Imperial Exam System was also adopted.  Stone steles recorded the annual exam events and the results are displayed in the galleries.  The writings were all based on the traditional Chinese characters.  Indeed, Chinese characters and its derivative Chữ nôm have been used extensively till 1910 when French colonial rule made the Latin alphabet based Quốc Ngữ the official written language that was a Romanization of Vietnamese codified centuries earlier by missionaries. Still, for those who know Chinese, it is possible to relate easily many of the vocabularies from their pronunciation

Not far from the temple is the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” where John McCain and some American POWs were once kept during the war.  The prison itself was first built and used by French during colonial days to house political prisoners.  Guillotine and most exhibits weren’t as gruesome as I had imagined.  The display of John McCain’s gear and short films played in the rooms however were clearly for propaganda.

The guided one day city tour was concluded with an exciting one hour cyclo ride.  Cyclo, or cycle rickshaw in Vietnam is a tricycle where the passengers sit in the front with an unobstructed view while the driver paddles the bike at the back.  With the incredibly busy Hanoi streets and traffic with very few traffic lights, cyclo drivers negotiate their ways with pedestrians, bicycles, motor bikes, cars and buses.  The passengers who sit in the front do need to have some nerve and trust on the driver/peddler behind them and of course, on the competitions as well.  Oddly enough, through the ride and the day in the city, we did not see any traffic accident!

We completed our stay at Hanoi with a visit to the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater next to the Hoan Kiem Lake.  Water Puppetry is a one thousand year old art and is originated in Red River Delta of Vietnam.  The puppets are made of heavy large lacquered wood controlled through bamboo rods with strings.  The show, both the puppeteers and the puppets, is done in a large waist-deep pool, completed with a traditional Vietnamese orchestra and singers on the side of the stage.  The most fascinating instrument in the orchestra I found was đàn bầu, a monochord Vietnamese string instrument.  Click here to see a YouTube demonstration video by Ho Khac Chi. 

After a busy day in Hanoi, we traveled to Halong Bay by van the following day.  Halong Bay is one of the most striking landscapes in the world and is one of the 28 finalists of the ongoing competition for the New Seven Wonders of Nature (to be selected in 2011).  Halong Bay is located more than 70 miles east of Hanoi and about 3 hours car ride.  It appeared in several movies including Indochine (lead actress Catherine Deneuve) and the 1997 James Bond movie Tomoroow Never Dies (played by Pierce Brosnan) although some claim the latter was actually shot in Phuket of Thailand.  The Bay itself is over 1,500 square kilometers and has around two thousand limestone islands, karsts, and islets.  The legend says these islets were pearls spitted out by the descending mother dragon and her children dragons sent by the Heaven to help Vietnamese defeat the invading navy of Ming China.

Some of these islands have numerous grottoes and caves.  A popular one is Sửng Sốt (Surprise) cave. The photo to the right is taken from the high point at the cave exit.  Another interesting geological feature of the Bay is there are few lakes can be entered through eroded caves.  We visited one of them in small boat and kayak.   It is also possible to climb up to the top of some of the islands to have a panoramic view of part of the Bay.  Below is a stitched photo taken from the top of Ti Top Island.  The island was named by Ho Chi Minh after he accompanied Ghermann Ti Top, an early Russian Astronaut to visit the island in 1962.   Overall the 24 hour over night Bay cruise was very relaxing and enjoyable.  The scenery is incredibly beautiful and truly breathtaking. 

For Chinese people, Halong Bay has often been referred to as “Guilin in the Sea”.  Guilin area is one of the most scenic spots in China and is about 300 miles northeast of Halong Bay with which it shares similar geological features.  A decade ago, we had visited Guilin and taken the popular Li River cruise of Li Jiang from Guilin to YangShuo.  While they each have its own characters, Halong Bay does have a size advantage and support more activities and multiday stays.

It appears the only way to see Halong Bay is to use one of the sailboats modeled after Chinese junks as private boats aren’t allowed in the Bay.  Junk is a very interesting and efficient sailboat that was designed dated back 2000 years ago in China. The famous early 15^th century expeditions of General鄭和Zheng He’s from China to Indian Ocean and east Africa coast were accomplished with a large fleet of huge Junks, some of which are supposedly as big as a football field, with a carrying capacity of thousands of tons and more than 500 people.  It is more than 10 times bigger than the ship used by Columbus!

Throughout the trip, I picked up on some little hints of communist indoctrination here and there.  In addition to the more obvious street corner loudspeakers and short films of “Hanoi Hilton”, we were told the significance and legends such as Ho Chi Minh died on the Independence Day of Vietnam.  We were also told that there are 1969 islets in Halong Bay which happens to be the year that Ho Chi Minh died.  Sounds a little suspicious, does it?

What also struck me was that the national psyche seems to still get consumed somewhat by the pride and efforts to erase its memory of dominance by foreign powers from China through the history and in last two centuries, Western Imperialism and U.S.  The country name Vietnam says it all: Viet refers to the dominant majority Viet people and Nam means south - in reference to China which was the center of Asian world in old days.

Whether one likes it or not, there is a deep cultural link and long Chinese influence which arguably was a result of political and military dominance.  At the same time, Vietnam finally has an opportunity to spend more of its energy to find its own identify and pursue prosperity after decades of armed struggles.   There is a clear sign that as the country prospers, the confidence is growing and people believe that they will one day sit at the same table with the regional and world powers.  Younger people are looking forward pragmatically instead of dwelling upon the ideology and bodies and scars of the past.  Vietnam’s economy is expanding at a rapid pace with its successful incorporation of market economy.  Its GDP is growing at more than 8% per year for last few years, topping many neighboring countries and its competitions.  On the way to Halong Bay from Hanoi, we passed by booming industrial zones where many large factories with foreign investors reside. Interestingly, both from news reports and stories from the driver, there have been significant number of strikes in recent years where labor unions demand more wage/benefit increase and more respects from these large international corporation employers such as Nike.  It would be interesting to see how the ruling single-party communist government navigates the intricate balance of labor/worker’s interests (that was the root of many revolutionary appeals   for the Communist movements) and business interests where cost reduction and efficiency was a major draw for foreign investments that powered the recent growth.

Talk to you soon!

Angkor Smile

Angkor was the center of the ancient Khmer Empire and is located at the northwestern part of Cambodia of Southeast Asia, approximately 200 miles northwest of Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. Khmer Empire was founded by King Jayavarman II in early 9th century. It was once a dominating power of Southeast Asia between 9^th century and 15^th century. At its peak, Khmer Empire controlled much of the mainland of Southeast Asia. Khmer kings had built impressive capital cities and numerous temples in Angkor region that is now one of the greatest archeological sites in the world. While Khmer kingdom at Angkor lasted till the end of 16^th century, its decline began before 15^th century when the center of trade moved south to Phnom Penh area and the rivaling Siam Kingdom (today’s Thailand) attacked and defeated it multiple times.

Westerners did not know about the existence of Angkor until Henri Mouhot, a French naturalist rediscovered the abandoned complex in 1861 with the assistance of locals. Today Angkor is recognized by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites and is on top of the must-visit list for anyone who is seriously interested in historical sites and cultures (personally, it is more impressive than some of the New Seven Wonders of the World of 2007). Angkor Archeology Park covers about 160 square miles in which there are literally over a thousand temples; many have not been restored. Unlike the wooden structures and the later temples built after the adoption of Theravada Buddhism (which is the religion of 95% of Cambodians today), these Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism temples of Angkor were built with sandstones and lava rocks with amazingly advanced techniques still stood partially. With the international preservation efforts of this once endangered archaeological wonder, we are indeed lucky to have the opportunity to appreciate the architecture style, culture, and religion of the Khmer Empire in first hand.

With the geographical proximity and trade, ancient Khmer people (which makes up 90% of the Cambodians today) had received significant infusion and influence of the Indian civilization and in particular, the religion. Hinduism and Buddhism have been adopted by Khmer kings and people early on. Khmer language, the official language of Cambodia, was strongly influenced by Sanskrit and Pali as they are the languages of the religious scripts. It would not surprise anyone that some of the Khmer people have blood and are descendents of Southern Indians.

A visit to Angkor can easily take days and is certainly well worth it. The most popular tour itinerary is to fly into Siem Reap and get a Three Day pass (for US $40) to see half a dozen or so the most majestic and well-known temples. In chronological order of when the temples were built and in geographical proximity, they are briefly described below. For further details, one can refer to any of the numerous literature and research about Angkor.

Bakong and Preah Ko of the Roluos (used to be called Hariharalaya, the first capital of Khmer Empire) which is 15 kilometers east of Siem Reap. Bakong was first constructed in 881 CE as the State Temple of King Indravarman I, the third king of Khmer Empire. It was the first most significant temple mountain of Angkor (note temple mountain and galleried temple are two most important Angkor architecture styles). Its size is quite large, measured 900mx700m with a five tiered pyramid that is about 14 meter high from the ground. The center tower at 15 meter tall appears to have been built later in 12^th century in the style of Angkor Wat. It stood at the top tier was dedicated to Shiva, the Destroyer and one of the three most important Hindu Gods (the other two are Vishnu – the Savior and Brahman, the Creator). Stone lions guard the staircases of the pyramid while stone elephant statues stand at the corners of the lower three tiers to guard the pyramids. The decoration on the lintels is considered one of the most beautiful of all Khmer Arts.

Before reaching Bakong, one would have passed by and visited a smaller temple Preah Ko, the fist temple built by King Indravarman I in 880 CE. It has six brick towers on a single base. The front center tower is dedicated to Shiva while the towers next to it are for the protecting gods of King Indravarman’s maternal grandfather and father. The three towers at the back row are for their protecting gods’ principal queens. The temple is also nicked named “The Sacred Bull” with the statues of three kneeling bulls in front that represent Shiva’s Nandi.

Pre Rup was the State Temple of King Rajendravarman, the 9^th king of Khmer Empire, and was completed in 961 CE. Its imposing center tower, surrounded by four slightly lower towers in four corners soars into the sky. From the top of the three tiered pyramid which is 12 meters above ground, one can see the tip of the center tower of Angkor Wat a few kilometers to the west. There is a stone cistern east of the pyramid that would prompt the tour guides tell a story of cremation rite of the king at this temple although scholars believe the temple’s modern and strange name of Pre Rup (means “Turning the body”) is completely misleading and the cistern was the basement of a Nandi statue.

Banteay Srei (Citadel of Beauty): 20 km further north of Pre Rup is the small but the most exquisite temple of all, the Banteay Srei. It was completed in 967 CE by Yanavaraha, one of King Rajendravarman’s counselors and the guru of the future king Jayavarman V. Its unusually deep pink sandstone relief carvings that cover almost completely the stone surface is exceptional and is the finest of all Khmer Art. Despite its size and status (of not being a royal temple), Banteay Srei strikes the nerves and is definitely my favorite artistically.

Angkor Wat is the most well-known of all. Wat simply means Temple in Khmer. It is the worlds’ largest religious monument, measures 1025m x 802m and appears on the Cambodia national flag. Built in early 12^th century by King Suryavarman II and dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, it is an architectural master piece that purports to be a microcosm of the Hindu universe. “The moat represents the mythical oceans surrounding the earth and the succession of concentric galleries represent the mountain ranges that surround Mount Meru, the home of the gods, The (five) towers represent the (five) mountain’s peaks” according to the book Ancient Angkor by Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques. The steep angle of the steps of 11 meters tall leading to the uppermost level of the temple will definitely make you feel like climbing a great mountain. As visitors approaches its main entrance at the west (one theory is that the temple was originally the tomb of King Suryavarman II as every other temple in Angkor faces east!), one would be greeted by a broad moat of almost 200 meters wide. Over 600 meters of bas-relief of the exterior long galleries are awesome with its immense bas-reliefs describing rich legends and stories. The 2,000 asparas (beautiful dancing girls who are the wives of the Ghandarvas in Hindu mythology) look alive and remain eternally beautiful despite their ages.

Ta Prohm & Banteay Kdei: Many movie goers have got a glance of Ta Prohm on the Hollywood action-adventure-fantasy movie Tomb Raider by Angelina Jolie. Ta Prohm is a ruin (intentionally not being restored) but charming and mysterious. This sandstone temple was intertwined and swallowed by the python-like roots of silk-cotton (Ceiba Pentandra) and strangler fig (Ficus gibbosa) trees in an unimaginable ways; you have to see it to believe it. Many dramatic photos of it have been produced as a result. It is built by King Jayavarman VII in late 12^th century and was named Rajavihara(or Royal Monastery)

A little southwest of Ta Prohm is the smaller temple of Banteay Kdei, built by King Jayavarman VII as well in the same period. Opposite of Banteay Kdei is the man made lake and retreat of the king called Srah Srang. Neither was that memorable, compared to the rest.

Angkor Thom (Thom means big): Last but not the least is Angkor Thom, the new capital city built by King Jayaarman VII in late 12^th century as he relocated his government from Angkor Wat. At 3 km x 3km with an estimated half a million population within the city wall, it is one of the largest of all Khmer cities. (As a comparison, Chang’an, the capital city of Tang Dynasty (618—907) of China was about 8 km x 10 km with a population of near 1 million including private citizens.) Most visitors enter Angkor Thom from the magnificent south gate with a face tower on top. The causeway In front of the gate is flanked by 54 Devas (angels) and 54 Asuras (or demons) on each side, pulling the body of Naga (the King Cobra god). In the center of Angkor Thom, one finds Bayon, the State Temple of King Jayavarman VII, a Mahayana Buddhist. With its complex structure and sophisticated bas-reliefs, it is one of the most magnificent religious structures of the world.

On the top level, there are several of the original 54 giant four faced towers, each over 15 ft tall with a compassionate, mysterious and illusive smile, often referred to as “Angkor Smile”. Some scholars believe it is based on the face of King Jayavarman VII as he is a devoted Mahayana Buddhist who believes one can achieve Buddhahood and work for the benefit For your convenience, I am putting up a public domain photo of a statue of King Jayavarman VII (at Musée Guimet of Paris) right next to that of the face tower. You can decide for yourself if the speculation is valid.

After the decline of Khmer Empire, Cambodia became mostly a vassal state of Thai and Vietnam alternately for centuries. In 1863, King Norodom seek protection of France who was pursuing colonization ambition of the region and had successfully overwhelmed the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam in 1858. Soon Cambodia became a part of the Indochina, the French colony that includes today’s Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It wasn’t until 1953, after the WWII, King Norodom Sihanouk led the country to become an independent nation.

Independence and new constitutional monarchy of Cambodia did not bring it peace and stability. The country was caught in the conflicts of the Cold War and in particular the Vietnam War. Prime Minister/Prince Norodom Sihanouk tried to maintain neutrality and survive in between the superpowers only ended up being ousted and exiled to China in 1970 during a military coup supported/conspired by US. Subsequently, with the backing of China and Prince Sihanouk, Khmer Rouge, the notorious communist rebels led by Pol Pot took over the country in 1975 as US retreating from South Vietnam.

Cambodia has suffered tremendously for decades, first during the bombing and invasion from US and South Vietnam at the height of Vietnam War. It became known as “Killing Field” during the brutal rule of Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979 as Pol Pot waged bloody social engineering and genocide. By some account, Pol Pot government had executed an estimated 1 to 3 million of the 8 million people! Communist Vietnam invaded Cambodia and set up a new government in 1979. However civil war ensues as supporters of Khmer Rouge continued to fight against the Vietnamese occupation and the government it backs. It wasn’t until late 1991, peace settlement was reached under the supervision of UN. To this day, tourists can easily find handicapped survivors on the street without limbs, mostly due to countless land mines placed by all sides during the wars throughout the country.

Cambodia has come a long way since its independence in 1953. Today the government is dominated by Cambodian People's Party led by Prime Minister Hun Sen who was a former Khmer Rouge leader and has been the leader of the country during Vietnam’s military occupation of the 80’s. The country’s economy is developing at a rapid pace especially in tourism, thanks to the Angkor Temples. Indeed tourism is the second largest industry of the country, after the textile. Siem Reap, once a sleepy village right next to Angkor Archeology Park with less than 10,000 residences ten years ago, is now a bustling town of population over 100,000 with new and modern facilities added every day. The transformation is easily seen eveywhere. Many motorcycles are seen on the street where a new one could cost about US $1200 or more than 2 years of average wage of workers. While there is no public bus in the area and very few private cars, tourists can enjoy rides of “tuk-tuk”, an ingenious taxi service that can take four passengers in a trailer attached to a motorcycle. At the same time, you will find carts pulled by a pair of ox strolling down the road.

20 kilometers south of Siem Reap lies Tonle Sap, the largest lake of Southeast Asia. It covers 16,000 square kilometers (or more than 40% of the size of Taiwan) and up to 9 meters deep in rainy season and is only 1 meter deep and 2,700 square kilometers wide in dry season. With the dramatic difference of its water level, many people who live off the water build floating houses and structures, public facilities like schools and gyms included, while those who live on the edge of the lake build houses on stilt. It is an interesting experience to take a boat tour of part of the lake. It is most reassuring to see that despite the material shortage and harsh environment, kids we saw there seem spirited and playful, including those who are selling merchandises to the tourists. They play games with each other on water and on boat as if they live on land. They got big smiles. Sorry, not the Angkor Smile; most of them are ethnic minority of Cham and Vietnamese.

Next stop: northern Vietnam, another fascin ating region of Southeast Asia. Talk to you soon!