On one of our first weekends off, eight of us from the cast took a road trip to the seaside of town of Kep. It had been the Hamptons of Cambodia in the pre- KR days, where all the wealthy French and Khmer Phnom Penh-ers would weekend away. The town is just starting to gain momentum again but still the ghostly remnants of the burned and abandoned villas dot the town. We arranged for two cars to take us down after our rehearsal on Sunday. It was a long drive after a long week of rehearsal, but we were happy to get away from the bustle and smog of Phnom Penh as the city swelled to gear up for the annual Water Festival.
An unusual lizard spotted in the seaside town of Kep.
The first night was rather uneventful as a small band ventured out to discover the town around us. Everything was closed by 11pm. Kep is known as more of a romantic getaway as compared to the more popular Sihanoukville, which has more of a reputation as a party town. The highlight of the evening was discovering the very large, polka dotted versions of the wall geckos normally found in Cambodia. Yes, I am obsessed with sightings of exotic, indigenous creatures of a region.
Seaside breakfast.
I woke up the next morning resolved to find adventure: A few of us were planning a boat trip to the nearby Koh Tonsay, or more commonly, “Rabbit Island”. Supposedly it’s named after what locals construe as the shape of the island from a distance, but I imagine with enough local gange and rum, it starts looking like anything you want it to. First things first though- a beautiful seaside breakfast with the newly dubbed Kep 8 at a friend’s private beachfront resort. There were a bunch of Dutch tourists who had commissioned a Buddhist ceremony with a couple of monks. A few of us decided to participate as we considered it research of sorts.
Members of the cast join a buddhist ceremony. Photo by Marc de la Cruz
Buddhist culture is deeply entwined in Khmer society. It is customary for men to enter the monkhood at some point in their lives. It is something completely voluntary and they may enter and leave as they wish- or they may even choose to stay in the monastery their whole life.
In the show Where Elephants Weep, the main character Sam leaves his NYC job as a Sony producer to return to Cambodia taking a vow in the monkhood for three months to attempt reconciliation with his previous life as a child soldier during the KR. As well, the show opens with the initial meeting of the two lovers during a ceremony in a temple setting. I was therefore pretty excited to take part; I’m kind of a geek when it comes to research, for shows… and in general.
There is protocol with greeting the monks, lighting the incense and even sitting and bowing. I was eager to put what I’d been working on into practice. But as the ceremony and chanting began, I wasn’t prepared for the wash of emotion and the depth of contemplation I came into contact with. As enlightening as the event was from a show research point of view, I came out of the meditation grateful for the monks’ blessings and feeling refreshed with respite from the difficult emotions I had been grappling with during my time in rehearsal and Phnom Penh.
Home Sweet Hut
After breakfast, a smaller group of us hopped a boat to explore Koh Tonsay. We arrived to a rustic beach strewn with huts, hammocks and bunches of cows, chickens and goats. The inhabitants were comprised of a dreadlocked backpacker community and the Khmer locals who ran the three restaurants/ group of huts on that part of the island. They regarded us like we were aliens. It wasn’t until we had toiled a few hours away in the hammocks slowly feasting on the fresh seafood did we get it; the pace is so placid, you just didn’t want hooligan western backpackers coming in and reenacting their last trip to Cancun. We gave the same wary glance to all boats arriving after us and laughed at how we felt like we’d been there days. I knew pretty immediately this was the place I wanted to stay for the night. The enticing combo of fresh seafood (squid and Kampot pepper!), the beautiful beach, and an island population of 25 was the perfect respite I was looking for complementing the Buddhist blessing earlier.
Our En suite!
I drafted my castmate Marc into my overnight rustic adventure. We met a few people on the beach who told us where to inquire, and a few minutes later, a $5 waterfront stilted wooden hut complete with a simple mattress and mozzie net Plus an ensuite (read, hole in the ground with a bucket of water) was ours. We waved goodbye to the rest of our companions for the night and giddily wondered what lay in store for us. Neither of us had prepared to stay on an island for the night but luckily our castmate Mel left us some bug spray and his flashlight, as the island turned all generators off @ 10pm. After a stunning sunset, we ordered up more fresh seafood and met our new friend who had advised us on the hut for the evening. He was backpacking through southeast Asia and had just spent two years in Mali with the Peace Corps. We threw back a couple of Angkors and enjoyed conversations that drifted between various observations on Malian humor and Cambodian culture.
Taking in the local brew.
On the hunt for nocturnal glowing things.
Midnight came around and somehow we came to the topic of the rare bioluminescence that was visible in the waters here. The moon was out, but as a cloud cover came across, we could see millions of glowing microorganisms that glittered when we splashed around. One of us (Yuri, our new friend) got the brilliant idea to go swimming with them. I’m not in the habit of getting into strange waters in the dark, but somehow in the company of my two friends it felt like the right thing. It was cold, but as we swam around, all fears were dispelled as we moved through the water like it was fairy dust. It was one of the most magical moments of my life. We spent an hour in the water, giddy like children, just splashing around, inventing new ways to stir the bioluminescence to glow more. I only got out reluctantly as I recalled that most predatory sea creatures are nocturnal, and we were indeed in exotic waters. Plus, Marc and I had to be up at sunrise to catch the first boat to the mainland- we had to get back to the city later that day! I settled into bed exhausted, but more happy and relaxed than I’d remembered being in a long while. I woke up to the sound of crashing waves outside my window and feeling extremely peaceful. I fully understood how people could while away weeks there without ever intending to. But alas, I had a job to do and my worry-free island existence would have to wait. Back to real life.
The Journey to WHERE ELEPHANTS WEEP 