Cambodia Photo / Pictures Gallery


\| Angkor Wat (42) \| Killing Fields (3) \| Phnom Penh (17) \| Siem Reap (6) \|
National Assembly, Phnom Penh	The poverty and economic difficulties that have plagued Cambodia became apparent within just a few minutes of departing from the border. The bus was bouncing at a very slow place, dodging potholes whenever possible. Out of my dust-covered window, all I could see were wooden houses on stilts, blue political campaign signs, pigs rolling around in dirt, buffalos trying to find nourishment and what looked like abandoned dried-out rice paddies. The road was so bad that it made trying to take a sip of my Fanta a monumental task. By this point I was extremely thirsty, so I took the risk of slicing up my lips and did my best to down my beverage without leaving a mess on my shirt. The scenery and road conditions remained the same right until we arrived in Phnom Penh. One of the more disturbing sites along the way was of a man standing in the back of his truck on the backs of pigs stabbing them with a pole for no apparent reason. The Kingdom of Cambodia is still a country that lives in extreme poverty. Of its 11 million inhabitants, 84% of them live in rural areas and 42% are under 15 years of age. The average life expectancy for males is only 55.5 years, and 60.5 years for females. Why is the country so poor? Read the following few paragraphs that describe what happened to the country from 1953 to the present and you should fully understand. Cambodia, Modern History, 1953-1968 On November 9th of 1953, Cambodia won its independence from France and twenty-two year old King Norodom Sihanouk returned from exile to lead the country. In 1955 he stepped down from the throne and became the country’s prime minister. One of the most important political ideologies Sihanouk had was that Cambodia remains neutral. As the United States feared that Cambodia might fall to communism, they offered aid to Cambodia, who apprehensively accepted it. Sihanouk was uneasy about outside interference in domestic affairs. By the mid 1960s, Sihanouk had distanced himself from the United States as they increased their military presence in Southeast Asia. His ties with the North Vietnamese were much stronger. Sihanouk approved of the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong operating along Cambodia’s border with South Vietnam. With South Vietnam and the United States now involved in cross-border operations, to the dismay of Sihanouk, his political ideology of remaining neutral quickly faded. Though the vast majority of the Cambodian people approved of Sihanouk’s handling of the country, opposition to his government’s corruption and lack of tolerance towards opposing views grew. The Communist Party of Kampuchea, led by Saloth Sar, later known as Pol Pot, and Nuon Chea, was formed. They worked secretly in Phnom Penh until 1963, when they fled to the countryside and started a small, armed revolt. Sihanouk did not see the group as a threat, and he gave them the name Khmer Rouge. 1969-1974 On March 18,1969, the bombing of Cambodia began. B-52s carpet-bombed eastern Cambodia in what was known as “Operation Breakfast.” These bombings were also kept secret from the U.S. Congress for several months. 540,000 tons of bombs were dropped, killing somewhere between 150,000 and 500,000 civilians. In March of 1970, U.S.-backed Lon Nol overthrew Sihanouk, who was seen as untrustworthy by the Americans. When the U.S. forces entered Cambodia in April of the same year, news of this invasion sparked massive rallies and protests in America that resulted in the troops leaving, but the bombing continued. By 1974, the Khmer Rouge, now backed by North Vietnam and China, was making tremendous progress in their fight to control the country. Sihanouk, living in exile, also supported the Khmer Rouge, as he saw them as a group fighting against the American puppet government in Phnom Penh. Sihanouk’s support of the Khmer, combined with the continued U.S. air assault in Cambodia, tremendously increased the Khmer’s popularity throughout the country. Many people argued that the United States had a right to attack Cambodia because the Vietnamese were using the land as a refuge. Let us remember that during the Algerian war of independence, the United States rejected France's claimed right to attack a town in Tunisia where Algerian guerrillas hid, and in 1964 Adlai Stevenson condemned Britain for attacking a town in Yemen that was being used as a base by rebels to attack Aden. 1975-1979 On April 17th of 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized Phnom Penh and immediately began to force the city’s entire population to desert the city. Though the city had a population of between 1.5 and 2 million, it is estimated that there were another 1 million refugees who had recently arrived in the city from the countryside. This mass exodus was the first stage of the Khmer Rouge’s attempt to convert the country into a rural utopia without money or private property. Pol Pot believed that rice yields could be tripled and that it could be successfully planted in the malarial jungles of the northeast. The truth is, Pol Pot new very little about Cambodian agriculture, and his vision to finance the new nation with funds from the rice crops was bound to fail. People that were forced out of the city were called “new people,” as they were supposed to abandon all links with the past. Living in labour camps, the Cambodian people, now living in the Democratic Kampuchea, were barred from reading books, listening to music and practicing religion. Schools and hospitals were abolished, machinery banned and families were separated. Anyone wearing glasses was killed as they were assumed to be intellectuals. Anyone who spoke English, had sexual relations, grieved over the loss of a relative or friend or wore jewellery was also immediately executed. Pol Pot tried to erase Cambodian culture, and it has only barely survived through the memory of the few that survived. Cambodia began again at Year Zero. In less then four years, the Khmer Rouge had managed to wipe out the country’s economy and kill between 1.7 and 2.5 million people (between 21% and 31% of the entire population). Many died from starvation or exhaustion, while others were tortured and executed. The outside world had very little idea of what was happening in the country. After the Vietnam War, the United States was tentative about getting involved in another conflict in Southeast Asia. A border dispute between Vietnam and Democratic Kampuchea led to a full-scale war, and in January 1979 Vietnamese forces arrived in Phnom Penh. Norodom Sihanouk fled to China and many members of the defeated Khmer Rouge escaped into the western regions of Cambodia, from where they continued to fight for another twenty years. 1980-1991 The United States gave millions of dollars to the Khmer Rouge and Sihanouk to oust the Vietnamese and Soviet backed government in Cambodia. China also acted as a strong active supporter of the Khmer. The Carter administration even helped the Khmer Rouge keep their seat at the United Nations, which in a way implies that they are still the legitimate rulers of the country. The 80s were characterized by guerrilla war between the Sihanouk-Khmer Rouge coalition and the Vietnamese-backed government. 1992-Present In 1992, United Nations peacekeepers arrived in Phnom Penh to oversee the restoration of Cambodia’s constitutional monarchy. Elections were held in 1993, and Norodom Sihanouk again took the throne, while Hun Sen shared the prime minister’s office with Sihanouk’s son, Prince Norodom Ranariddh. In a 1997 bloody coup, Sen ousted Prince Ranariddh and was criticized for his autocratic style of governing and his human rights violations. With over 8 million land mines still buried in the countryside, an economy that basically does not exist and thousands of people displaced, the task of rebuilding Cambodia will not be an easy one. Landmines still injure or kill as many as ninety people each month and there are more than 35,000 Cambodian amputees as a result of such injuries. The country is still divided on what to do about the past. Should it be confronted or buried and forgotten? Families of the genocide continue to live side by side with their former executioners. If you’re wondering what happened to Pol Pot and other Khmer Rouge leaders, they continued to live freely in Cambodia and Thailand. Pol Pot died in 1998 from heart failure, much to the disappointment of those who wanted to see him brought to trial. Finally, on June 6th of 2003, the United Nations and Cambodia signed an agreement to set up special courts to try the former leaders of the Khmer Rouge. Before the court can be set up, Cambodia’s National Assembly must ratify the deal, and this is not likely to happen for a while, as Cambodia just recently (end of July 2003) went through general elections and a coalition government has yet to be formed. Money is also an issue. It is estimated that the trials will cost somewhere in the neighbourhood of $19 million. This is way beyond what the still impoverished Cambodia can afford. Phnom Penh, 30 April 2003 Determined To Sleep I was hoping to arrive in Phnom Penh while the sun was still up, in order to make my trip with my large and now very heavy backpack that much easier. However, the numerous slowdowns on the road and an agonizing wait at the border for a tourist that had taken an alternate mode of transportation without telling the tour operator made that hope fade quickly. The good thing was that as we pulled into the city centre, I had a very good idea of where I was and where the hotel I was hoping to stay at was located. Before the bus stopped, I tried to memorize the long route I had to take, so as to not make it look like I was lost and searching for a place to stay. Though the streets were quite dark and extremely packed, the traffic was not overwhelming after my experiences in Hanoi. I arrived at my hotel without any problems and luckily they had a couple of rooms available. After spending 30 hours on a train followed by 10 hours on a bus that resembled a moving dirty trampoline more than a road vehicle, I treated myself to a very nice quiet air-conditioned room with satellite television. Not wanting to wander far to grab a bite to eat, I didn’t even leave the area, eating at the restaurant next door. The convincing factor was a movie about the temples of Angkor that they were showing at 20:00. I also happened to catch the last 30 minutes of the Killing Fields, which was a chilling reminder of the atrocities that took place here in the very recent past. While on the last hour of my journey to Phnom Penh, a staff member from Capitol Guesthouse hopped on the bus to try and sell us on staying at their facility. The brochures we were handed not only had a great map, but also a detailed plan of the tours that they offered at very reasonable prices. From what I had heard, their accommodation is nothing to write home about, but their tours are a great deal – as they have been operating in Phnom Penh longer than any other tour company. Before venturing on a tour, I thought I’d spend a day wandering around to get a feel for the city and to hit the spots I really wanted to see that weren’t on the agenda. Since the sites were well spread out around the city, I basically just picked a direction and wandered without knowing where I was going. That might not sound like the brightest move in a city many consider to be one of the most dangerous in the world, but I feel that as long as I stay aware of my surroundings and stick to heavily populated areas, I should be okay. The first site I discovered was the Wat Phnom (hill), which stands on a 27 metre high hill. According to local legends, the first Pagoda to be constructed on this site was completed in 1373 to house four Buddha statues that arrived by way of the Mekong and discovered by a woman named Penh. This certainly explains why the city is called Hill of Penh. Riel or Dollars? Though Cambodia’s official currency is the riel, dollars are used way more frequently. The rule of thumb is that if an item costs less than a dollar, the price will be quoted in riel, though dollars are always welcome. Anytime you pay for something in dollars, you’ll get change that is less than a dollar in riel, which essentially act as coins, so there really is no need to convert any money to the local currency. The Sights I then made made my way down to the Sisowath Quay, on the edges of the Tonlé Sap, an affluent of the Mekong, and wandered back towards the Royal Palace – still home to Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihanouk. The area surrounding the Royal Palace would lead you believe that you were in a different country, given the cleanliness and bright colours of the local buildings. The roads are also well paved, which is not the case for the rest of the city. Once you leave the city centre the roads are not even paved at all and the drainage system hardly works at all due to the vast amounts of dirt that clog the drains. This became evident later that afternoon when a storm swept through for an hour and left many streets so flooded that you couldn’t even use the “sidewalks.” Fortunately, as I tried to find my way back to the hotel, a lady told me to follow her so that we could make our way around one of the flooded streets. This leads me to assume that flooding is quite common, and alternate paths probably exist all around the city. The following day, my tour of Phnom Penh began at the National Museum, which is housed in a gorgeous traditional early 20th century terracotta-style building. There are numerous wonderful exhibits of Khmer art and sculptures dating from the pre-Angkor period of Funan and Chenla (4th to 9th centuries A.D.) to the post-Angkor period (after the 14th century). If you are in the area during the evening, you might also want to try and spot some of the thousands of bats that live in the roof of the building. The enclosed area that houses the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda is by far the most colourful and clean area of the city. The bright yellows, greens and the gold make this area seem like you’ve left Cambodia for a rich country, since the difference between the architecture and colours of the Royal Palace and the rest of the city is like night and day. You also get the impression that your every move is being watched by one of the many guards that are located on the grounds. It is also difficult to figure out where you are and aren’t allowed to visit and what you can and cannot photograph. The best way to figure this out is to watch where the large Cambodian tour groups go and then follow. In other words, the sites are wonderful, but it’s difficult to relax and fully enjoy them. As you enter the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, located outside of Phnom Penh, the most visible site is the Memorial Stupa, erected in 1988, which houses over 8,000 skulls. This has to be one of the most disturbing sites I have ever visited, and it serves as a shocking reminder of what took place in Cambodia under the rule of Pole Pot. From 1975 through December of 1978, approximately 17,000 men, women and children were sent to the extermination camp of Choeung Ek for execution. In 1980, the bodies of 8985 people were exhumed from mass graves at the Killing Fields. 43 of the 129 communal mass graves have been left untouched. The vast majority of the victims that were murdered in the Killing Fields spent some time imprisoned at the Security Prison 21 (S-21), now known as the Tuol Sleng Museum. Many prisoners never actually made it to the Killing Fields, dying at the prison from severe torture. At the height of the prison’s use, over 100 people perished on average per day and they were buried on the prison’s grounds. We arrived at the museum just in time to catch the black and white documentary about the lives of those who survived, those who worked and those who had relatives murdered at the prison. The numerous paintings, exhibits, photographs, torture devices and tiny cells give a serve as a gruesome reminder of the atrocities that took place here in the not so distant past. One of the other sites that I contemplated visiting on my own is the local shooting range, where anyone can pay to fire off a wide range of weapons – from an AK 47 to an M-60 to a rocket launcher to a grenade. Rumour has it that you were once able to buy animals to fire at. However, after spending time at S-21 and the Killing Fields, I just couldn’t find it in me to visit such a place. That said, it sure does tell you something about the lawlessness of a country, when you can openly advertise a range where anyone with no previous firearms experience can arrive, pay cash and fire off one of these weapons. Welcome & Goodbye 147,000 Cambodians immigrated to the United States between 1975 and 1990, with the majority arriving from 1980 to 1986. Lately, however, many of these immigrants have been sent back. A 2002 agreement between the U.S. and authorities in Phnom Penh allows Cambodians convicted of aggravated felonies after the completion of their prison terms to be deported. Since then, 67 ex-cons have been flown to Phnom Penh on U.S. government planes and there are approximately 1,4000 more to come. Once in the city, they are released from their handcuffs and free to do what they want – except return to America. One of the most bizarre cases I read about had to do with a Cambodian construction site supervisor in Houston. He was caught urinating on the street, which is not a major crime, but was interpreted by the judge as a sex crime. Five years later, with only one more year of parole left for this offence, he was caught once again doing the same deed. As a result of his public tinkle, he was deported to Cambodia. The good news is that many of them take shelter at the Returnee Assistance Project, which was set up to mend the country’s social wounds. Also, many of these returnees have used their American-learned managerial skills to become valuable assets to Cambodian companies. That’s no consolation, however, for many of these deportees who have a family back in the U.S. 3 May 2003, Siem Reap & Angkor Wat The Road to Siem Reap Siem Reap means ‘Siamese Defeated’, which is a great name for a city located near the Thai border! The boomtown essentially exists to serve as a base for tourists who arrive by plane, boat and bus to spend time exploring the wonderful ruins of Angkor Wat. The cheapest way to get to Siem Reap is to take a local bus. Be prepared to bounce, though, as the roads are in terrible condition from both directions. Of the roughly 36,000 km of highways in Cambodia, only just over 4,000 km are paved! Though it might be seen as an inconvenience to many, I found the trip to be quite fun. We made plenty of stops at tiny shops and villages and we were often greeted by little kids who were most likely used to seeing foreigners, but still curious and eager to earn a dollar. They’re not at all threatening, and rather amusing at times with the creative entrepreneurial spirit and high energy they possess. Upon arrival in Siem Reap, there were plenty of touts waiting to take us to their hotel, grab our luggage and offer their services for the entire length of our stay. If possible, try to find some tourists to vouch for a driver, or at the least find out what the going rate is for daily services. For $5 a day, I managed to get a local to drive me around on his motorcycle to all of the temples and help me find my way around the complex network of sites in the area. Not only was having a driver useful from that point of view, but it also gave me the chance to get to know someone who has grown up in Siem Reap. History of Angkor From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Khmer Kings established their capitals at Angkor. At one point in history, Angkor was a highly developed civilization, which becomes obvious by examining the temples, sculptures as well as the elaborate irrigation system that helped them thrive. Today, Angkor covers more than 400-square kilometres and still boasts more than 100 temples. Angkor was founded by Yasovarman I, who ruled from 889-900 A.D. The site that most people associate with the region, Angkor Wat, was not built for another two hundred years. This period, from 1113-1150, under the rule of Suryavarman II, represents the high point of Khmer civilization. The famous temple of Bayon, with its estimated 200 faces, was the work of Jayavarman VII, who ruled from 1181-1219. Under his rule, over 100 hospitals, 100 rest houses for pilgrims, and possibly as many as 20,000 shrines were built. He also undertook the huge task of building a strong infrastructure for the region, by building roads and supporting military activities. In 1431, the Thais attacked and sacked Angkor, and by 1434 the city was completely abandoned. Eight hundred years of Khmer rule came to an end. The area remained forgotten and unknown to the world until 1860, when French explorer Henri Mouhot re-discovered the sites. Fascinated by literature on the temples, Mouhot brought with him several expeditions, many of which removed important artefacts to bring them to Paris. From 1908 to 1970 the area was protected, studied and partially rebuilt by the Conservation d’Angkor. During the Khmer Rouge years, the site was inaccessible and suffered from neglect. Ancient Playground & Click Click Click At 5:00 am, my driver picked me up at the hotel and we headed for Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise. Before entering the Angkor Wat area, I had to get my site photo identification. At $40 for three days, the entrance fee is super expensive – especially when you know that only a very tiny portion of the proceeds actually goes to the restoration and maintenance of the temples. You are required to show this ID at the entrance to all the major temples, and there is a stiff fine for getting caught without one. For this reason, your driver can take you to the temple, but if you want a guided tour of a certain Wat, you’ll have to find an authorized guide. The Angkor Wat temple was already buzzing with plenty of tourists waiting to see the sun rise on this magnificent morning. I must have sat around for a good hour starring at the temple and thinking about all the hard work that must have gone into building such a huge complex. The temple itself does not open to the general public until later that morning, so after the sun had risen, I left the side to visit the Bayon. Of all the temples in Angkor, the Bayon is by far the most eerie and fun to explore. From afar, it looks like a giant pile of rubble or a temple seriously damaged by natural disasters, but as you approach from any direction, you start to notice some of the 1200m of intricate carvings depicting Cambodian life in the 12th century. There are more than 200 faces of Avalokitesvara staring downwards from 54 towers and below these towers are many places of worship still used by Cambodian Buddhists. Seeing this site in the early morning, or at sunset, is especially eerie, as the shadows seem to bring these faces to life, making you feel lost in this maze of unsettling and enigmatic looks. In what seems to be an abandoned temple, I often suddenly came upon a small seemingly hidden area where Buddhists were praying. They often invited me to plant incense sticks in front of sacred images – some for religious reasons, others for the hope of getting some money. The vast majority of the sites in Angkor have been restored during the past decade. Restoration efforts have focused on clearing away overgrowth, supporting sites that may possibly collapse and clearing away tree roots that have over the years grown up through the temples compromising their structural integrity. The restorers have, however, left some of the temples as they found them, in order to show the visitors what the sites looked like before they were re-discovered. The most fascinating site that has remained relatively untouched is Ta Phrom. This also has to be one of the most photographed sites, as a result of the large trees that have over the years grown to squeeze the temple. After a break for lunch, I returned to the area to visit Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is considered by many, including myself, to be one of the greatest achievements of humankind and one of the most spectacular monuments in the world. Angkor Wat was designed to be a small replica of the universe. The central 65-metre tower represents the mythical Mt. Meru, situated at the centre of the universe. For Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Bon-Po, Mt. Kailas in Tibet is believed to be the physical representation of Mt. Meru. The five surrounding towers symbolize the peaks of Meru. The outer wall is supposed to represent the mountains at the edge of the world, and the 1.5 km by 1.3 km moat the oceans beyond. The site is so big that it is best seen over the course of multiple visits, as there is way too much to digest in one visit. For example, you’ll find over 800 metres of bas-relief at the base of the central temple. To add to the complexity of the site, French archaeologists have discovered gold objects in a vertical shaft that descends 27 metres below the surface of the temple. By the end of the day, my feet were extremely tired and my legs had gotten the best workout they’d seen since my adventures in Borneo. The final stop, Phnom Bakheng, is the best spots from which you can photograph Angkor Wat from up above and also catch a great sunset over the Angkor countryside – unless you have the money to take a hot air balloon ride. To get there, however, you have to climb a steep dirt and loose rock path. If you’ve got a few extra dollars to spend, or if you’re too tired from all of the day’s activities, you can also make the climb on an elephant. It seems that every visitor to Angkor makes this climb for sunset, as the top of the Wat, which requires a very very steep climb, is overcrowded with visitors. It’s all worth it, however, as the views are spectacular. During my second day, I visited many of the lesser-known temples of Angkor located further from Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, as well as the Roluos Group. The Roluos Group, located about ten kilometres east of Siem Reap, are some of the first temples built in the area. These temples were built in the 9th century, and are a great way of gauging the architectural progress that was made from this time until the creation of Angkor Wat. Bakong is especially fascinating, as it was built to represent Mt. Neru and dedicated to Shiva, the third deity of the Hindu triad of great gods – the others being Brahma and Vishnu. As they are located in a different direction from Siem Reap than the most famous temples, you also get a great chance to explore some of the Cambodian countryside. After two days of wandering around magnificent ruins, I was starting to get tired of seeing temple after temple. It would have been nice to be able to take a break for a couple of days and then return, but my days in Southeast Asia were numbered. If you’re wondering what ever happened to this great Empire, here’s a brief explanation of what helped make the Empire so great and what caused it to collapse. Reasons for the Rise and Fall of the Angkor Empire Religion - The Khmer kings adopted the Indian doctrines of deva-raja, or god-king. As “god-kings”, the Khmer kings were able to rule over the land with supreme power. This allowed them to build up a large army to defend the land as well as invade their neighbours. They were also able to maintain an elaborate irrigation system with Khmer workers and foreign slaves, which was essential to their survival. Though religion helped the Empire achieve enormous progress, it also contributed to its downfall. The introduction of Theravada Buddhism in the 13th century, which taught people to seek self-enlightenment, abandon worldly things and discourage any superstitious beliefs, reduced the Khmer kings’ ability to motivate the dedication of their workers. The sovereignty of the monarch as “god-kings” was challenged. Irrigation - This decrease in devotion to the “god-king” had a negative impact on the irrigation and drainage system. With a lower supply of water for the rice crops, the drop in productivity translated into a drop of strength for the Empire. The irrigation and reservoir systems were essential, as the area encountered heavy rainfall during the Monsoon season, and no rain at all during the rest of the year. The complex system of reservoirs, dikes, moats and ponds helped prevent floods in the Monsoon season and store water for the dry season. This allowed the Empire to cultivate crops three times a year to adequately feed the large population. Location - Jayavarman II chose Angkor for its strategic location. Thick forests from all sides protected Angkor. Situated in the north of Tonle Sap Lake, the only possible way to invade Angkor with large troops was to sail upstream from the Mekong River, as no well-developed roads existed. Knowing that this was the only way to attack, Angkor’s strong military set up to stop any possible attack. In over 600 years, Angkor only lost one major naval battle on the Tonle Sap to forces from the kingdom of Champa, located in what is now central Vietnam, in 1171. Well-developed roads were built under Jayavarman VII in order to aid in the transport of products and trades across the empire. This inadvertently gave attacking empires another route to attack. The Ayuthaya Thai kingdom used these roads in 1431 to sack Angkor. Tomb Raider To the Rescue! If you didn’t know, a good portion of Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider was filmed around the beautiful temples of Angkor. The movie’s star, Angelina Jolie, has just recently promised up to $1.5 million for a forest conservation project in the northwest regions of Samlaut and Lailin over the next five years. The money will be used to educated local villagers about conservation awareness, draw demarcation lines to protect forest and wildlife sanctuaries and train local rangers. Angelina Jolie, who loves Cambodia, adopted her son Maddox from a Cambodian orphanage and she is apparently building a house somewhere in the country. Tourist Town As I mentioned before, wandering around the Angkor complex all day is super tiring! The good news is that the town of Siem Reap is a great spot to relax. There are plenty of great restaurants serving all kinds of food, fun bars showing live sporting events on satellite from around the world and markets to wander if your feet haven’t had enough. When wandering around the markets, I seemed to get an invitation to take a look inside at each booth I passed. It was kind of fun, as the people working the booths don’t really pressure you, and they are fun to chat with. This is also part of the bargaining process. If you walk in and immediately start asking for a super deal, you probably won’t get it. It’s important to establish a friendly rapport with the shopkeepers. There are also way too many amputees in the downtown area surrounding the market and by the river. As many of them are shunned by their own society, it is difficult for them to earn a living, so they often turn to tourists for an income. I still think it’s better to give them a piece of fruit or some other perishable item, as you don’t know what they will spend your money on. Drug use is a serious problem in the area. Internet access can also be found on each street corner, though I think they all share on connection. If the Internet is not working at one shop, which happens fairly often, it most likely won’t be working anywhere. With a relatively low number of tourists when I arrived, restaurants were offering great deals to compete for your dollars and happy hours are often extended. That said, I was still surprised to see prices above those in Phnom Penh and well above what I’d pay for the same meal in Vietnam or Lao. Outskirts of Siem Reap – The Real Cambodia On my last day, I wandered on foot outside of the city limits in hope of seeing the way the majority of the country’s citizens live. What struck me immediately was the state of the buildings as well as the attitude of the people I met. Just like the houses that we passed along the national highway, many of the places were extremely poorly built and maintained. If a severe storm were to blow through the region, I guarantee the majority of buildings would not survive. They make trailer parks seem like palaces. Looking into some of the primitive houses, I often saw one or many family members sitting around trying to stay cool and out of the sun. This state of affairs does not seem to affect the mood of the people. I was often met with sincere smiles, laughter and curious looks. This was a nice change from Siem Reap, where touts and beggars don’t leave you alone. Like Lao, having any semblance of a conversation is quite difficult, as the majority of the people, even the young dressed in their blue and white school uniforms, spoke very little English. In Transit – Siem Reap - Bangkok As I began my 418 km journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok, it suddenly hit me that there were to be no more discoveries and no more great sites on this journey. I didn’t know what the trip was going to be like, but by this time I had learned to expect the unexpected. The condition of the bus, the state of the roads, the added passengers the added luggage and/or animals were all possibilities that I was ready to deal with. I knew that eventually I would make it back to Bangkok. I simply didn’t know when that would be. The ride was the same as every other one I had taken in the region – bumpy, dusty, hot and packed. It was as if this had become the norm and nothing else existed. The sites were also very similar – poor, desolate land, plenty of skinny animals etc. When we made it through customs and lugged our backpacks to the new bus, it was as if we had entered a new world. The bus had comfortable seats, we had plenty of room and the air-conditioning worked well. Half and hour into the journey, I still had not been bounced onto the lap of my neighbour, the ground was not covered in dust and I was not sweating profusely. We stopped at this little shop for free fresh pineapple and pepsi, which was great, but we all assumed the worse – that we were going to be transferred to a large local bus for the remaining few hours of the journey. Instead, we hopped back on the bus fifteen minutes later and drove straight through to Bangkok, where we were dropped off right at Khaosan Road.
Travel journal (pdf): \| Complete Journal (134) \| Hanoi to Phnom Penh (4) \| Cambodia (24) \| Siem Reap to Bangkok (2) \| \| Home \| Indonesia \| Lao PDR \| Malaysia \| Myanmar \| Singapore \| Thailand \| Vietnam \| E-Mail \| Links \|