The world is coming to Siem Reap. The King is working very hard to bring his country into the 21st century, he has imported monkeys and elephants to Angkor to amuse the tourists. The major hotel chains are building huge expensive hotels as we breathe. Foreigners have opened restaurants catering to the tourist tastes. Internet cafes offer connection to the world at ridiculous prices and painstakingly slow access.
Siem Reap has a gold mine in it's Angkor ruins and they know it. Right now it is still a charming and relatively quiet place to go visit. It doesn't have the hoards of tourists like London, Paris and the Great Wall of China. It is still a very cool place to visit.
But go now. In five years all will change.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to go here, it was a highlight of my very long journey . As I have said before, everything in life I have experienced before has prepared me for the sights and feelings I had in Cambodia. It was wonderful. I will remember it always.
I hope someday to return and see Solin my guide again. Thanks Solin you are a real jewel a progressive women in an emerging country. Keep learning and reaching out to us tourists, teach us how to know your country better.
I wish you freedom on every level you desire. And girl, go get yourself a pair of shorts, wear them proudly!
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Drying weeds to make brooms on the sidewalk. |
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A lady monk at the Angkor Thom Temple |
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The Elephant Team needed professional guidance. They
charged so much for a ride that no one rode them, or at least I never
saw anyone go for a ride. I suggested at one point that they
reduce the price, but was told "they are so expensive to
keep!" Price forces sale! Reduce the price more people
ride, elephants aren't so expensive.
Concepts of a capitalistic economy are totally understood yet. |
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This is a very distressing photo, it is part of the
"killing fields". The Pol Pot had a cultural revolution
in Cambodia, killing anyone with any brains for basically no reason at
all. In this room were all the skulls and bones found from the
massive graves filled by Pol Pot. This memorial was collecting
money for their memory.
At least the people in Cambodia know Pol Pot was a bad guy. In China they still think Mao is devine! |
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These twin girls enjoyed posing for me inside one of the
temples. Everywhere I went there they would be, smiling at me.
The best part was they weren't begging, they just want to be models. |
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Everywhere we went children would be there selling us stuff. They had postcards, bracelets, flutes, statues, you name it they had it. The adults figured out that the kids can sell better than the old folks. They are right. I'm a sucker for a kid working, I bought! |
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Yes, OK here's your buck... |
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He wasn't focusing on me the customer, he was watching Mom or his boss. Somehow I managed to get away from this little guy. How many wooden flutes does one need? |
to be continued...go to Bangkok.
