a dose of cirematology: Siem Reap

Wow, where do I start?! What an amazing place Siem Reap is. Before I got there, I was a bit skeptical on the whole third-world country thing. It's not because of the poverty or I prefer a five-star holiday, it's because I grew up in the same environment so I thought there won't be anything I haven't seen before. How wrong was I!

We arrived in Siem Reap at 7.30am. The airport was nicely done (was told it's new). And clean. My first thought was Malaysia (or should I say Penang) should have a good look at itself. Everywhere we go, we constantly see people sweeping, picking plastic wrappers that tourists threw. The public toilets were 10 times cleaner than public toilets in Australia. Not a single plastic wrapper in the river that goes through the town area. It was so clean that if there isn't a bin around every time I want to throw my cigarette butt away, I put it out then hang on to it till I find a bin.

Upon arrival at our hotel (Golden Banana Boutique Hotel) we were greeted by some friendly staff. They offered us some Cambodian coffee and while we were sipping away, one of the staff gave us a brief (or not so brief) explanation on Siem Reap and what we can do. After the briefing, we were escorted to our room/villa. It is beautiful. Much than we had hoped for. Oh, when we tipped them, the grin on their face was priceless. And it was only a couple of dollars.

After settling in, we had a wander around town, looking for a nice restaurant for lunch. We didn't spend too much time out and about, we were tired because we didn't get much sleep the night before.

We had a couple of hours of rest before we head out again, this time to Nom Bakheang for the sunset. The hotel already organise a tuk tuk driver, Thy, to take us there. The ride was somewhat interesting. There were a few times where I thought we're gonna crash. Hehe.

Nom Bakheang was amazing. This is our first taste of what's the fuss about temples in Cambodia. It is beyond anything I have ever imagined! Photos I have seen doesn't do it justice at all. All I can say is go see it for yourself, they don't call it one of the seven wonders of the world with no reason.

On our second day, we did the main 3 temples, Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom and Angkor Thom. Again, breathtaking. The intricate carvings, the history behind every brick and stone... We were told a lot of things about these temples but I don't think I'll post them. It'll take too long.

Third day, we booked ourselves for the floating village trip. Here, you'll see how poor these people live. We were told 6000 people live here. There's an orphanage (on a boat), a basketball court (on a boat), school, sundry shop, hair salon, all on a boat. Some other facts were

• 10 - 15 people were killed each year from boat accidents.

• Some were killed from drinking the water from the river because they couldn't afford clean water.

• Only 2 or 3 teachers teach at the school.

• More than 200 kids in 1 classroom.

• $40 a month to learn English (you have to know English to become a tour guide and tour guide is one of the best job around.) but $10 a year to learn Cambodian.

• Our tour guide's got 8 brothers and sisters. His parent died in a landmine explosion 10 years ago. He is the only one supporting his family.

There are many more, but I think to give you an idea, those few points will do. We can't help but feel bad for the kids after learning all these facts. And having kids paddling themselves in their little bucket (pic below) to beg for money is just wrong. Peter and I knew there's no use giving them money, their parents will just take the money and spend it on drugs or alcohol. Our guide suggested we buy some rice and give it to the teacher at the orphanage and we did. 15kg of rice at USD$25. We just fed 200 kids. We certainly felt good after that.

We spent 2 more days traveling around Siem Reap, saw some amazing temples and intricate carvings, ate some good food and made some friendly people. There are a lot of things that I left out, things that I experienced and feelings I felt, those are the things it's better if you go experience and see for yourself because words can't really describe them. During my time there at Siem Reap, I realised how good we've got it back at home. Both Malaysia and Australia. I have not seen any of the local wear any branded clothes. No NIKE, no LEVIS. Not a fast food restaurant in sight. No McDonald's, no KFC. No big billboards of advertising (not even small ones). Everything cost a few dollars. I remembered, on our first night there, we went to the night market to do some shopping. You are expected to bargain here but the price we were bargaining was between a dollar. On our way back to the hotel, I couldn't help but to feel bad because it's only a dollar to us but it's a lot of money to them. USD$50 can feed a family of 4 for a month.

I can't help but to think some of these people probably resent the fact that they have to put up with tourists flashing their nice clothes and money around, taking pictures of them, walking around their village and inside their house and tipping them a dollar or 2. There's absolutely nothing they can do about it. They have to take that 1 or 2 dollars tip. If it is me, I will probably tell the tourist to fuck off and leave us alone.

You do have to go experience it for yourself. I'm thinking of going back again and if I do, I will volunteer at the orphanage. Maybe volunteer a few hours a day. See Siem Reap but also give back to the people who have suffered to make this land and it's wonders accessible to the people around the world.

Our villa at Golden Banana Resort.

Peter deciding on which/where to go for lunch on our first day at Siem Reap.

Siem Reap Old Market area.

Sunset at Nom Bakhaeng.

Hundreds of tourist were already at the top of Nom Bakhaeng when we got there. To reach the top of the temple, we had to climb the steps with each step as high as 1.5 feet and as narrow as 6 inches. You're fucked if you slip.

Too many tourist at the front with the perfect sunset view so we went to the back of Nom Bakheang. Lucky we did because we found this monk sitting at the back. Pic below.

My favorite pic this entire trip. Peter spotted this monk sitting at the edge of the temple (Nom Bakheang) and started taking a few snaps. I did the same.

Locals do come up here to worship. Here I am, being an obnoxious tourist, happily snapping others while they were worshiping. It is a nice pic though. :)

Dinner at Apsara Theatre with cultural dance. It was interesting learning the Cambodian culture and the local beliefs.

Day 2 - Angkor Wat. Sorry about the blurry pic. It was taken with my iPhone. Actually, all the pix were taken with the phone. Some came out ok, some a tad blurry/pixelated.

Couple of local kids waiting around Angkor Wat begging for money. I saw them looking inside bins to find food.

Locals going to work, I think. It was only 2 years ago that the government made wearing a helmet compulsory. Most of them still struggle with that so some (especially the driver) wears a helmet, not the passenger.

Day 2 - Angkor Wat. Pictures don't do it justice. Or maybe my photography skills just aren't good enough. I blame it on the iPhone.

Top of Angkor Wat. Well almost. They close off the top bit because someone fell from the top not long ago.

The carvings inside Angkor Wat. I noticed every statue carved is different, with different expression, wearing different clothes and in different poses. We were told that the temple was build first, then carved. So what happens if someone screw up the carving? Broke the nose of the statue?

Inside Angkor Wat. Apparently, this used to be a pool.

Peter seeking guidance inside Angkor Wat - from the tour guide. Hehe.

Even though Angkor Wat is swarmed with tourist everyday throughout the year, the locals still come here to pray. Guess they are used to it. Don't think they have much choices anyway.

Piles of stones outside Angkor Wat. Our tour guide told us locals stack these stones. They believe the higher you are able to stack yours, the longer you live. We had a go, mine wasn't bad.

Day 2 - The big fig tree at Ta Phrom.

This is where they shot Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie. It used to be covered in thick forest and only recently (not sure how long) the government cleared the bushes and made it another tourist attraction.

Peter mesmerised by the ermm... everything!

Angkor Thom. Felt kinda disrespectful after taking this pic. Oh well. Sorry.

The four faced Buddha at Angkor Thom.

Bayorn - inside Angkor Thom. There are a few temples in Angkor Thom. If I remember right, it is 3km x 3km.

One of the many headless Buddha in some temples. I don't remember why, I think it's something to do with changing of religion during that period.

Restoration in progress. A few countries actually donated the cost of restoration on these temples. France, Japan and others. See if you can figure out the Buddha lying on His side.

Cheeky girl posing for the camera (top). Kids pushing and shoving in their little bucket trying to score a dollar (center; left) Life at the floating village where 80% of them are fishermen (center; right) Heading home from a hard day's work (bottom)

Kids playing marbles during their lunch break.

The orphanage where we donated 15kg of rice. I love the pic on the left, reminds me of a scene out of Oliver Twist (top right of the pic) "Please, can I have some more?"

Our tuk tuk driver, Thy, studies while waiting for us.

My favorite drink - lime soda. After a long day out and about, having this drink will wake you up in a matter of seconds. It is so strong and limey, it works better than Redbull!