The Cambodians have figured the tourist game out

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We have purposely left the best part of Cambodia, Siem Reap, for the end. Siem Reap is home of the great Angkor Temples, and we weren't disappointed.

Our journey from Battambang was a unique and colorful journey, as we did the entire trip by boat via river, marsh, and lake. Lonely Planet, our guide book, had hyped up this seven-hour trip, but it still exceeded my expectations, and it will certainly rank as my most memorable boat trip of my life. As well as incredible scenery, we were also blessed with the opportunity of passing countless floating villages on the Tonle Sap River. Because the water level changes so much during the year (see earlier entry), it makes more sense for these fisherman to have the homes and entire villages floating rather than to be anchored to anything permanent. Some of the villages were complete with school, gas station, store, temple, etc. Some homes even had floating cages for pigs and chickens! We had the opportunity to stop for lunch in one village. Like everywhere else in Cambodia the people, and especially the children, were exceptionally friendly throughout this area. From a Western perspective, I have to wonder why these children all look so happy when they have so little. For many, a roof over their head was a stretch.

Upon arrival at Siem Reap, I was expecting a typical tourist ghetto given its proximity to the Angkor temples, but I have been pleasantly surprised by the way they have preserved the old colonial part of town and controlled the street vendors and beggars in the area. Bar Street, which is home to the town's most popular restaurants and bars, is controlled from both ends by security personnel to control the area. This made for a much more pleasurable dining experience.

While on the topic of beggars, this part of Cambodia has been hardest hit by the effects of landmines, as the Khmer Rouge controlled much of this territory until the end of the 1990's. Amputees can be seen frequently, and the carnage has definitely take its toll on the people, families, and society around this area. But with resilience, many of these amputees have carved out a future for themselves. We saw a number of amputee bands playing music at that temples and restaurants. The music is traditional Khmer music, and not too bad if I should say so myself. We also took in the War Museum today, and saw many remnants of the civil war. There was a multitude of weaponry from Russia, China, and US. I even had a chance to hold a M-16, AK-47, and rocket-propelled grenade launcher! The most chilling site was the actual land mines on site. Our guide explained how each of them worked. What was interesting was how each of them had a different purpose (i.e. meme or kill) and range. Our guide told us that he lost his father and mother during the civil war.

We used both of our days here to see the temples. With so much hype about the sunrise and sunset around Angkor Wat, we thought we would see what all the fuss was about. Upon arrival at Angkor Wat, I was amazed to see hundreds of people throughout the grounds facing the Wat all looking for that perfect sunrise photo of the famous temple. While I was impressed with the size and restoration that had been done to Angkor Wat, I'm not sure I had seen a sunrise so well attended as this one. What I didn't realize about the Angkor temples were the number and the area they covered. Temples were constructed over hundreds of years, with each ruler wanting to out due the previous one. This accumulated with the construction of Angkor Wat. What was nice about the temples was that they were all distinctly different. The amount of carving still visible was also impressive. This was one of my complaints when I visited Tikal in Guatemala. While we spent only two days here, it would take a few more to see all the temples in the area.

As was the case in Phnom Penh and Kampot, we have been treated to some exceptional food. For example, we had dinner at an Indian restaurant last night on Bar Street that would have put up against any Indian restaurant in Edmonton in terms of food and decor. The other culinary choices also include Mexican, Italian, and French to name a few.

Tomorrow we leave for Bangkok, and thus have to say goodbye to Cambodia. This country is now third on my list of favorite countries behind Thailand and China. I'm sure there will be a return visit sometime in the future.

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