The End of Travel

Asia » Cambodia » North » Angkor
August 7th 2014

Published: August 7th 2014

Travel - especially your first go of it - fills the mind with so many new concepts, new ways of thinking, feeling and experiencing. The images and thoughts, these are not things that can be transferred to others, for they are born of our own unique experiences and perceptions. Many of the things we experience while traveling stick with us much longer than others, which simply fade with time. Sadly... Read Full Entry

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7th August 2014

Gina Rachmaninoff
non-member comment

Blog contests
Hi Dan, there is a blog contest and you should enter.

8th August 2014

jaiyen
Dan Simonds

I appreciate that Gina, is there actually a specific contest you know of or is that just a compliment... either way thank you! One thing I've learned from this website though is that there are A LOT of talented bloggers... glad to hear you are still following along :)

7th August 2014

Home and Away
Bob Carlsen

How sad...
I guess I should withdraw my nomination of Angkor Wat as 8th "New" Wonder of the World.

8th August 2014

jaiyen
Dan Simonds

Its a shame because at other points we had nothing but the most beautiful and memorable times... I also didn't mention the tour groups that had hired out about 80 tuk tuks and were just traveling around in a convoy as far as the eye could see.

8th August 2014

El Eterno Caminante
Greg

GREAT entry!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! And while I agree with everything u wrote there is a flip side which is even though we respect sites like this and put forth respect or honor, These sites are in the business of making money so these tour buses are full of higher paying tour guided flunkies that will no doubt buy many things us backpacking folk wouldn't...I.E. Mexican Sombreros in Cambodia etc etc. It's totally a shame, but I do think it's a necessary evil we as travelers unfortunately have to deal with as best we can. We ALL find certain places on this earth that while we wish would stay traditional and not sell out to mega hotels and be packed to the gills everyday..we LOVE to blog about..letting more and more people in on the secret...Catch 22....This blog reminds me so much of what Chichen Itza had become....Fuckin' light shows at night from the pyramid..droves and droves of tour buses and stupid tourists that are on a 5 day vacation with family and friends and don't respect the place as we do or see it as we do...

12th August 2014

jaiyen
Dan Simonds

Thank you Greg, you totally hit the point that I forgot to mention, the $ is always the lowest common denominator and brings out the lowest in everyone. It does seem like some places though (Singapore, S. Korea, Hong Kong) are starting to realize that the extra money isn't worth the hell it puts the local people through. Then again, in a place like Cambodia how can you expect people to go against their own financial interests, but that itself brings up an interesting point. Who is more likely to go eat at the roadside stand, buy a cheap bottle of whisky from a tiny shop, stay in a small family guesthouse or rent a motorbike and go give business to a small market on the outskirts of town? Sure the Coach purse stores mega-hotel conglomerates and Duty Free supercenters may benefit from this type of tourism, but what about the people a step or two down the ladder? Really appreciate your perspective and very bummed to hear about Chichen Itza - I wonder how many other places are on the verge of ruin...

8th August 2014

taracloud
Tara Cloud

From heaven to hell
How fantastic that you'd learned that Bayon was the hordes' second stop, so you could have that early morning, magical experience! I don't know if there's a high season for Chinese package tourists or for Thailand, but I generally avoid popular places in the high season. I'd rather deal with inclement weather than with tourist masses. I recently read that in 10 years, 75% of urban Chinese will have enough money to travel--yikes! I appreciated your historical reflections on tourism. Happy travels!

12th August 2014

jaiyen
Dan Simonds

Thank you so much Tara - that is a seriously frightening thing to consider. I am 100% with you on going in the low season if it means avoiding the masses, even if the area is in the midst of blistering heat or tropical monsoon. It also seems like the best people I meet are always the people in the low season, maybe it's just because everyone is going at a slower pace and you really get to slow down and enjoy the company. Great to hear from you

9th August 2014

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Respect
Your words of observation are wisdom. It is sad when travelers are tourist and don't respect the places they have been lucky enough to visit. Reading your blog made me sad. I think some how we need to teach people about respect. Clearly it is not common sense.

12th August 2014

jaiyen
Dan Simonds

Dave and Merry Jo, thanks so much for reading. It really is a sad thing, I have been having a hard time writing since this experience, it really made me question a lot of things about myself and travel in general - like maybe I am a part of the same problem as these people. I felt disillusioned, but all we can do is go out there and do the best we can to at the very least cause as little harm as possible. I think getting past this blog is going to help me get back to feeling passionate about finishing my stories again. Thank you for your comments!

12th August 2014

El Eterno Caminante
Greg

a pleasure..
I just can't wait to get there and explore on my own in a couple weeks!! The pics look amazing and again, Love the blog! The best ancient ruins I have been to so far has been Palenque we'll see how Angkor stacks up!

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