European Guest House Siem Reap

... donations are helping change the lives of these people. I apologise if this initial update is a bit long but a lot has been happening....after this one I will send more regular updates and keep them shorter!!

I don't think I need to remind anyone of the appalling conditions we found this family living in over a month ago. We have since learnt that the “family of nine” is actually a “family of twelve”. An older ...

... Sadly, being full to capacity we cannot take any more children, nor do we have any nursery facilities. However this being Cambodia, and being free of utterly pointless legislation, the lady on the spot took the child into the care of Cambodia Orphan Fund and Araget has become our 36th child.

I arrived on site at 09.30am, having oddly enough spent the part of the previous day at the very same Angkor Children’s Hospital, in the ...

... We ordered some food from the restaurant too, and I was impressed by how nice it was; I had a very tasty burger. We got chatting to some other people staying at the hostel, and soon found ourselves playing a bowling game on the hostel's Wii on the big projector screen by the bar. I was as **** at fake bowling as I had been at normal bowling in Luang Prabang! Once it got to 10.30pm I was absolutely wrecked, having slept for under four hours, so I went to bed.

... that in few years there will be enormous changes in the economy and the general wellbeing of the place. A huge proportion of people are under 16, thanks to the Khmer Rouge. They are well educated and sharp and I don't think they will continue to allow themselves to be expoited byThailand, Vietnam and us tourists. Get here now while the beers are only $0.50!
Cheers Dean and Wendy

... landscape is
very flat and moisture rich and the majority of the people live off
their land. If someone asked me what is a typical Cambodian scene it
would be a bamboo or coconut leaf thatched home on stilts – a
hammock attached to the stilts on the lower level and brown kids
running around in the water. Although we weren't able to yell back
to them from our enclosed bus – the children still smiled and waved
as Cambodian pop music blared on.

... Siem Reap, or the tourist centre (bar street). This is a nice hang out, cheap food and drinks but obviously it is low season. Travel in Siem Reap is by tuk tuk which is invariably a 'hold your heart in your mouth experience'. Driving in Cambodia is a free for all, and we have had a few near misses, seen an accident and been shocked by the lack of attention which any drivers show. Most vehicles are motorbikes and tuk tuks, with a good ...

... pay this rip-off which seemed to have ****** off the eight officials who were sitting around doing nothing. But we didn't care and decided to walk along the road which stuck out into the lake. Merely five minutes after walking we were approached by another dude who informed us that it wasn't allowed to walk on this road even though there were around 15 huts selling souvenirs and refreshments ahead of us. Michael and I just looked at each other and said "screw it ...

... you climbed. We ended up staying here for two hours and I could have stayed longer.

We went back to Angkor Wat to visit the "long circuit". This was also really good. I saw some really nice temples here as well. My favorite one here was Preah Khan. It also was a huge temple. As you walk through one door you would see 5 more doors after it. Each room was filled with carvings and introcit designs. This temple was pretty much intact too, but ...

... I had seen anywhere.) and was the largest as in its day it served as the center of an ancient city. Lolei was little more than four towers that were in the worst shape of anything I had seen. They were totally propped up and looked sad and old. I think they would be better served if nature was allowed to take its natural course.

We finished up around five and I had the rest of the day to myself. I showered and took a tuk tuk down to the city center area, where there are ...