Angkorland Siem Reap

... belle lecon d humanite et comme quoi la volonte d un seul homme peut faire bouger des montagnes. Il me confirme que l argent depense par les touristes dans les grands hotels et restaurants detenus par des chaines internationales sort naturellement du pays. Apres ce que j ai vu dans les campagnes je ne peux m empecher de me dire qu il y a parfois des choses vraiment pourries dans ce monde ! Heureusement les cambodgiens sont des gens resolument tournes vers l avenir et les contacts ...

... Yesterday morning I went out into the very rural areas distributing food. Many of the very poor who live in thatched, stick-built huts have either damaged homes, or lost their homes entirely. Some still have their home, but it is still under water. At the hotel where I am staying, 100% of the staff's homes are under at least 4-5 feet of water, so the hotel has allowed them to sleep at one of their other business locations until the flood waters recede enough ...

... in this trip and watchin the rain and hustle-bustle of the street waiting for it to stop is momentous too.

September is supposed to be the worst month. Another 3 weeks and it should be better.

Monsoon time, however, is no reason to put off a trip to South East Asia. This sounds like a sentence taken out directly from the almighty Lonely Planet, I know, but it is true.

The past week, I have successfully managed to zigzag through the drops to ...

... must've told him I gave them money because he came running up to us and begging as well. I wouldn't give him any and he continued to follow us using the same lines the girl used. It's a constant thing around here to have beggers coming up to you especially children. Every article I read states not to give them money because it doesn't help the situation. I'm still working on remembering that and just saying "NO" The next spot we went to was the Tuol Sleng Museum. This ...

... edgy when he says to get 2000USD from the ATM for our whole stay in Cambodia. Luckily we met a bloke in immigration (called IG from now on) that seems to know the score and, since i can see his passpot with business visa he seems legit, and he offers to try and get a share taxi for each of us for USB8. Sounds great..

So we walk out and are mobbed by people offering taxis, starting at 50USD for one person. IG says hah, no 25USD for all of us and walks off, me and Aly ...

... such treachery is still evident, and I think it's been a tough climb for this society to find itself in the world and get a sense of pride and identity.
Eventually I was dropped off in dusty, and poorly paved Siem Reap. I was told there were no ATMs here; what a bunch of BS from border swindlers. This was a tourist haven with hotels, tons of ATMs, and restaurants. It's all because of the ruins of Siem Reap, that it is what it is. They ...

... Raider which was amazing. Got caught in heavy downpours for about an hour so just chilled under a 500 year old cave! in the evening went to the town centre with some people from my hotel and got smashed.....bucket of whisky,red bull and coke seriously made me ill!


The second day.......more temple visiting.......this time the main temples whilst sweating out all the booze from the night before, soo painful! Lietrally covered in sweat because it was so hot. In the evening ...

... your visit to Siem Reap is as memorable as it is comfortable without being pestered in to buying something you do not require. Experience the best in personalised service with convenient facilities mixed with the warmth of Khmer hospitality.


#421 Sivatha Boulevard,
Siem Reap town,
Siem Reap Province,
Cambodia

500 meters from Old Marker, along front river, next to Sunrise Orphanage

... natured, harmless and quite polite, and that their relative poverty is somewhat responsible. I cannot say the same for kids in this country, however. I watched on the news, a few days ago, that Angelina Jolie, a famously rich celebrity has joined the bandwagon of others, such as Madonna and Sir Elton John, in wanting to adopt of child from poorer countries, in her case from Cambodia, to give it a better life. I think she's entirely missed the point.
Today was my ...

... Terrace of the Elephants, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Leper King, and also the smaller North Kleang and Prasats Suor Prat that were hardly visited by tourists. Anyone who watched the movie "Congo" will find the Gate of Angkor Thom or Bayon Temple to be very familiar.

We spent most of the time in the ...