Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

It's getting harder and harder to know how to start a blog.... with all the countries and places we've been to so far, it feels contrived to say something like "This is SO amazing, etc etc".  But it's true.  Siem Reap is beautiful, developing, and so charming. And the temples of Angkor Wat that lie surrounding this city (which is a term I use loosely as the tallest building in Siem Reap is, I think, maybe 6 floors) are not amazing, but Stunning.  They make the Great Wall seem like a rather mundane but big public works project.  The enormity, grandeur, complexity, and detail of these temples are truly mind-boggling, to imagine these efforts having commenced over a thousand years ago almost unimaginable.  I overheard a tour guide telling a couple yesterday how people were born and died working on solely on these temples, which were the edict of the reigning king.  Built as alternating testaments of faith to Hinduism and Buddhism, there are constructed in different styles, each of which unique, all of them extremely heavy --- blocks upon blocks of sandstone and limestone, carved and assembled towards the skies.  Though we almost were templed-out yesterday (or was it the 6 AM start and biking in 35C heat), we know in the 3 full days we have we'll only have seen a few more than the basic set of Angkor temples.

Angkor Wat entrance

We arrived here after (another) long day of traveling, from the island of Koh Chang to the international border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, and another unearthly (but so-of-the-pot-holed-unpaved-earth) ride from the hellish Casino-infested Cambodian border town of Poipet to delightful Siem Reap.  Nick and I thought we had finished toughing out bus rides --- little did we know we had one more in store after Burma.  But good thing we DID have our experience in Burma, where riding for 12 hours on a school bus sans suspension system over unpaved dirt roads was extensively longer than the mere 5 hours we endured from Poipet.  A few truths ring clearly as we travel between these countries at various state of development, but one resonates the loudest:  Poor is poor.  It doesn't matter if you live in a country that does not care to develop itself (Burma) to another where the country is incredibly developed but still experiences the occaisional military coup and ousted Prime Minister and national voting day to adopt a new Constitution (which we coincidentally were there for -- Thailand) to another country that is ridden with landminds, experienced a genocide only 50 years ago and is now trying to get on its feet (Cambodia).  Poor is poor.  If you live in a hut you live in a hut; if it's made out of bamboo and palm leaves it's a lot like your Burmese/Cambodian/Thai neighbors grass hut.  If you wash your clothes and bathe in the small pond on the side of the road in front of your home, you probably also have a hard -- if not impossible -- time sending your children to school  The only difference, in my opinion, is the hope that you may have of your country improving, of opportunities increasing.  This difference never felt as palpable as it did when we crossed from one country to into another.

Small World....

During the last 3 days we were in Burma, the junta doubled the price of gasoline.  We were told this news on the dreary rainy day in Kinpun when we were desperately trying to get out of that depressing village.  At first we thought they were trying to get a few more thousand kyat from us, but then realized that no, it's more likely the government has pulled some overnight hike.  For us this meant an extra $0.75-1.50 / long distance bus ticket or taxi to the airport, but I can't even imagine what it means to your average local.  In general, tourists rarely receive currency notes less than 50 -- all foreigner prices are in increments of hundreds; but we saw 10's and 20's in the donation boxes at the temples.  There is clearly another set of prices for a local.  With the price of gasoline doubling when it is already subsidized by its own government, you can imagine how poor the people already are.  We saw yesterday on the BBC (OMG international uncensored news!!), there have been protests in Yangon, apparently starting a day or two before we left -- but it was unnoticed by us because it was only a few hundred.  But a few hundred people protesting in Burma IS a big deal and one that should certainly be recognized as this military dictatorship has quickly arrested any agitators in the past.  While the talking heads are calling this a movement towards democracy, I think the average Burmese person's concern is a little less 'visionary' and a bit more focused on keeping their several children fed.  But of course, I could very well be wrong.

Sunset from the first night in Siem Reap

Another way to evaluate the state of a country's wealth is by the number and general health of the dogs that abound --- on Koh Chang, there were far fewer stray dogs and they were able to pick up enough scraps to keep their steps lively.  The stray dogs in Burma were downright scary, the crazy look in their eyes reflecting their starvation.  Here in Siem Reap, being a UNESCO monitored city, I can't even remember seeing a stray dog.  But I would imagine them being fewer and much healthier than in Burma.  In the US, the Pet industry is one of the fastest growing and not that I can recall the value of this market but it's in the billions.  And our American dogs even get fancy rich-dog illnesses like heart disease and high cholesterol.

Ta Prohm