SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
DECEMBER 26, 2000
Made it to Siem Reap by boat. The boat wasn't too bad, I climbed up on the top, and wrapped a t-shirt around my head to avoid being sunburned. It was the best ride in Cambodia. Boat travel is really the way to go. I arrived in Siem Reap on Christmas Eve, so myself and a Dutch traveler climbed to the top of the Bayon Temple in Angkor Wat to watch the sunset across the ancient lands of the Cham Empire. Christmas was spent in a similar way, just wandering around and throughout the ruins throughout the day.
Anyone traveling Angkor Wat has the options of a one-day, three-day, or one-week pass. They cost $20/40/60 respectively. I hired a moto (small motorcycle) driver to bring me around the ruins. They can be hired for $6/day. They know the ruins, and while you are exploring them, they patiently wait outside mingling with the other moto drivers.
I was quite surprised at the large numbers of tourists at Angkor Wat. I hardly expected such large numbers. I was also surprised at how much the entire town of Siem Reap (just outside of the ruins) is so dependent on tourism. Its a nice little town, and entirely dependent on foreigners for the livlihood. This actually gave me a sense of relief, as the country of Cambodia has seen so much fighting over the last 25 years, that I think most everyone only wants peace at any costs. Many of the villians of the Khmer Rouge still wander around free, without punishment of their crimes, and I think its mainly because most Cambodians just don't want to be at war anymore. Just allow those criminals peace as a way to end of all of the massive amounts of bloodshed that has plaqued this country for the last 25 years.
Some interesting things about Cambodia, is it uses the US Dollar for its currency. Anything less than a dollar is given in Cambodian Rupees. Most things that are over a dollar are quoted in dollars. All of the banks give you dollars as well. It was pretty strange to see the US Dollars so far from its native hand, especially as it seemed to have become the legal tender of common people in this country.
Also, while in Cambodia, I went out on Christmas Day. Incidently, in Asia, Christmas is a day of binge drinking and partying. The Asian New Year (which will fall on January 23rd this year) is the time for families to come together.
One of the more interesting things I discovered at the local disco, was the way people dance. I don't even know if I would call it dancing. They basically take three steps forward and then three steps backwards, hands hanging limply to their sides. They aren't any particularly special steps, just a normal walk-like step. One of my traveler friends explained to me, I don't know if its true or not, but that Cambodian people have been so ravished by wars, and so many people denied any education whatsoever throughout Pol Pot's reign of the countryside, that people were just extremely simple. Many times, adults were like children. They also often exhiborated a childlike innocence to them.
One of the more sadder parts of Cambodia though, is the active pedophile abuses done to this country. I didn't go out at night in Phnom Pehn, but a few other travelers I'd met had, and they told me their was so many child prostitutes and active pedaphiles who preyed on them. I didn't go out in that city, but in Siem Reap I did notice that alot of the disco goers were young adults, and it kind of felt like a high school dance or something. It also had that kind of simplicity or naivity to it.
The other thing I noticed in the disco, and later in my hotel room, is something located in the bathroom. Once I observed it once, I observed it everywhere. There is a large 1970's Welcome Back Kotter comb with hole going through the handle. The hole in the comb had a string attached to it, and then would somehow connected to the wall, so it would dangle down across the mirror. A public comb! While in the disco, I noticed the local Cambodian guys would take turns using the one public comb tied and dangling on the wall.
Read the Next Journal Entry again in Siem Reap, Cambodia:
December 28, 2000
You can email me at:
Wintermoon2@yahoo.com