Cambodia: hey lady, you want to buy something?!

 Looking out the window of the bus as we arrived in Siem Reap, we saw a sign held up by a tuk-tuk driver reading, "Mr. Liz". Ly (Lee), the driver, got a big kick out of it when he realized that I was Liz, and not Dave. I had given my name to our really friendly, and persistent tuk-tuk driver in Phnom Phen who said his cousin worked up in Siem Reap. So, on the way to the hotel, we analyzed his driving skills, which were much more cautious and above par from past drivers, and thus, Ly became our driver for the whole time we have been here. He has taken us on two days of touring around the temples, including meeting us at 5am to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

Ly, Dave, and Liz with the tuk-tuk.

Our first temple stop was to see Phnom Bakaeng to catch the sun setting over Angkor Wat. We rode an elephant to the top of the hill where the temple was perched. Although we missed the actual sun set, we witnessed an incredible orange-lit sky.  It was great, minus the hundreds of people with the same idea.

photo by Dave

photo by Dave

The next morning we had a 4:30 wakeup, met Ly at 5am, and headed into Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. After some debate and scouting, we decided to follow the crowds into the temple to watch from there instead of seeing it from the outside.  There must have been at least a thousand people and I couldn't help but be impressed that so many people were up so ridiculously early. The crazy part, however, was that about 90 percent of them left before the sun actually came up. As there were was a hazy but cloudless sky, the sunrise itself was rather anti-climatic. but still left for an incredible sight.

watching the sunrise after the crowds left - photo by Dave

sunrise over Angkor Wat - photo by Dave

We've visited 10 temples over the last few days and have been blown away by the intricacy and details of the stone carvings. Built only about 900 years ago during the reign of Jayavarman VII, the remains of these temples are all that is left of his empire. It was interesting to learn that only stone and brick were used in buildings dedicated to the gods, so there are no remnants of the people who lived in the cities surrounding built with wood. Supposedly, in the prime of the city of Angkor Thom, over one million people lived there. Enormous trees have grown over top some of the stones in a few of the temples which is visually amazing (although, I'm sure, has played a huge role in the decay of these buildings).

Bayon Temple in Angkor Thom

Bayon Temple

Ta Prohm Temple

Pre Rup Temple

Preah Khan Temple

Preah Khan Temple - photo by Dave

Angkor Wat - photo by Dave

Ta Prohm Temple (used in Tomb Raider and way overcrowded)

 Siem Reap is built around the tourism industry. The town itself is lined with restaurants, massage parlors (which we have gotten every day for $5 each an hour!), souvenir market stalls, and tuk-tuk drivers. Everywhere we go, whether it is out of a temple, inside the gate of the temples, or anywhere in town, we are bombarded with people trying to sell us things, or people begging for money. From every direction you'll have people trying to get your attention and once they've got it, it's almost impossible to get rid of them, no matter how many times you say no thank you. The begging children are the worst as it is a normal reaction to want to help a child, but the parents have recognized this and have their kids begging for money or trying to sell you things from the age of 4, sometimes younger. This has been particularly difficult for me as I see these kids are losing their childhood. When we were in one of the smaller temples, a four year old girl approached me with some postcards. She proceeded to recite the numbers 1-10 in English, French, and then we did them together in Spanish. After, she thrusted her small hand out and said, "you buy this... Just one dollar". For the next five minutes or so, she would switch between playing as a four year old and then back into selling mode. We played tic-tac-toe, and did all sorts of sticking out your tongue tricks, which she really enjoyed, but then would remember and again try to sell me the cards. It was incredibly sad to see only the flashes of youth, especially at such a young age.

Liz and little girl paying tic-tac-toe - photo by Dave

Liz and Cambodian boys - photo by Dave

Liz with a group of children talking about school before they began begging for money - photo by Dave

I've never been so popular. Count the heads and then add a few for those children too small to see (not to mention the four surrounding Dave). They were all trying to sell bracelets to earn a dollar. - photo by Dave

Tomorrow, we will take a six hour boat ride down to Phnom Phen where we will have our last day before beginning our now 50 hour trip home. The airline changed our flight a few days ago, which now leaves a day early, drops us in South Korea for 27 hours, and then continues onto NYC, arriving in on the 19th. It's crazy that the trip is coming to a close. Time goes so quickly.

family in Angkor Thom

monk visiting Preah Khan

 

Dave and Liz in front of Angkor Wat

Cambodian barbeque

piglets being transported via motorbike