Day 10 Siem Reap/Angor Temples

Hello friends,

I am so sorry to distress everyone with my sober report on Siem Reap. I am amazed with the awe-inspiring ruins and learning a ton about the old empire, but the oppressive heat and humidity make it hard to enjoy. Every time I go back to the car, I am assaulted by the children -- and Laura yes, they do like to cite the capitals of countries. "Miss, where you from?" "I am from the US but I am Japanese." "Washington DC is capital of USA." "Yes, you are very smart." "Do you want to buy cold drink/pants/book/postcard, etc etc" Sigh. I wish I could give each of these kids a dollar, but then I"d REALLY be swarmed.

My driver is very nice, but it's hard to communicate with his broken English. I was able to find out that he is from Siem Reap and has been a driver for about 10 years. He lives in the coutryside with his wife who also works, and his two sons, 12 and 4. I asked him what his 12 year old wants to be when he grows up, and his response was that his son is lazy and does not like to do homework. Kon goes home after work and tries to teach his son English, but he's not interested. They seem to have a modest life, and said that he wanted his kids to go to private school but it's too expensive. I was thinking, you make $25 a day driving tourists like me around, that's can't be too bad in Cambodia...

Kon took me to a few more temples, and I broke down and bought a Lonely Planet Cambodia from one of the kids. She said it was a photocopy, but it is a pretty darn good copy. I think she may have made a mistake and confused a real book with a copy. Anyway, I feel much less "lonely" with my Lonely Planet now.

Kon said that I can watch the sunset from the mountain, so I set off on a little hiking trail winding up a mountain (hill, really). I met a Swiss couple (actually the guy's an Aussie but he lives in Zurich right now) on the way up, and we chatted for a while. They told me about their cheap guest house (they are only paying $3.50/nt when I am paying $20!) and that they rented bikes from their guest house. Of course, they have a week in Angor to my 2.5 days, but I was starting to realize that I am paying way way way too much for my experience here.

I got home and researched a place for dinner in town, and headed to Khmer Kitchen Restaurant off of a small alley. I was starving -- I ordered lychee juice, a liter of bottled water, and the Amok again, this time with chicken. The most hysterical thing was that the waiter brought me someone else's entree (veggie lab with tofu) but I didn't know what my dish was supposed to look like so I started eating that and he didn't come by until I was halfway finished! So I got to try 2 entrees for the price of one. This restaurant was much tastier than the lunch I had, which is probably why that place was empty and this one was packed.

The main drag of the Psar Chaa district is called "Bar Street" now that tourism brought new bars and restaurants to the area. I guess the streets didn't used to have names (they still don't have pavement) but tourism is improving things around here. As Laura posted in the previous day's comments, this is the NICEST part of Cambodia -- which makes me really scared to see any more of the rest of this country. The streets are kind of dark and I felt a bit uncomfortable walking around by myself at night, but I walked briskly and with purpose and was able to shake off the 7 tuk tuk and motorbike guys offering me a ride. I took the best shower of my life when I got home and lay down to read more of my Lonely Planet.

But what really happened was I passed out. I guess all the stair climbing, walking and general heat is really tiring me out. Even though $20/nt is alot for this area, I like my clean sheets, my BBC World News and CNN, and the air-con!

I got up this morning with a heavy heart. Some of the people I talked to at the restaurant last night said I should fire my driver and tour guide and get an English speaking guy to ride me around on his motorbike for $8/day instead. The thing is, I thought that the tour guide was going to be the driver of his own vehicle... but he's not. Paying $25/day for each makes it $50/day, and I really can't afford that for 3 days. I didn't have a way to get in touch with these guys last night, so I had to talk to them this morning. I explained my predicament and apologized profusely, knowing that they may not get work for the day. I paid Kon for his time yesterday and hope that because it's high season, they will get a call from the Tour Guide Association for another tourist. Conveniently, a motorbike driver was hanging out in front of my hotel, and he agreed to take me around. This whole thing was a bit sketchy (too convenient, don't you think) but I am saving $42/day with my new friend, so I was happy.

I thought it was going to be a lot less comfortable on the back of a motorbike, but it's quite breezy and feels good. I spent 2.5 hours at Angor Wat today and took tons of pictures. Kon was right -- there are tons of Korean tourists, and they are kind of rude, yelling at each other and other tourists. I had several men shoo me out of their photos, but two of them took my hand and included me in their photo, and offered to take picutres of me as well. Climbing the main structure (the steps are about knee high -- it's not an easy road to heaven!), I met a young Korean guy who asked me to take a picture of him as I crawled up the stairs. He offered to do the same when I realized it's going to be much harder going DOWN than going up. I was thinking, am I in Cambodia or in Mexico walking down the steps of Teotihuacan!? These ancient folks must have had tiny feet and really long legs, or it's a universal rule that monuments must be difficult to go up and down. Give it 10 years and there may be ski-lift looking things installed around here.

The really amazing thing here is the tranquility of the grounds. Other than the swarms of tourists, the sounds of the palm fronds waving in the wind are so soothing, and the cooing of pigeons inside the porticos are really spiritual. I am not a fan of the moist sandstone (think of that dusty smell of the sidewalk right as it starts raining) mixed with bird poop smell inside the temples, but they are often masked by the incense burning in front of the headless Buddha images. I am really starting to like that burning incense smell -- reminds me of my grandma offering incense every morning to my great-grandmother's mini-Buddha shrine. Okay, so I am hping you are kind of getting the feeling of being in the ruins.

As you can imagine, I took tons of photos so my battery died. I had my new driver take me back to the hotel and decided to grab lunch. I read about a place called Cambodian Village Support Group restaurant, right behind my hotel, which is a Japanese-funded NGO. They fund lots of projects, and this one is a training restaurant for kids who are orphaned, homeless or have disabled parents. The girls greeted me in Japanese and bowed politely, offering me a menu and asking what I would like to drink. When I responded in English, they seemed confused, but they seemed impressed that I speak both Japanese and English (but one asked me if I speak Khmer and I had to say no). The food was tasty and the girls were adorable. There were photos showing all the projects the CVSG supports, from HIV/AIDS projects in the remote areas to this restuarnt and other training programs. It's good to see Japanese money impacting these kids in a direct way! I got a tear in my eye reading about the projects and seeing the photos.

Speaking of eating, the Khmer mosquitoes love my blood. I got about 8 mosquitoes on my left elbow while typing this blog. I may get malaria right in my hotel without going out to any swampland! OMG it is raining like a monsoon now!!! I don't think my motorbike buddy is going to drive in this rain -- or is he!? Of course, I have a white shirt on and no rain jacket.

Oh I had another culture shock moment today, while riding on the motorbike. I so wanted to take a picture but I don't dare let go while the bike is in motion. I heard the bleating of pigs behind me, and when the motorbike passed, I saw that there were two full-grown pigs laying on the seat behind the motorbike driver -- they are laid on their backs, with their legs in the air, secured by bungee cords. Really! The poor piggies occasionally bleat and snort, as I can't imagine it's a comfortable way to ride. Then again, I don't think the driver is all that worried about their comfort as they are going to be dinner for someone soon. I won't be eating pork today. :-(

More reports to come tomorrow -- I am supposed to see the sunrise over the ruins and I am psyched!

love,
asami :-)