We woke at 4 a.m. and dressed quickly to meet our hired driver and guide who were waiting for us downstairs. It was still chilly out, which was a nice break from the Siem Reap heat that swallows everything up all day. The drive wasn’t too long, but it would have been wise to bring a jacket. Riding behind a motor scooter on not much more than a cart in the morning darkness can get a bit cold. We arrived at Angkor Wat just before sunrise – it was still twilight and you could just begin to see the silhouette of the massive towers appearing before the horizon. Our guide found us a spot to sit and take in the light coming up behind the temple. It was very quiet despite the small crowd and watching the colors slowly change across the ruins was rather stunning. It’s a popular thing to head out to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise, and we now know why. It made for a very peaceful morning.

The rest of the day our guide took us around to many of the 10th century temples throughout the area teaching us the history of the Angkor Empire, which he spoke proudly of. He was really informative and even pointed out the spots that Tomb Raider was filmed (Aan-ha-leena Ho-lee film here, movie!). He taught us about all the symbolism of the different reliefs, where the kings were buried and why, what happened when the empire fell, and how the Khmer Rouge used some of the temples as hideouts when their revolution finally fell apart. He was well worth the cost of a mere 20 bucks for the whole day. The temples of Angkor Wat truly is the 8th wonder of the world.

Back in Siem Reap we immediately found a quiet bar to cool off in and rest. It gets to be around 100 quite easily in places, so hiking the temples for 10 hours got a bit tiring. Siem Reap is just South of the temples. It used to be a small market town but it’s grown in to pretty big business in terms of the tourist scene. Everyone who comes to Southeast Asia tries to make it to these temples, and Siem Reap is really the only place to sleep and eat within many kilometers. So, the prices have risen quite a bit in the past few years, which the people here desperately need. Unfortunately, it’s obvious the money isn’t always getting in to the hands of the locals. The street begging, the homelessness, the 50% unemployment rate, the children selling odds and ends at 10 at night on a street corner, the prostitution. During our travels we have yet to see a city this size filled with such desperation. Siem Reap is a beautiful place, but it’s difficult to enjoy when you are immersed in such tragedy. It’s also easy to get angry when you see many of the restaurants and guesthouses are run by foreigners earning a killing, while their workers and drivers are earning 5 bucks a day. We haven’t figured out whether the tourism there really has been good for the people, and many locals were also unable to answer the question just the same.

We are told to say no when women and children beg us for money because giving it to them isn’t encouraging them to find the services to get them off the street. That, and you don’t know where that money is really going. It’s difficult, though, when young mothers carrying infants are begging you for what amounts to be a nickle while you, the tourist, are enjoying a quick shopping spree through the market. For David and I we have taken to offering food when these folks are begging us for money. As long as they say yes it means they are truly hungry, which means we must feed them. In terms of money it can be hard to say no, but you have to get used to it otherwise you become a part of the problem. We have been able to feed some women and children around the city, but of course it’s not nearly enough, and we don’t know what else to do. We are hoping to find a good volunteer network here before we leave for Vietnam.

We are in Phnom Phen now, the Capital city of Cambodia. The disparity between classes isn’t any better here, maybe even worse. There are men everywhere without work, and more and more child beggars in the street. You can’t walk out of the guesthouse without being touted for any number of things: A taxi ride, a postcard, a massage, jewelry, drugs, books, and even sex. Literally, as foreigners here, it can sometimes be a real challenge just to get down the street. We scream money just by the way we look, and to have any sort of fun here usually leads to a rather guilty feeling because of the tragedy that surrounds us.

We have seen some incredible things here since leaving Laos, but we have to say we aren’t exactly enjoying ourselves. Sure we have had some excellent food, been to the 8th wonder of the world, and toured some amazing museams, but we just can’t bring ourselves to say “Wow, I really like it here.” It would be like going to the holocaust museam in Washington DC and at the end of the tour you say, ”That was great!” Instead, you don’t know what to say. You certainly didn’t hate it, but you wouldn’t say you enjoyed it, either. It’s that feeling of having to learn something that just should never have to be learned. So far, for me, that’s Cambodia.

We leave tomorrow for the Southern Coast of this little country. We need a break from these cities so we will be searching for some quiet islands – a place to reflect on all the tragedy we just witnessed and maybe a chance to think about how best we can help. Hopefully the next blog will be a bit more cheery.

By the way, we broke a camera, then lost a camera, then went without internet access for a bit. Sorry for the delay in postings. Between now, the islands down south, and Christmas in Hanoi, you should be hearing from us much more often now that things are back in order.

And speaking of Christmas, think about tossing a few bucks over this way to help feed some folks this year. There is a great organization (or so I am told) working to get kids off the street here in Cambodia called FRIENDS. Talking to some of the NGO workers it sounds like their bosses here live simply and don’t take the money to live in extravagant French villas (sadly, there is a history here of many NGO leaders living quite comfortably, while their workers get little to support themselves and their goals of ’saving the children’ are often unmet). Their website is http://www.friends-international.org/ if you would like to learn more.

Until next time….