Access to Cambodia was an easy one; there is a modern airport in Siem Reap with very efficient Visa line. It's quite understandable as the more or less only industry is tourism around the Angor Wat. The country is very much recovering from it's bloody history, with high corruption, loads of landmines still around and the child labour and prostitution everywhere. It's an automatic guilt trip for a lutherian; how come I have so much of everything while these people don't have anything, including too often even the arms and legs. I understood that 75% of ticket income goes to the black hole of financial ministry, and at the same time much of the national heritage is sold away to foreign businessmen in shady deals. For some reason the Koreas have a specific interest to the area; they even got a permission to build to railroad in the temple area so that the main attractions could be viewed without sweating. Due to local and international uproar that project is now on hold, and hopefully stays that way. There is an estimated 2 million tourists every year, with the peak around the dry months. Now during the monsoon season there are not too many tourists; hotels have much free space and there is even too much attention from the various sellers of goods and Tuk Tuk drivers. Children especially are selling water and books everywhere; they are asked to do this while not in school. One positive thing around this is that many children speak quite good English; if they can avoid some darker venues of business maybe there is a brighter future ahead.

 

City of Siem Reap tastes and feels like true Asia; especially now during the monsoon season. Streets are muddy, there are foof booths and markets everywhere, and then a bit isolated bars for foreigners with more western menus. Drinking angor beer and watching the rain fall during a dark night and a thunderstorm gives you the righ feeling. There is a bar street< many of the places still have the atmosphere of the war days; loads of amarican crap, free pool tables, and girls who laugh to your shitty jokes and tempt to order that one more jug of beer. Loads of shopping available, but it's very much limited to t-shirts, books and handcrafted items. Even most of the shops looik and feel to be run by others than Cambodians.

 

The temples of course are quite amazing, we started one rainy evening by watching the Angor Wat by a mountain top. Next day we had a driver to take us to Angor Thom, with its 100 faces, some smaller temples close by, and to one where they shot parts of the Tomb Raider movie. The high light being the Angor Wat itself. amazing to think that city of over 1 million existed here and was then eaten by the jungle and forgotten. Many of the restoration projects are run by other countries than Cambodia; some more succesful and responsiblr than others. Some have even done more damage than actual restoration. I really can't say why I wanted to come here for so many years; but now it's done and over with. Definitely a serious world heritage site, but also a sad experience due to state of Cambodia itself.

 

As the next thing to due there is also the floating village; you get a package trip with your own boat to take you around. There is indeed a tribe living on the big lake, moving downstream during the dry season. The bad part is that it's more like a floating ghetto, with extremely poor people trying to live their lives there. And there are couple of floating tourist gift shops in the middle and a continuous stream of tourist boats with their cameras flashing. An absurd experience; not saying I'm an inch better or worse than any other tourist there. Maybe a trip not worth doing, you can see my pics of that and skip it.

 

Today was a sleeping day; late breakfast in Red Piano. trying to book a hotel in Bangok, 3$ haircut in somne shag while watching the news from the Russia. It's weird to live in a country that is in war. Especially in a war with so many opinions about it; of course I try to stand for Russians as western media treats them with their own propaganda. No matter how things stand, one thing I'm quite sure about. With country as big as Russia, and with such a versatile history, black and white option, or good or bad setting doesn't really exist. Living room experts with their Fox news based opinions could read some Dostojevsky first =)

 

That's it, too hot to go outside, but maybe I risk for the next ice cream stall. And post office, some people wish to receive post cards outside of their usual hunting grounds. Baka.