siem reap

we traveled from phnom penh to siem reap yesterday. Traveling in cambodia is always a dicey prospect. you never know what you are going to get and there's no regulation or guarantees. i guess you're guaranteed to get where you're going eventually--but that's about it. the bus that we bought tickets for was advertised as a double-decker with bathroom, AC, and "breakfast". when we got on we realized that there was no bathroom--no surprise really, "breakfast"was a small bottle of water, and after the first hour of the trip they turned off the AC, pretending that it was broken. you just have to laugh and give up any illusions of controlling your situation that you may be harboring.

siem reap is beautiful though. it's much more low key than phnom penh--which can be a bit overwhelming and claustrophobic after a while. the village architecture is very french influenced, it's funny, you feel a little bit like you're on a movie set--this tourist town has just been thrown up in the middle of this arid dry country. i know that the town existed before the khmer rough took power--but i think it must have been re-built for the tourists in the last 20 years or so.

there are so many children begging on the street everywhere you go. i have a bit of a hard time with it because these kids are 5, 6 years old... many of them have infants strapped to their sides. i know that it is a business, begging is a lifestyle, and there is a lot of literature that says it is not a good idea to give the street children money. they may be on drugs, they may be working for an adult, it's hard to tell. it also feeds into the cycle of begging. i still don't know how i feel about it... i think it must be very difficult to find work or support your family if you've lost your legs or sight or hands to a landmine. and isn't begging a job? it's not providing the community persay, but it's still work.

last night while we were on our way to dinner this crew of three jubilant kids approached us. the two boys were probably 7 and 8, and the girl was maybe 6. they walked along with us and sang out, "hello"again and again. they danced and showed off their karate moves. one boy broke a piece cardboard with his head and then grabbed emerson around the waist and danced along with him. they were really funny and happy and the whole way they kept on picking up plastic bottles and cans and filling canvas sacks that they had slung over their shoulders. the older boy picked me for a softie and kept on pointing to his mouth and saying "yum yum!" the little girl was shyer, she mostly just smiled and said "hello!" soon we got to the restaurant but i wanted to buy them something to eat--it's a better idea than giving them money. they knew this cause this is their MO so when i started to walk towards the convenience store next to the restaurant they all broke into grins and yelled out, "coca-cola!" coke seemed like a really crappy and wrong thing to buy them for too many reasons, but i caved and bought them three cokes and a package of dinner roles. they were stoked but the woman at the store frowned and told us that the children were vietnamese. i guess there's age-old sore feelings there.

at the restaurant we watched traditional apsara dance which was so beautiful and graceful. then we bought a bowl of stinky dead fish for 50 cents and fed the crocodiles that they had in a pit. they were crocodiles or alligators--i always get them mixed up. they were smallish and just lay there around the pool with their mouths open... so still they looked fake, but i guess they can jump.