Cambodia, the Final Frontier: Siem Reap

Border crossing hell= mini van to the boarder where a "guide" met us.  Well our guide was young, arrogant and had a bit of an attitude.  I found him untrustworthy and felt like he was always trying to take advantage of the situation and get as much money out of us as possible.  After leaving the boarder with a bitter taste in my mouth I finally found myself on my way to Siem Reap in a taxi with two travelers from the Republic of Georgia.

Transporting pigs, they are alive!

On first arrival I noticed that everything was very dusty and everybody seems to get around on motorbikes or bicycles and sometimes loaded on the back of trucks. All along the road to Siem Reap were motorcycles with pigs tied on their backs, two to a motorcycle, or 3 dozen birds tied by one leg or sometimes even an ox or horse with legs tied together on some sort of cart on  the back of a bike.  On first look they seemed dead until I saw a couple kicking and moving.  Welcome back to the third world I thought...and loved it.

First impressions of Siem Reap and Cambodia, I was surprised by how developed the infrastructure was, like the main roads, not to say they are anything comparable to the western world.  Geographically Cambodia is very flat, except for the southwest region, which surprised me so the roads are paved, straight and easy to negotiate, just don't hit, bikes, kids, animals, motorcycles or any other road block. 

I found Cambodia like Thailand has a very developed tourism economy in comparison to other places.  They have many easy to use tour agency's (though you need to watch out they can rip you off but that's the way the game goes) that only focus or mostly cater to travelers.  This seems to isolate the travelers from the locals at times, more so than in South America.  People seem to show less interest in the backpackers and it is more difficult to interact and feel excepted.

The people of Cambodia seem to be wonderfully friendly and smiley and a pleasure to talk to much of the time but they can also become short, arrogant and hostile at other times.  If money for tourist services is involved they often try to take advantage and can use sarcastic and rude comments.  If you say you don't need or want their service on multiple occasions I was told "fine then do it yourself," which I was trying to do anyways.  Also, on a daily bases in Siem Reap you are accosted by tuk tuk drivers asking if you need one.  If you politely say no they don't stop and then ask you about tomorrow, if you just say no they will respond with a sarcastic "no, thank you"and if you say nothing at all they get louder and more rude.  They do not understand how to back off.  They consistently hassle you no matter what whether it's for a tuk tuk, food, drink, post cards, books, etc.  If I want what you have I will find you!!!  It is possible to walk past a line of tuk tuk's tell the first no politely, the second no again and the third no and you will still be asked by the fourth and fifth in line. WTF?

The city of Siem Reap itself is nothing more than a small town with the center catered to the tourists.  The day market, the night market, the food stalls the bars and the restaurants are all battling for your patronage like the tuk tuks.  It becomes overwhelming and annoying most of the time.  Mostly Siem Reap is the city that is the jumping off point for the amazing temples including the famous Angkar Wat.

Additionally it is at night that the children come out to beg and try and sell you bootlegged books.  Both the children and the women with babies and empty bottles are trying to make money off of you.  One woman asked for money for formula and a guy bought her a 10 dollar bottle of formula and when he gave it to her she ran and we were told by the shop keeper she returns it at another shop.  If you buy anything you need to open it so they can't return it.

The children additionally try to sell you stuff and won't leave you alone or they try and touch you, (watch your wallet) and look really sad and helpless so you give them money for food.  I tried offering food to one but he didn't want food.  It's hard to not trust children but many are brought up to scam travelers.  They are not begging for themselves or selling books for themselves but for someone else around the corner.  Seeing these sights makes you feel bad but I know that supporting this behavior only hurts it in the long run.  You are better off giving your money to an organization that can help. 

My first full day in Siem Reap I spent  wandering the town to the market buying silver bracelets, my weakness, and stumbling on the Angkor Artisans which is a fair trade school where they teach locals to make traditional stone carvings and wood carvings as well as silk paintings and silk weaving.  You can tour the workshop and watch them create intricate details.  At the end there is a shop where you can buy the products.  It was all very impressive and beautiful, but a bit pricey, but that is fair trade.

Artisan carving a statue

In the shop I noticed a free shuttle to their silk farm/factory as well so I visited and watched how they make silk and how they weave amazing time consuming patterns on intricate looms.  All of the workers were extremely friendly and nice and it allowed me to notice the difference in attitude between those being taught and learning a skill that allows them to make a fair wage and income to those who feel abandoned and like they deserve more.  

Overall I am liking the more third world aspect of Cambodia but am having mixed feelings about the people and how they deal with tourism and the begging.  I feel I am constantly being overcharged and they are always trying to get money and rip you off.  When they look at you they see dollar signs, not people.

Siem Reap Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/linseypaddock/SiemReap?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDrorXh3OSA6wE&feat=directlink