Hope you had enjoyed reading about my Siem Reap's Roadtrip. The below 5 days trip formed my most intensive entries of 2009. I took such a long time to upload, cos i spent time writing & editing to ensure info are accurate & succinct. Facts are extracted from 'Siem Reap Angkor Visitors Guide' ~ a canbypublication & wikipedia website.
If you are interested in travelling to Siem Reap, there's a few things to note. As in going to anywhere, one needs to be vigilant and street-smart. It's relatively safe in Siem Reap's city area as we saw many police patrolling at night. However do not take things for granted. There's no sense of proper traffic directions & one needs to be extra cautious in crossing the roads. During your visit to the temples, it's advisable to wear a top that cover your shoulders & pants/jeans that cover your knees as these are still holy places for the Khmers. Jeans are really gd to protect myself from abrasions while climbing up & down the temples! A pair of comfy track shoes is essential as you need to walk alot to maximise your temple pass, haha! The temples' steps are not only steep but sandy, hence proper shoes is crucial. There's many cases of tourists who fell to death at diff temples, so lots of luck is needed too!
If you ask me my tots from this trip... it's certainly insightful & it seems that i had went on a history & cultural tour. What i had taken away from the trip is far more than i tot... Thru'out our journey, we were constantly 'hounded' by street kids who peddled their handmade bracelets, postcards, scaves etc.... i find that despite their young age, these kids are really smart! Looking at how the kids talk to strangers & make small talk, such as asking ''where r u from?'' and using techniques such as, ''buy from me when you are out!'' etc... I'm impressed. Comparing a similar age urban kid & a rural kid, i really do not know who is the more fortunate one. As an urbanite, we grew up in a comfy & sheltered environment but we may not be that happy. In contrary, rural kids are only after the basic amentities & are easily satisfied even if juz some sweets from visitors.
Remember our cute boat-boy? On our car ride back, Rany told us the boy works to support his family too... his older sister works at the harbour earning a few dollars per mth. In a developing country, like Cambodia... rural families have many kids cos they want their children to work & help out the family's dire situation. As long as the rural kids learn to walk, they are already 'destined' to learn how to make a living, be it to plow the fields or peddle their wares. As we listened intently to Rany, we felt sorry & sad for the boy.... As one can never change history, i guess the passport to break out of poverty is a tertiary education. World Vision has a ''Child Sponsorship Programme'' for children in developing nations. If your situation allows, can consider signing up thru' World Vision. Frankly, if i'm financially stable, I will like to join too & this tot was way bef my trip.
Should you need to find a reliable & experience guide, do consider our dear Rany! He had been guiding for 8 years and enjoys photography! Thanks to him, we do not need to waste time in locating good photography spots... This is my first photography trip using my SLR and i hope to continuously improve my skills... i really enjoy sharing wif you guys my point of view thru' my lens. One last thing, i had broke the 300 postings milestone on Dreamer's Blog over a 3 years period. Thank u for your support!
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