I spent two days wandering the Angkor Temples and nearly melted in the process. It’s A difficult place to describe and most of my reactions consisted “oh my god”. Not very inventive I know, but it is astonishing that the temple remains have been standing since the 11 & 12th centuries. Moreover, the fact that nearly every stone has been carved by hand and so intricately is phenomenal. Eventhough these temples are quite serene at each one you are accosted by children wanting to sell you anything from woven wrist bands to t-shirts and that’s where you really see how confronting the poverty can be here.

It is a shock to the system if you haven’t travelled SE Asia before. Siem Reap was very hot and humid on arrival and the dust and dirt is a little overwhelming. If you are expecting anything like home then you will get a huge shock. Traffic, roads, food hygiene, rubbish collection or anything that we take for granted is not a priority. I read a travel blog about safely eating in Cambodia, and they suggested that if kitchen hygiene wasn’t up to standard then avoid eating in that establishment or food stall. Seriously, how arrogant could you get if you demanded to see the quality of the food preparation here. I don’t think you will do yourself any favors if you were to constantly be comparing home to here. It’s so much better to accept that things are different and enjoy it all or stay home!

What can be disturbing to many travellers is the tourist mecca that Siem Reap has become, means you can be bombarded with only tourists doing touristy things with blatant disregard for the locals. Large tour groups are the worst for this, and backpackers that only seem interested in getting shit faced as quickly as possible on the ridiculously cheap booze…you could be forgiven for thinking that you had arrived at school is week. Of course alongside this, is the begging and prostitution often involving children. Lonely Planet will not tell you any of this in the guide books, but it happens and sadly it is quite pronounced in the tourist spots. You are advised not give money to the begging children as this will mean they won’t go to school…That’s what Lonely Planet says…..but it doesn’t take a genius to realize that in such a developing country the men driving brand new Range Rovers and Lexus 4wds are not making their money from selling road side noodles. The kids give their money to someone higher up the food chain who probably controls a number of other businesses including road side stalls and other less legitimate enterprises. There are of course many businesses that do so much good for the local economy and people (my hostel being one of them), but it would be wrong and ignorant to ignore the other side of the growing tourist market herein Siem Reap.

Speaking of growing tourist markets….the growing concensus among people I have met is that Americans are the loudest and most painful tourists. Imagine Kuta in Bali with Aussie Bogan but replace with American accents. (My apologies to my US friends….but this is what I’m hearing around the traps)…the only annoying travellers to me, are those that think it’s OK to Skype in the middle of the night or turn lights on to pack backpacks at the Crack of dawn all while in a shared dorm room….a bit of consideration doesn’t go astray.

Anyway I’m now in Battambang which is far more chilled out and just had a bone shattering trip on the Bamboo railway….this is too much fun!