Siem Reap

Forty hours in the coach and three hours trying to cross the border, the journey into Cambodia seemed to take forever!! The first part of the journey though wasn't too bad as we were in a luxury sleeper coach where we had our own beds and TV's playing the latest Laos pop!

Journeying through the country to get to Siem Reap we noticed Cambodia has tons of farm land with a bunch of houses on stilts in the rural areas so to avoid flooding on the wet season. You see people out working in the fields all day, anorexic cows and ox grazing and pulling ploughs while other people walk barefoot with scarves on their head to hide from the sun, watering the crops manually and using hand tools to do their work.

We arrived in the evening and went straight out to grab some dinner. The night market area of the city was surprisingly flashy with modern bars and restaurants. But this area of the city didn't resemble the rest of the city as away from the touristic part, it was hard not to notice the poverty. Cambodia has given us our first encounters with children who were begging for money.

Outside of the tourist areas they run along the fences saying, "monnnayy" and holding out their hands. "Money for food, money for school, money for food, money for school, can I have your water?" It's hard to keep walking past them but you know you can't possibly give money to all of them. Also women holding little babies with empty milk bottles asking for money to feed the baby, it was heartbreaking!