It is just so depressing to be in this country and see some of the things that go on here. To think that we are only about 200 miles south of Thailand in a country that i loved and saw so much happiness and promise in. Having spent some time now in Cambodia I am truly starting to understand the meaning of a 3rd world country. We are still in Siem Reap which is the 2nd largest city in Cambodia. Having traveled down a dirt road for over 4 hours, there is no chance of it getting paved any time soon. The people we talked to about the road said that it has been that way for years. There is no such thing as gas stations. All gas is sold out of liter bottles. You see the most depressing road side stands with gas to be sold.
As you should know or will read an a blog soon, we spent most of our time at Angkor Wat. An amazing display of 100's and 100's of temples. Of the $20 dollar fee we paid to go see Angkor Wat, 70 percent of our ticket goes to the government. This country is overrun by corruption, you see it every step you take. Everyone is trying to one up each other, as to not get fucked over by the government. We see police harassing businessmen and cab drivers for money. We saw our own Tut-Tut driver get cornered by 2 policemen. The stalls that are set up outside the temples by locals to buy there goods must pay off the government and the police in order to keep there place. One man told me that the police make him pay 3 dollars a day to keep his stall or else it will get torn down.
I mean my heart just goes out to this horrible way of living and endless cycle of corruption. As you would have seen in the video i posted about the temple beggars, tons and tons of kids just rush up to you begging for money. Begging you to buy something from them, every single one of them try and claim it is to go to school. So somewhere you have to think rationally. Are they really selling goods to go to school, or do they just know you are more likely to buy if they say this? This picture is of 3 kids standing at a fence just begging for money. They positioned themselves in the best place to pull on your heart string because they are at a fence that borders the killing fields (which we will get into soon). But they didn't stop. "Give me money for my family" "Give me money so i can eat" "my family will starve to death" "give me money for school" "please mister, you have money, help out my family" Where do scams stop and love begins i ask you?
I tried to make friends with the kids, i tried to smile at them. One major difference between here and Thailand is happiness and bowing. No one smiles in this country, no one. So at the very least i try to smile alot and say "have a nice day". And surprisingly, I have gotten a few smiles in return. Sometimes just waving at someone or patting a kid on the head bringing a smile. As for bowing, in Thailand it is an art and tradition. In Cambodia it seems they do it only to fake something or mock you.
Below is a picture of 2 girls, normally running after you trying to sell you goods. When i approached and interrupted there game, they jumped up to sell me something. I just wanted to learn what game it was they were playing with only rocks and sand. But to them i am another white guy with lots of money.
We were walking through one of the temples and i came across 2 little kids, all alone. The girl couldn't have been older than 2 and the boy older than 4. Just sitting there all by themselves with a basket of bracelets. They were trying to sell 3 bracelets for 1 dollar. At first glance, i went up and took the moment to take a few photo's. It was a precious moment of a big brother looking after his sister. And then i think. "Where the fuck are there parents!" It is at this moment that i notice a problem. The girl is sobbing. I mean full eyes of tears, dripping all the way down her face, sobbing. What do you do? Why is the girl crying? DO you give them money out of pity? I tried to ask the boy what was wrong with his sister, why she was crying. And he paused. But wouldn't answer. He just kept saying, "3 for a dollar, 3 for a dollar". How do you think that plays on perspective? Frankly i could give away every possession i own, every dollar i have and still be better off than them.
And you wanna get into the dark side... Every hotel we go into claims that if you partake in the "sex trade" you will be ejected from the hotel. But really, there was a condom on my nightstand, so something has to be going wrong. The Lonely Planet travel book says that it is common for parents to sell there children for sex. That selling a girl for her virginity is common. When parents can't support themselves, when they are forced on hard times they stuup as low as selling there own children!!! I mean, WHAT THE FUCK. Do you even feel decent reading this anymore? Cause i don't even feel human writing this stuff. It is just outright depressing.
During the 70's and 80's Cambodia did what few people were willing to stop and what destroyed alot of there current history. Genocide became a way of life. The Khmer Rouge's main philosophy, "To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss." And honestly, i think most of Cambodia's society is just fighting to get away from this horrible history.
Finally, as you walk down the tourist streets of downtown Siem Reap, you pass random mothers with there kids just laying on the ground. And what are they doing, they are begging for money to take care of there children. And if i could scream from the top of my lungs.... I would tell them to pick up there children off the concrete and go home. And if i knew they would never lay there child on the ground again, i would pay them 1000 dollars. But there is no guarantee in life, this is how a mother has chosen to live her life and support her children. 
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