Back in Time...
Our two-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Siem Reap, Cambodia was short, however when we landed within miles and miles of rice paddy fields we felt like this short flight took us back into time – back 100 years. We were unable to communicate with our airport driver and en route to the Le Meridien Hotel we saw a country that is mostly unchanged from today’s technology. The rural Cambodian countryside is poor and we saw few brick and mortar structures on the route to our hotel. We noticed during lunch in the hotel that the prices seemed very reasonable and later that evening we noticed the dinner prices to be down right cheap. We dined that evening in Viroths, one of the best Cambodian restaurants and entrees were $5.00 or less. We enjoyed multi-courses and drinks for just a bit over $60 for four people. We hired a tuk-tuk driver and he charged us $6 for the evening and waited for us during dinner.
I needed to find out more about the Cambodians, after all if we are paying very little for services in a tourist city then how much do these people earn and how can they support their families and save money for their future? My goal during our stay was to find out more.
Cambodia encountered a civil war throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Khmer Rouge communist party controlled the country for years and it wasn’t until the early 1990s that this troubled nation became democratic. A royal family rules the country but not the politics. You travel to this remote countryside to visit Angkor, the 9th and 12th century holy city and capital city of the Khmer empire. The capital area had a population of over million people and the kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples that cover several miles. The dozens of millennium-old temple ruins are now designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and protected. The significance of these temples and its visual impact put it in the same class with the pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal. We spent the day visiting just a few of the temples and taking in the rich history. We even saw the temple that was the centerpiece of the movie Tomb Raider.
We hired an English-speaking guide and a van driver all day today. It was difficult to understand our guide named Mao – but we were awed by the sheer size of these ancient temples and didn’t need too much detailed history. We are visiting during the dry season (just Dec & Jan) and the average temperature is in the high 80s / low 90s. Most of the year it rains and the temperature is in the 100s and extremely humid. Mao told me that the average monthly wages in the cities are $150 and the majority of the population earns $50 monthly. We began to understand why services are so low here. This is the land of the Killing Fields and there is a large population under 20 years of age and many people are still afraid to talk about politic. We do notice so many people staring at us as we walk into town – why do they stare? There are so many tourists in town but it can’t help you wonder if they are curious about modern life. Our clothes and shoes are clean and we leave tips behind. I did not see begging and we have felt safe.
So the world has changed with the times and Cambodia hasn’t entered the modern age. We were so impressed just a few days ago visiting Kuala Lumpur. The city was amazingly modern and we did not expect this from a Southeast Asian country. Now we’re encountering another Southeast Asian country and we assumed it would be a bit more modern, but life here hasn’t changed.
Our tuk-tuk driver from last night met us at the hotel to drive us tonight for another $6. We went to a very popular restaurant called Khmer Kitchen located in the Pub district. The area was created by the French colonists and is filled with open-air cafes, art galleries and bars galore. Dinner for 4 including drinks, 4 starters and soup cost $25 total – no need to go to an early-bird in Cambodia! The food has been much tastier than the cuisine in Malaysia – it’s a bit like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
Tomorrow we plan on shopping in the markets to buy necessities for a local orphanage. We hope to bring a bit of hope and joy to a few Cambodians that might need it most. Today we learned about the Cambodian history and religion. Hopefully we can have more of an exchange with the locals and learn about their rich culture over the next few days. More to come… Happy & Healthy New Year!!!
Our two-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Siem Reap, Cambodia was short, however when we landed within miles and miles of rice paddy fields we felt like this short flight took us back into time – back 100 years. We were unable to communicate with our airport driver and en route to the Le Meridien Hotel we saw a country that is mostly unchanged from today’s technology. The rural Cambodian countryside is poor and we saw few brick and mortar structures on the route to our hotel. We noticed during lunch in the hotel that the prices seemed very reasonable and later that evening we noticed the dinner prices to be down right cheap. We dined that evening in Viroths, one of the best Cambodian restaurants and entrees were $5.00 or less. We enjoyed multi-courses and drinks for just a bit over $60 for four people. We hired a tuk-tuk driver and he charged us $6 for the evening and waited for us during dinner.
I needed to find out more about the Cambodians, after all if we are paying very little for services in a tourist city then how much do these people earn and how can they support their families and save money for their future? My goal during our stay was to find out more.
Cambodia encountered a civil war throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Khmer Rouge communist party controlled the country for years and it wasn’t until the early 1990s that this troubled nation became democratic. A royal family rules the country but not the politics. You travel to this remote countryside to visit Angkor, the 9th and 12th century holy city and capital city of the Khmer empire. The capital area had a population of over million people and the kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples that cover several miles. The dozens of millennium-old temple ruins are now designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and protected. The significance of these temples and its visual impact put it in the same class with the pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal. We spent the day visiting just a few of the temples and taking in the rich history. We even saw the temple that was the centerpiece of the movie Tomb Raider.
We hired an English-speaking guide and a van driver all day today. It was difficult to understand our guide named Mao – but we were awed by the sheer size of these ancient temples and didn’t need too much detailed history. We are visiting during the dry season (just Dec & Jan) and the average temperature is in the high 80s / low 90s. Most of the year it rains and the temperature is in the 100s and extremely humid. Mao told me that the average monthly wages in the cities are $150 and the majority of the population earns $50 monthly. We began to understand why services are so low here. This is the land of the Killing Fields and there is a large population under 20 years of age and many people are still afraid to talk about politic. We do notice so many people staring at us as we walk into town – why do they stare? There are so many tourists in town but it can’t help you wonder if they are curious about modern life. Our clothes and shoes are clean and we leave tips behind. I did not see begging and we have felt safe.
So the world has changed with the times and Cambodia hasn’t entered the modern age. We were so impressed just a few days ago visiting Kuala Lumpur. The city was amazingly modern and we did not expect this from a Southeast Asian country. Now we’re encountering another Southeast Asian country and we assumed it would be a bit more modern, but life here hasn’t changed.
Our tuk-tuk driver from last night met us at the hotel to drive us tonight for another $6. We went to a very popular restaurant called Khmer Kitchen located in the Pub district. The area was created by the French colonists and is filled with open-air cafes, art galleries and bars galore. Dinner for 4 including drinks, 4 starters and soup cost $25 total – no need to go to an early-bird in Cambodia! The food has been much tastier than the cuisine in Malaysia – it’s a bit like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
Tomorrow we plan on shopping in the markets to buy necessities for a local orphanage. We hope to bring a bit of hope and joy to a few Cambodians that might need it most. Today we learned about the Cambodian history and religion. Hopefully we can have more of an exchange with the locals and learn about their rich culture over the next few days. More to come… Happy & Healthy New Year!!!
