If you're planning to visit Cambodia, here is an excerpt of the latest
(as of 9-7-2003) information provided by the US State Department:
"Land mines and unexploded ordnance can be found in rural areas throughout
Cambodia, but especially in Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Pursat, Siem Reap,
and Kampong Thom provinces. At no time should travelers walk in forested areas
or even in dry rice paddies without a local guide. Areas around small bridges
on secondary roads are particularly dangerous. Travelers who observe anything
that resembles a mine or unexploded ordnance should not touch it. They should
notify the Cambodia Mine Action Center at 023-368-841/981-083 or 084.
The town of Siem Reap and the vicinity of the Angkor Wat temple complex remain
officially open to tourists."
The entire information sheet can be seen at:
Cambodia travel.
Siem Reap was my first destination in Cambodia. I came to Siem Reap to see the
temples of Angkor Wat, which I've wanted to see for a very long time. The
temples of Angkor are fascinating and I enjoyed them very much.
I will
say straight out that the people in and around Siem Reap are the most
aggressive hawkers of their
goods and services of anyplace I've visited in the entire world, bar none.
Tourists
are pursued almost non-stop while outside the temples of Angkor Wat.
It is incessant and shrill and a real pain in the ass. All this is only made
worse by the fact that the Cambodian government has seen fit to outlaw the
rental
of motorbikes to foreigners and by so doing puts every traveler at the mercy
of the moto and tuk tuk drivers, which are every bit as incessant at trying to
sell their services as every other merchant in Siem Reap.
Having said that,
it doesn't change the fact that the temples of Angkor Wat are a must see.
I hope you enjoy my photos of Siem Reap and Cambodia.
I found this girl putting thin slices of banana on her
face. When I enquired why, I was told that it lightens the skin. Later, when
I met Marady in Phnom Penh I found out that most Cambodian women are very
conscious of skin color - preferring to have lighter skin.
Like every other major town in Cambodia, Siem Reap has
their own set of killing fields. This is the monument built to display the
skulls of the people killed in and around Siem Reap.
I couldn't resist taking this photo -
the Cambodian flag and a young boy in the reflection of the glass holding the
skulls of hundreds or thousands of Cambodians killed during the reign of the
Khmer Rouge.
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There are many minefields in Cambodia that are being actively cleared.
Despite this, about 100 people each month are killed or maimed by stepping
on one.
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During my stay in Siem Reap, I estimate that I saw about 50 men that had
been maimed by landmines.
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Previous page - Battambang
Next Page - More Siem Reap
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