Siem Reap

I spent too much today.

Here and there I got some good deals. Here and there I was tricked, ripped off.

It doesn't matter.

I hired Somnang to drive us around Siem Reap, Cambodia. We breakfasted and Somnang (which means "lucky"as he was born in a lucky year, 1975, and his mother was hoping her luck was turning since the father and four previous siblings had died, and perhaps this boy would live... she was right) took us in his dtuk dtuk to the temple ruins of Angkor Wat.

When we first got out of the little vehicle I was immediately surrounded by many children, all trying to sell me something. They were charging far too much, but my guilt, of being from a wealthy country, prevented me from negotiating.

It was a mistake.

As one fellow was telling me the virtues of his book on the ruins, one little girl kept trying to sell me a beer. She asked my name and I told her. She took that as a promise.

"OK, Will. I wait for you buy book then you buy something from me. OK? You have to buy from me, Will."

I bought the book. Then I bought a beer from her. She couldn't have been over 12.

That was my second mistake.

The children pressed close. I bought some post cards for far too much from a little one about five years old.

Children started pressing closer... six, eight, twelve of them. Hands were reaching out... running over my pockets. Suddenly I thought I might lose my wallet and my passport. I reached into a pocket, pulled out all the change I had, and threw it twenty feet away. Two thirds of the children ran after the money.

"That was mean,Will" the 12 year old said. "Only the big kids get that money. You buy more from me now."

"No thank you," I said, and strode up to the guard at the ruins entrance, showed my pass and went quickly onto the causeway.

The ruins were amazing. Though the heads were missing from all the statues, and the buildings were pockmarked from the bullets which flew between 1974 and 1979, it was still impressive.

Apparently there had been forty towers, but after the Kmer Rouge had finished, only 12 remain.










When I finished my tourist thing at the ruins of Angkor Wat we went back to the dtuk dtuk. Most of the children were gone. But the 12 year old reappeared.

"Hi Will! You buy water from me?"

"No thank you."

"You buy bracelets? Maybe for girlfriend?"

"No thank you."

"Maybe you want buy me a beer? I be nice to you."

My stomach lurched. I couldn't believe what she was offering.

"No! I don't want to buy anything from you. Please, I want to go now.

"Come on Will. Buy me beer."

"No thank you. I don't want to."

"You mean, Will."

It was too much for me. I whirled around on her.

"No! You are poor, and you are desperate, and you are a disrespectful little girl and I will not buy you a beer or anything!"

I headed for the dtuk dtuk as quickly as I could.

"You mean man Will!" she called after me.

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Dad and Chicken went back to their rooms and I decided to let Somnang show me a good place to eat. It was at a place called The Temple Club because parts of its walls were from a 900 year old temple.

I had shrimp and squid and rice in Cambodian spices. I had the waiter take a Coke out to Somnang.

And I was a little lonely. I'm not used to eating alone, being alone. A lawyer my age from Los Angeles allowed me to share a beer with her so I could have a little conversation. She told me about the U.N. Tribunal going on she was going to see... A trial against former Kmer Rouge leaders for crimes against humanity. She said 1.5 million people had been killed in Cambodia. She said that 50% of the population was under 21 and 37% were less than fifteen.

A young man came up begging. He was missing a foot, a hand, and three fingers from the other hand.

"Land mine," the lawyer told me.

A little girl tried to sell me the same post cards I had bought earlier at Angkor Wat.

I paid my tab, and Somnang told me it was beautiful to watch the sunset from the lake, so we went there.

The boat was expensive. I was the sole customer.

As I passed along the canal to the lake my guide, Kah, ponted out points of interest.

Extreme poverty rolled by as I sat in a comfortable chair, being ferried out to watch the sunset.


There is a large village living in various houseboats along the canal. They cluster around a tower far out in the lake during the dry season, and are pushed up against the distant mountain during the monsoon. Today they move from the docks at the mountain to the lake to fish, or raise fish, or crocodiles, or eels, or sell goods from ramshackle stores. There were boats under repair. There were schools supplied by various organizations... ramshackle houseboats painted bright blue.

There was a store that sold school supplies. Thin little books, tablets of paper, pencils. I bought $30 worth.

Apparently the Cambodian government has given every family a television set, so they can watch the government operated television stations. And every year during the monsoons the government gives every family 40 kilograms of rice to help them get through the driving storms until they can fish again.
I showed the kids at the school my iPhone. They were amazed at the features. I played music for them. Bach, Ray Charles, Bob Marley. They liked Tom Petty the best. I also let them take pictures of each other. The teacher was very impressed that I have the Bible, all of Shakespeare, and twenty literary classics stored in it.

There was a woman begging alongside the floating store. I bought some food and gave it to them.

The man in the middle is their teacher. Children go to school three times a day. Five hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon, then maybe two more after dark. Most stop going to school after the 4th grade as they need to help their families catch fish.

I spent too much today. I'll have to skimp a bit on the rest of the trip.


I don't care.