Text taken from my Multiply. Check it out for photos.
There's honestly too much to say about Cambodia. Everything great. To think we were only there for two days and we only stayed in one town. Siem Reap is the nearest town to the Angkor Wat temples so it's basically where all the tourists stay. It's normal for any person to have this impression that Cambodia is one poor country with a recent history of genocide and civil war. It's true, yeah, but it's so evident in this part of the country.
Siem Reap is ALIVE thanks to the tourism industry. And it's hardly anywhere near poor. All those dollars and euros have clearly been good for the locals since the town is lined with hotels, restaurants, spas, and bars. In every single street, a new structure, hotel, or commercial area is being constructed. It could be both good and bad, buy hey, you don't go to Siem Reap just for the town anyway.
It's all about the temples.
You won't be surprised why the Angkor Wat, the main temple, is imprinted on Cambodia's national flag. There's a reason why this place is frequently featured on documentaries and it's easily understandable once you get to see it. It's the same with the other temples and ruins that are littered in the jungle around Angkor Wat such as Bayon, with the gigantic stone heads, and Ta Prohm with the huge tree roots that crawl and cover the temple ruins. Check it out on Google or Wikipedia if you want a historical background.
For reasons such as writer's block, I shall now resort to bullet points for some little stories on our little trip.
1.) I traveled with my brother Ba-be, together with Loi, my officemate from DHL, as well as her brother Dennis.
2.) Cambodians speak better English than the Vietnamese, Thai, and some Malaysians. Even the kid vendors speak excellent English. Ever heard a kid say "Hey lady, would you like to buy a bracelet from me?". I'm sure he's been using that line with everyone tourist he sees but still.
3.) Cambodia, like much of Indochina, has a lot of French influence. So in the town, you'll see lots of nice cafes and little restaurants that offer nice food.
4.) Speaking of food, they call the local food Khmer food. For obvious reasons. Basic ingredient would be coconut milk. There's this one dish called "Amok" that's probably what adobo or sinigang is to us. As in "Gusto mo mag amok?". Hahaha.
5.) It's cheap here too. Even if you know they're charging you tourist price.
6.) There are hundreds of tourists here. Mostly Europeans, Americans, and the ever present Chinese, Japanese, and Korean tourist horde.
7.) Filipinos are everywhere. You'd think you won't see a kapwa Pinoy in a place like Cambodia but no. In the internet shop I used, I sat beside a Pinay (who I assume is working there as a... err... I'd rather not say, but it's obvious if you know what I mean). And to prove that it's a small world after all, I saw my former boss when I was an intern at Fort Bonifacio plus a familiar face from school and church (I don't know them personally but I know they're Pinoys). Absolutely weird.
8.) Thanks to the number of tourists here, everything is organized. We arrived without having a specific itinerary but when John, the hotel driver, picked us up at the airport he gave us an itinerary for the two days we were there.
9.) Just a thought on the Philippine tourism industry: we suck. If we compare ourselves to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore... well, we're simply left behind. OK fine, Manila isn't exactly as gorgeous as Hanoi, and we don't have temples like Cambodia or Thailand or a more organized government like Malaysia and Singapore. But dammit, we aren't exactly bereft of tourist destinations and I'm sure we can do waaay better.
10.) Next stop? Either Vientiane, Laos or Borobodur, Indonesia.
I'm not just any Asian. I'm SOUTHEAST ASIAN! Haha! I love our region!
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