Siem Reap, Cambodia

We have been in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the past three or four days. It is warm here. There is no relief. It is hot all day long. We can function earlier in the morning but at about 10am we start feeling the heat and by 1pm it gets hard to move and our minds become dedicated to finding a spot in the shade with the possibility of a breeze. Our room has a fan but not AC and I have taken up showering in cold water and then sitting on a towel in front of the fan; it keeps me cool for about 30 minutes. So warm.

So far we are really enjoying Cambodia. The roads may be worse than Laos but I don't really know how to judge that competition. There is a haze here but it is made up from humidity rather than thick smoke. I have seen the stars at night and we've even seen blue sky once or twice. Its the little things in life I suppose. The country is obviously still developing and the current generation has experienced a very traumatic time but there are many signs of recovery. The government has been very open with other countries and has received a lot of foreign aid. It is also a hub for non-government organizations who are running everything from orphanages to hospitals to arts programs. A couple days ago Ashley and I saw a show from a group of orphaned children trained by an NGO in the circus style. Their show translated was called "Bizarre" and it dealt with an older war veteran tormented by what he had seen and his journey back to health with his family.

I have found that my formula for enjoyment in a country is based on the price of a snickers bar. I have also found that the overall happiness of a country's citizens can be based on the same formula. I suppose not just a snickers bar but snacks in general. In some countries the price of western snack food is ridiculously high because only western tourists can afford to purchase them anyway. Some of the countries we've been in put snickers bars at double the price of one meal. It is actually hard on my spirits when a snickers bar is 1/4 of my daily budget and therefor out of the question. Here in Cambodia snack prices are low. Cans of soda cost what they did when I was 10 years old, snickers are 1/30 of the daily budget, and even chips are within the reasonable range. It puts my mind at ease to know that snickery goodness remains at a reasonable rate. One day North Korea will discover the substantialicious snack and peace will be achieved. They may even be allowed to develop their own nugetular power plants... I realize I need to stop and may be craving a snickers.

Siem Reap is one of the larger cities in Cambodia. We are currently staying on one of the main streets for tourists and it has yet to be paved. Unpaved main roads always bring it home to me how undeveloped a place is. It may have cellphones, cable tv, 3G wifi, resorts and spas but if the road that it is all on is unpaved then the truth hits home. Speaking of resorts and spas we walked to the night market the other night and found out that the standard rate for a 10 minute massage is $1 and yet we still have not gone for one. It is probably because I would start sweating if someone laid even a finger on me. I suppose we will have to pay a little extra for an air conditioned massage. Life's full of tough decisions here.