Siem Reap is the kind of place that reminds you why you go
backpacking; to see the world. It is not nearly as developed as chaotic Kuala
Lumpur or touristy like the backpacker party epicenters of Thailand. It is
simply just Siem Reap, home to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat. The pace here
is slow (probably due to the 38 C/104 F weather) and everything seems to just
be a little behind.
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| super sweaty from hiking around in the heat ! |
The sunsets and the sunrises at the famous Angkor Wat are
truly inspiring with the colors of reds and oranges. I was fortunate enough to
spend my 26
th birthday in Siem Reap. We woke up at 4am to head to
Angkor Wat and watch the sunrise. It was so beautiful. This temple is thousands
of years old and to be there in 2014 on my 26
th birthday made me
realize how lucky I was. I couldn't ask for a better present to myself than to
just be there. The Angkor Wat temples are a UNESCO world heritage site and were
constructed between the 9
th and 15
th centuries. The
famous ones are Bayon and also Ta Prohm, where the movie Tomb Raider was
filmed.
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| celebrating my birthday watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat |
What really stood out to me was the spirit and kindness of
the Khmer people. It was not too long ago that war ravaged the country under
the hands of the Khmer Rouge. It wasn't until the late 1990s that the country
was able to start to rebuild from the destruction of the wars. However, even
though the war is over and Cambodia can start to flourish, the people are
effected everyday by old landmines and UXO’s.
Children who are not even old
enough to remember the war are still injured due to the undetected landmines. It truly
is so sad. Yet, Khmer hospitality and kindness is mind blowing. Most people in
the country are old enough to remember the war, but still have such an
unbreakable spirit.
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| Meas and I ! Meas took us everywhere in his Tuk Tuk |
We went to the landmine museum, which also is a home to
children who were injured due to landmines or UXO’s & it is an NGO. We
learned so much on how this is still affecting the country. (Cambodia, Vietnam,
and Laos still are facing this problem). The head of the Landmine Museum and
School, Aki Ra, was a child soldier himself. Now his goal is to clear Cambodia
of all remaining landmines. In 2010 he was named as a CNN hero for his work and
was awarded in the top 10. He and his team have estimated that they have
cleared 50,000 mines or so, but the government still believes that there are
still 3 million to 5 million mines still undiscovered. That is how severe this
problem is.
It is truly inspiring to know what the people have gone
through, yet they are so welcoming. Just walking down Pub Street or the Night
Markets, everyone is smiling and saying hello wanting to practice their English
or sell you something. It was an eye opening experience. Siem Reap was a cute
little town filled with history. I couldn't ask for a more inspirational place
to be during my birthday and to remind me why I travel.
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| sunset at Angkor Wat |
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| night market |
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