The Big Divide

Having spent the Last four days of this trip in Cambodia, whiLst my mind is stiLL fresh with what I have seen and that the emotions are stiLL pretty much stiLL Lingering, I suppose I wiLL just jot down some of the amazing stuff I have seen, if I can.

They caLL Cambodia the Land of Wonders, and it sure Lives to its name. From the minute I Landed in Siem Reap untiL the moment I crossed the border from Phnom Penh into Vietnam, nothing has faiLed to impress me.

The ancient tempLes at Angkor Wat, with its rich history preserved, brings one back in time, yet coming back to reaLity, you see that tourism has, in fact, been the main cuLprit in the acceLeration of ruining the remains of these wonderfuL man-made structures.

Tourism has no doubt been the primary source of income for many of the businesses in Cambodia, however, through it, many Cambodian peopLe have been infLuenced by the money-factor so much so that even the purest of a young chiLd's mind has been poLLuted to the fact that money is the reason they Live for.

There are chiLdren every you go in the tempLe ruins wanting to seLL souvenirs and books at obscene prices, and they sure have a way in how they speak. Two-year oLd, five and oLder ones .. its amazing how many Languages they have Learnt to communicate with the many nationaLities that visits their homeLand. We sure have met quite a number of chiLdren with very good command of EngLish, and other Languages incLuding Mandarin, Japanese and even Spanish.

On our finaL day in Siem Reap, waking up at the wee hours of four o'cLock to cycLe aLL the way from our hoteL to the tempLe ruins to catch the beautifuL sunrise, is to be the best decision we have made as we cycLed in totaL darkness aLong the roads, onLy to be Led occasionaLLy by passing vehicLes. ALong the way, staring at the vast sky fuLL of shining stars made the experience unforgetabLe.

At 5-ish, we got to our destination, I forgot the name of the ancient King's private swimming pooL which is an enormous reservoir and there we caught our sunrise in the greatest possibLe way we couLd. And there, we had fun with the chiLdren seLLing hot coffee and souvenirs. No, we did not buy any, but the few of them sure had given us Lots of fun there. And the chiLdren themseLves are as happy as they can be despite the poor saLes.

This is one sunrise I wiLL never forget.

TaLking about Cambodian chiLdren, one thing that I have been pretty much curious is that chiLdren have no say about what they want to do. If a chiLd is born a farmer's son, he wiLL be a farmer, and if a chiLd is born a fruit seLLer's daughter, she wiLL be assisting in the famiLy business. But is this what they want to do? Or is it what they have to do ..

Coming back in time to the present, it is New Year's Eve in Ho Chi Minh, whiLe I am to Log off soon inside this internet cafe, the note is to be continued as and when I can ...

.. tiL then, have a happy new year!


You can see more pictures of the trip from Facebook.