In and Around Siem Reap, Cambodia

I have been so busy enjoying my final days in Asia that I have alot of wonderful experiences to share.  Here are some pictures of Siem Reap, Cambodia where I spent the month teaching at an   art orphanage.  The orphanage is a 45 minute bicycle ride from the town I stayed in.  

This is the street with the best local food:

And here is my favorite restaurant that I would sometimes eat at twice a day!

One night we went out to see traditional Apsara dancing at a local restaurant:

Siem Reap is a bustling city with lots of commerce, horn honking, begging, and the constant shouting of locals wanting you to buy this or that - often quite aggressively.  

Here is where I got my hair cut with my trusty bicycle in the foreground:

I was fascinated by the difference between the monks here in Siem Reap and those in Luang Prabag, Laos.  In Luang Prabang, there were temples on every other street corner, the people brought gifts and food daily to the monks.  By contrast, the only temple I found in the whole central area of Siem Reap was a tourist attraction and the monks in Siem Reap went door to door daily begging for food and were clearly malnourished.  

All this despite relatively similar levels of poverty...  the buddha is very much alove in the hearts of the Laos people.  When I "wai" or bow with hands together in Laos, everyone wai's back with a smile.  In Cambodia, only about 50% of the the people would return my wai.

These differences - ironically - were also reflected in the robes worn by the monks in each locale; Luang Prabang monks wore vibrant, orange robes while Siem Reap monks attire was a dull mustard orange.

Here a monk begs for offerings in front of my favorite restaurant.

Here are some images of the rural area just a few kilometers outside Siem Reap city:

A local village family...