Thoughts on Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

First I will share my impression of Siem Reap - the city near Angkor. It does not take long to notice the signs of a quickly growing city. First is that many of the more popular hotels and guest houses have multiple properties. Second is the number of brand new gas stations. There were about four gas stations on the main road to Angkor. None of them looked older than two years (and that's pushing it). One can only imagine what the city looked like 30 years ago, but then one is reminded that 30 years ago was a short time after the reign of the Khmer Rouge, when every city in Cambodia was emptied in a matter of days (with people forced to work the land in rural areas, essentially living a life not much different than a slave).

When you walk down one of the main streets, the roads are literally lined with empty tuk-tuk's, with their drivers trying to get your business. Further, it is not uncommon for a restaurant to have a couple groups on the patio, and then be empty inside. Despite the signs of a growing city, it was obvious this was not their best time of year. Personally, it worked to my advantage. It meant that when I went to the temples, the crowds, while existent, were definitely manageable. At some places, like the Terrace of the Elephants, and Banteay Srei (which is further afield), I had chunks of the ruins basically to myself to explore. I imagine in the dry season that it is much busier.

Of all the things that stick out about Siem Reap and Angkor, none are quite as striking or obvious as the restorations done to some of the ruins. Apparently the Khmer Rouge decapitated pretty much every statue in Angkor during their reign of terror. While some statues have their original head cemented on, others have completely new ones placed on top of thousand year old bodies. It's nice to see what the statues are supposed to look like, but it takes away from the authenticity of the ruins.

Lastly, on my way back from the temples, we saw some monkeys... we got our driver to pull over so we could get out and take pictures. At one point my friend Carlo got a little close and one of the monkey's chased him! Then a few minutes later the same thing happened to me. Nothing will get your adrenaline pumping like a monkey taking a swipe at you. Everything I know about monkey's is from the Dustin Hoffman movie "Outbreak", so needless to say I kept my distance after the close call I had with the hyper aggressive monkey (I have a video of it wrestling another monkey for a good two or three minutes). I'm just glad I escaped the encounter Ebola free, and with some great pics of the really cute baby monkey.

Arrival to Siem Reap (and a lesson about the importance of honesty in business)

Today was a more relaxed day (for the most part). I basically spent the morning updating the blog since I hadn't done a substantive post in some time. Really the only aggravation I had today was booking my flight from Siem Reap to Luang Prubang... neither credit card worked at their store, and I had to try 4 different ATM's before I found one that worked for me.

Although I was supposed to take my trip to Siem Reap in a "VIP" bus complete with a toilet and A/C, they put me in a mini-bus (i.e. a van that seats about 12 or 15). Initially I was not thrilled, but it actually turned out great! I met an Indonesian/Canadian couple, with the man being from London Ontario. He had been living in Asia for about 10 years. He spent four and a half years teaching English in Taiwan and China, and then started a manufacturing business in Southern China.

Initially we just talked about the challenges of doing business in China (with me talking a little bit about the recycling business, but mainly him talking about the manufacturing and import/export business). This turned into a wide ranging conversation about the global economy, corruption in developing and developed countries, how his biggest challenges in business are similar to the greatest challenges I faced at Stand, and other topics that aren't top of mind right now.

I learned a lot, and just hope that all the questions I asked him also helped him deepen his understanding of the environment his business is operating in. Of course I also gave him some advice on hiring lawyers: mainly that he can get practically the same legal advice at a law firm in London or Ottawa for half the price he would pay hiring someone in Toronto.

When we arrived to the bus station in Siem Reap, I shared a tuk-tuk into town with him and his partner. The driver said he knew a good hotel, but we asked to be taken to a specific hotel that Lonely Planet recommended. When we arrived at the hotel, I knew something was up since there was no sign with the hotels name. We said "this isn't the Angkor shadow guest house", to which he replied that this hotel was cheaper/newer/better/etc. If he had pushed a little in the ride over and then taken us there, it would have been one thing. But to take us there without warning was simply dishonest. We told him to take us to the other hotel, which he did.

The recommended hotel was too expensive for our tastes, but instead of getting back in the Tuk-Tuk, we decided to walk the half a KM to another recommended hotel (where we negotiated a good price for our rooms). Robbie, the driver offered to take us the 0.5KM for free - he said he just wanted us to hire him to us to the temples the next day (this is $12-15 for him for the entire day). He lost our trust when he took us to the other hotel (which probably offers him a commission), so we decided we would rather walk the 500m and hire a different driver the next day. A good lesson about honesty in business for all you readers! His tricks may work on other travellers, but they did not work on my new friends and I.