Day Three
Thu Jul 19, 06:42 AM
I spent my third day exploring the temples of Angkor Wat. I have had a great experience and will spend a few more days here. After three days, I have seen the many of the main temples and will start going back to my favorite ones.
This afternoon I also went to the Cambodian Land Mine Museum. This is a fascinating, yet troubling museum. There is still much of Cambodia that has unusable land becuase of land mines. One thing that really struck me is that land mines are intended to maim, not kill soldiers. The military theory is that an injured soldier costs more and consumes more of the enemy’s resources than a dead soldier. There are many local people that have lost limbs from land mines. Often, they are just trying to farm their fields.
Throughout my travels I have been discouraged at how little the local people care about their land and tourist attractions. This was highlighted when my driver just threw his empty water bottle into a corner at one of the temples. I immediately said something and made him pick it up. I have seen this from the locals everywhere I go. Many beaches are tainted with plastic bags and bottles. In Borneo, I read about divers getting lead poisoning and infections from “fecal matter” in the water. As a tourist, I am drawn to these special places and end up spending money in the local economy. I find it strange that many of the locals that are making a living because of tourism don’t make any effort to care for their environment. Even all the restoration projects at Angkor Wat are done by French, Indian, or Japanese companies and the land mine museum is run by a Canadian NGO. These are just local examples of the locals not taking charge. I guess I want to see some responsibilty taken by the locals to preserve all the places I have been able to see and enjoy. Enough of that lecture, time for dinner.
As far as I know, my credit card is not working because of neglect, not over-use. I have been using my debit card at local ATMs and spending cash for all transactions. Cambodia also has a fun new currency that I have to master-the Riel. $1US=4000Riel. The US dollar and the Riel are used interchangably. All prices are quoted in dollars. If a bill is $3.50, I pay $3US, then 2000Riel. With the dollar being a bit weak right now, I am seeing higher prices than I would have even a few months ago. Everything is still cheap compared to what I pay in the States!
I will get more pics up for tomorrow.
