well it's been a VERY mixed couple of days. after a terrible bus ride and more chaos than i saw in china, i arrived in siem reap. oh, by the way, there werent enough seats on the bus so i made the 8 hour trip on a plastic chair in the middle of the aisle.... not too comfortable. so the bus company also has a guesthouse, no surprise, and thats where they took us. i left today because they just keep trying to pry every penny they can out of us. actually, thats been my experience with almost all cambodians. and its not like in thailand or china... its worse, way worse. to hang out with them is ok.... they are like most other asians, but get money involved at all..... oh my gosh!!! i think their poverty has made them this way... and its not just 50 cents or some small amount. i wouldn't worry about that. but its 10 dollars sometimes. thats a lot of money, especially here. it really is taxing. you have to be on guard in a different way ALL THE TIME. i am exhausted by it.
on the brighter side.... the temples at angkor.... A M A Z I N G ! ! ! ! they are so much more than i ever expected. the detail put into these things is awesome. i cant imagine how they looked in their glory. i could leave tomorrow and think the visit to cambodia well worth it.... and i might. but i'll probably stick it out a little longer to see if it gets better. anyway, i'm beat.
later
