Siem Reap came as a bit of a surprise – it was the most number of tourists/expats we’d seen in one place so far in Asia. Sure we were staying in the tourist area, but even when we got out of town a bit, there were foreigners everywhere, and just in our short time there, we met four people who had chosen Siem Reap for their retirement. It is a lovely city with a lot going on but it was still surprising.
There were two Australian families staying at our accommodation, one travelling for a year like us, and one travelling for two months, so the kids were THRILLED to have other kids to play with in the pool.
Siem Reap had some lovely markets (we love wandering markets) – both the usual ‘mass-produced, every stall sells the same knick knacks/counterfeit items’ style but also a number of ‘made in Cambodia/fair trade/watch our artists work’ style. We enjoyed watching the textile weavers using their looms to create blankets, the basket weavers using their hands and feet to hold their weaving tight, the potters, the painters, the woodworkers…and of course seeing their finished products in the stores or galleries. At one such place, a young man said to Zara, “you’re so cute – I wish that you could grow up fast so that I could marry you”. Wow, what a proposal! He was instantly embarrassed (we think perhaps he spoke before he actually thought it through) and caught up with us to apologise no less than three times. It was so funny!
The nearly 900 year old Angkor Wat is what makes Siem Reap famous – the world’s largest religious monument, covering 400 acres. We bought our 1 day tickets online, organised a tuk tuk driver (Tha Tha) and an English speaking guide (Leap), and set our alarm for 4.15am! It was a beautiful morning and Leap guided us to a perfect spot to watch the sunrise over the Angkor Wat temple – it was so wonderful to watch as more features were revealed in the growing light.
The kids and Logan had their fortunes told by a fortune-telling monk. You put the book of stories on your head and then choose one using a special stick. It was quite amazing to hear a story about empathy and kindness for Zara and a story about asking questions and curiosity for Lucas – so accurate for our kids. In contrast, Logan’s story had some weird twists and turns, the moral of which was not to kill your mother – we’d have thought that goes without saying but we had a good laugh!
The alignment of Angkor Wat exactly along the north-south axis and the fact that the sun rises exactly over the central tower during the Spring and Autumn equinoxes (not whilst we were there – the second phone with the photo of sunrise belonged to Leap) make the mind boggle at the skill and precision of the ancient architects…who didn’t have the benefit of the compass app on an iPhone to check they were still on track!
We spent the day exploring Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple, Ta Prohm (made famous by Tomb Raider), Angkor Thom and Banteay Kdei – it was a huge day but we thoroughly enjoyed being driven from place to place by Tha Tha and learning some stories and history from Leap. The kids did incredibly well, especially as the day started to heat up – the promise of an afternoon in the pool certainly kept them going!
Some of the expats on the ferry to Siem Reap had told us about the Angkor Wat Putt mini putt, a fun way to relive our day and the temples but also just have some fun. There was a free cold drink for a hole in one, so we were stoked to get four between us!
A legacy of the decades of wars and conflict, Cambodia is one of the most mine-affected countries in the world, with an estimated 4-6 million landmines and ‘explosive remnants of war’ (ERW) left scattered across the country, resulting in one of the highest numbers of victims of landmines and amputees per capita in the world. The numbers are huge – since 1979, nearly 20000 people have been killed and more than 45000 people have been injured or had limbs amputated, many of them children. The impact of this is far reaching, particularly in rural areas, with 1 million people still living and working in areas suspected to be contaminated by landmines or ERW, and thousands of hectares of land that is unproductive because of fear of the invisible danger. However, since the 1990s, the Cambodian government has been working with a variety of ministries, institutions and organisations with a goal of a ‘Mine-free Cambodia 2025’.
One of the organisations working towards this goal is APOPO – an organisation that uses the excellent scent detection abilities of African giant pouched rats, nicknamed HeroRATs, and HeroDOGs to sniff out micro amounts of TNT in landmines and ERW so that they can be safely removed. It’s an incredible organisation and the animals do amazing work – they can clear an area the size of a tennis court in 30 minutes that would take 4 days using a manual metal detector. It takes 9 months to train the rats in Tanzania, using clicker reward training, and then they are brought to Cambodia to work. We loved hearing about the ways they pamper the rats with 5-star accommodation, and that once the rats retire, they continue to have excellent life conditions.
For our final night in Siem Reap, and in Cambodia, we had booked tickets for the Phare Circus. This circus is entirely run and performed by graduates of Phare Ponleu Selpak in Battambang, many of whom come from difficult home lives. By providing the graduates with a job and a good income, Phare Ponleu Selpak continues to positively support the communities of Cambodia. Even the gift shop is filled with artworks and creations from students or graduates from Phare Ponleu Selpak. We decided to have dinner at the circus and enjoy the pre-show with some younger dancers.
The Phare Circus have a variety of different shows telling a uniquely Cambodian story, and the one performed on our night was called ‘White Gold’, about the importance of rice (white gold) in Cambodian society – it was absolutely BRILLIANT.
It was a very acrobatic circus show with wonderful live music – other shows can incorporate more dance and theatre, which I’m sure is excellent too. We clapped and cheered the whole way through, and there were so many literally jaw-dropping moments. We loved the performers’ energy, smiles, and the evident trust between the troupe.
We were encouraged to take photos with them afterwards. We were last in line so Zara did a cartwheel and back walkover for them, which led to them lifting her up and throwing her in the air! The stage crew then gave both the kids an aluminium Phare Circus drink bottle. We have been so lucky so many times during this adventure to be given an unexpected extra on top of something already wonderful. It was an absolutely spectacular evening, and definitely a highlight of our time in Cambodia.
All too soon, our time in Cambodia was up. We were running out of days but we were glad to have fitted so much into the time we had in the country of smiles.
