All posts tagged: Cambodia

Travel Dilemma: Heartbreaking Interactions with Southeast Asia’s Child Beggars

While begging occurs widely throughout Southeast Asia, we were struck by the prevalence of child begging in Siem Reap. Frankly, it caught us off guard. Should we help out or abstain? What were the economics behind it and what potential social repercussions would we be compounding? Being approached by a young child was alarming. She would hold your arm, look up at you with large brown eyes and say, “I no want your money, I am huuuuuungry.” Sure, she was small, as most Asian people are, but something was off. She didn’t look hungry. I needed to research this a bit further. Here’s what I uncovered online. Common Child Begging ‘Scams’ Kids are effective beggars because adults are more predisposed to giving children money. This encourages parents to put their children on the street, which is especially dangerous given that Southeast Asia is commonly acknowledged as a hotbed for human trafficking. It also encourages parents to pull kids from school and forces kids to roam the streets late at night as drunk bar patrons mill about. The …

Backpacking: How to survive the dreaded overnight bus trip

The best way to survive one is to avoid overnight bus travel all together. But if you really must, here are some tips to live by: 1. Never assume there will be a washroom on board. Carefully consider how much liquid you consumer prior to and during the trip. 2. Stock up on food. The bus will likely make a few stops but you’ll be at the mercy of whichever vendor the company has negotiated a stopover with. Usually they are large, cafeteria style restaurants with disappointing food options and a host of toilets around back, which you’ll have to pay to use. (Bring toilet paper!) It’s best just to order a takeaway sandwich or two for the road and hit a 7-11 for snacks. 3. Wear layers. Buses often run air conditioners overnight and it can get very cold. Make sure you bring a long sleeve shirt and consider packing a sleeping bag liner. 4. Essentials: Baby wipes and/or toilet paper, earplugs, and a flashlight if you intend to read. 5. Remember, you get what you pay for. …

4 Places I Never Need to Visit Again

  Overrated, litter-scattered or completely charmless; some places just aren’t my jam. Given the chance to return I’d politely decline an invitation to these four places. Battambang, Cambodia My Fodder’s guidebook sang high praise for Battambang. (I visited in mid-2012) It touted colonial charm and a glorified bamboo train. A train described as “one of the world’s all-time unique rail journeys” by Lonely Planet. By all means I had it on good authority that Battambang would be a home run. What I recall most distinctly were disappointing accommodations, a bucolic riverfront restaurant operated by the world’s least attentive proprietor (British and grass smoking – neither which I am necessarily offended by), rats the size of small raccoons scurrying around the market after dark, and under cooked peanuts offered up by a street vendor. Soggy peanuts, just imagine. Sorry, not sorry Battambang. Olympic Village, Beijing.  Yawn, even for sporting fans like us. (I can’t help but tear up when Olympians receive their medals. They’ve worked so hard.) I’m not sure what we expected but basically we were greeted by a massive …

Human Sardines in a Tin Can Van

Returning to the Cambodian mainland, we spent our final days in Sihanoukville with Steve and Angela before they jetted off to India. We decided to stay on Occidental Beach rather than Serendipity. Unbeknown to us at the time, is that they are the same beach

Playing Survivor on Koh Rong Island, Cambodia

GTO was championing Koh Rong as a travel destination and I also had it on good account from another friend who had recently been there. This is how we found ourselves on the small island off the coast of Cambodia. We didn’t have much background knowledge of the island except that it is often erroneously referred to as Monkey Island. This likely originates from Monkey Island, a bungalow beach resort which is only one of three accommodation options on Koh Rong.  We set out and were among a handful of other travellers headed to the island. Boats service Koh Rong twice daily. We reached the wharf and met our first Aboriginal Canadian traveller. She was from Nunavut and thus she was referred to as ‘North of 60’ for the remainder of our trip. She worked at Monkey Island and gave us a pretty good description of what to expect on the island, or rather, what not to expect. A forty of Jack Daniels was being passed about and midway to the island we inquired into what she had …

Playing in the Penh: I Think We Enjoyed Phnom Penh More Than Most People…

…there was a guy on the dance floor and his ‘signature’ move was screaming. Literally. He would (during a song) emit shrill screams. Well I always expected that Phnom Penh (PP) would be a memorable stop on this SEA circuit we have endeavored upon. I had done some homework by reading ahead. Namely, I read the sensational Off the Rails in Phnom Penh: A Story of Girls, Guns and Ganja. Things have certainly calmed down a bit since the author’s stint during the mid 1990s. And thank god for that because shot guns shells are bad for your health (and shit was about to get real at a Cambodian artillery range). Anyway, it was a good read and I’d certainly recommend it to anyone, travelers or sedentary folk alike. Additionally, any trip to PP or Cambodia for that matter requires some insight into its sad, sad past and the politics of civil war which I will not go into here. Between the apparent lawlessness and deeply tragic modern history, I had a very unclear set …

We Visited Tonle Sap Fishing Village Near Siem Reap

Tonle Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. Its significant fluctuation in water levels yields a large flood plain and bountiful biosphere. Wikipedia also informs me that the lake is unique because the water flow changes directions twice annually. We decided to make a day trip to a fishing village on the lake’s edge. Residents live on the water because water levels rise more than 9 metres during the wet season! We hired a car and guide from a tour agency which deposited us at the wharf, twenty or so minutes from down town Siem Reap. The group of us boarded privately boarded a boat and headed down the canal to the floating village. Rain clouds threatened overhead but we were delighted when a smaller boat approached ours and child hopped on board. She promptly produced a cooler of local beer and made an easy sale. As quickly as she appeared she hopped back and disappeared into the boat traffic.  Our first stop was a restaurant-souvenir shop-ecological centre. Before we could step off …