Cambodia – Page 6 – Traveling Mark

Royal Independence Gardens in Siem Reap

As I leaving Lucky Mall, I took my right turn on the traffic lights where Siem Reap’s Sivatha Bulevard is crossed with National Road #6. According to the map this was near direct way back to Two Dragons Guesthouse and I was really looking forward to munching on my fresh watermelon. As I started riding down National Road #6 and started getting closer towards Siem Reap’s Royal Residence, I noticed quite prominent shriek coming from the opposite side. According to the map, that’s the location of Royal Independence Gardens. Since it was already dark (it basically gets dark at 6pm every day in Cambodia), I didn’t feel like strolling Royal Independence Gardens, but the shriek was so paramount, I felt attracted to it and wanted to find out what was making it.

View of Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chorm Shrine Through Trees of Royal Independence Gardens

At first I thought there must have been some ponds within the Royal Independence Gardens with millions of some viciously exotic frogs who spend their nights trying to out-shriek one another and I wasn’t far from the truth. There truly are small water reservoirs at Royal Independence Gardens, but these were no frogs.

Another thing that instantly caught my attention as I started passing by the Royal Independence Gardens was tiny Ya-Tep Shrine in the middle of the road breaking traffic in half and another, bigger shrine called Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chorm Shrine on the left hand side, opposite Royal Residence palace, basically directly within Royal Independence Gardens. Because this was the beginning of the Pchum Ben Festival there were many people around and with all that shriek and major commotion I felt compelled to pull over, park my bike and hang around for a bit. I was truly looking forward to munching on my watermelon, but this could wait.

Street Vendors by Royal Independence Gardens After Dusk

I’ve parked my bicycle by the small gate that was used as a barricade to prevent motor vehicle access to the Royal Independence Gardens. There was about 100 people around. Few street vendors were selling decorated flowers, incense sticks and live birds. The smell of burning incense stick was so prevalent, the haze from the burn was so thick you could touch it. I didn’t mind it as Cambodian incense sticks have really pleasant, oriental smell that’s not offensive in any way. This whole place seemed so alive now that the sun was down and Siem Reap was engulfed in the darkness of the night, I really wanted to stay and see what exactly is happening. Plus there was that continuous loud shriek that was raising so many questions and even though it added indescribable creepiness to the night, I was attracted to it and perceived it as music to my ears. Then at one point I looked up against dark blue sky of the night and my breath was taken away. There were thousands upon thousands of bats size of an eagle filling the sky. They were the creatures making that shriek, not frogs and none of the people seemed to mind. I was in awe.

Decorated Green Coconut for Sale at Royal Independence Gardens as Offering to Buddha

Flower Bouquet for Sale as Offering at the Shrine

Pchum Ben Festival in Cambodia – Feeding the Spirits of the Dead

As I was receiving my introduction to Buddhism, I was told about the reason why Wat Preah Prom Rath pagoda was so full of people, why traditional Khmer music was being played from a loudspeaker why there was so much food all over the place. It was the first day of Pchum Ben Festival, which was loosely translated to me as The Festival of the Dead or sometimes as The Festival of the Souls (or spirits).

Pchum Ben is a Buddhist Festival but even though Cambodia is surrounded by other Theravada Buddhist nations, Pchum Ben is only celebrated in Cambodia and nowhere else. Pchum Ben Festival celebrations last for 15 days with final, culminating day falling on the 15th day of the 10th month of the Khmer calendar. Granted, Khmer calendar is different from the Gregorian one which is the one used by western countries so even though it was the beginning of September, the Pchum Ben Festival has already started.

Cambodian Buddhists Praying During Pchum Ben Festival at Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple

The most prominent observation a foreigner notices during Cambodian Pchum Ben Festival is the fact that it involves a lot of food. You see Khmer families coming to temples and pagodas carrying dishes with food which they arrange along the walkways while they spend hours chanting prayers inside temples, kneeling before statues of Buddha. As it was explained to me, the food is meant for the dead. The premise of Pchum Ben Festival is to feed the spirits of the dead. Cambodians firmly believe that the act of feeding the souls of their deceased predecessors will make their stay on Earth more enjoyable.

During Pchum Ben the spirits of the dead descend from the spirit world and walk the Earth. Those who are still alive prey for their souls and offer them food. As it goes with Buddhist Monks in Cambodia, people also bring food for them. The festival is very spiritual and considerably one of the most important festivals in Khmer calendar. As the history of Pchum Ben has it, the festival was originally celebrated for three months but has been shortened to 15 days as modern lifestyle makes 3 months of celebration complicated.

After me and my girl guide were done talking about the life of Buddha, we went to the prayer hall where several people were already gathered and chanted their prayers as one while their chants were played back from a loudspeaker. As confused westerner, I asked if I could join them for a prayer and take a few pictures while I was at it. There was no issue with that as Cambodians are vastly tolerant of foreigners when it comes to cultural and religious differences.

Pchum Ben - Festival of the Dead, Notice the Time on the Clock. I Had 15 Minutes Till my English Lecture at 5pm

This was the beginning of Pchum Ben Festival but as it became apparent during the following 15 days, Pchum Ben was a big deal for Khmer people who take the festival very seriously and dedicate most of their focus to it while the festivities last. Even Cambodians who are otherwise non religious would prepare their food and bring the offerings to one of the temples. during Pchum Ben Little did I know at the time that the most significant events of my personal stay in Cambodia will be directly connected to Pchum Ben. Let the festivities begin!

Legendary Khmer Hospitality Myth

If you’re doing your homework and looking up info on Cambodians (Khmer people), you may stumble across references about Khmer Hospitality which is allegedly legendary. I had also heard about it prior to my arrival to Cambodia and just as everyone else who came to the country with open mind, I was set up for a big surprise. Legendary Khmer hospitality is a myth. At least the genuine one, but then again – all other forms of hospitality are worse than hostility. Let me explain:

When I was offered sticky rice cakes by complete strangers at Wat Bo temple, it was my day two of a three month stay in the country. This generous gift was from the heart and represented the most sincere form of generosity. Exactly the way I’ve heard about and came to expect. Sadly enough, this was an extremely isolated incident and cases of genuine hospitality and/or generosity towards strangers, especially if the stranger is a foreigner are virtually nonexistent. During the three months following this experience, all I have encountered on daily basis was fake hospitality. What’s fake hospitality?

You see – as a foreigner, you will be nothing less and nothing more to Cambodians than a walking bag of money, or a walking ATM machine if you will. Cambodians won’t see a friend in you, they will only see the opportunity to make money. They may act like the nicest friends to you, but hidden motives will come to light sooner or later. You may even be offered something (aka hospitality), but if you are given something, it’s because they will expect something back in return. The fact that it’s natural for westerners to return the favor was noticed by Cambodians who relentlessly abuse it for their benefit.

You may encounter a random local approaching you with beaming smile, offering you free drink in this scorching weather (or anything else) which will surely leave you in awe. What they’re doing is making you feel obliged to buy something from them. It’s a way to get close to foreigners as it’s getting more and more difficult due to extremely aggressive nature of Tuk Tuk drivers and omnipresent touts. This is not hospitality, this is abuse of the fact that westerners are used to appreciate random acts of kindness and understand the premise of returning the favor.

If you stay in a country for an extended period of time, you will make some local friends. If you are volunteering, you will be dedicating your time, skill and effort (as well as money) to betterment of their lives and locals you will be volunteering for will become your friends. They will not need to “bribe” you with “free” offering the way other locals have to, because they are already close to you so the barrier is broken. They can straight up mention that they are cooking and ask you if you’d like to try a local dish. You will not be asked for anything, but sooner or later the time will come when you will be told something along the lines of: “my mom, who invited you to have papaya salad with us few weeks ago…”

One way or another, you will be reminded that they did something for you. That reminder will come when they need something. They will bide their time until the most suitable time (time that can bring them most in return) comes. Sharing something from the heart, just because it’s the right thing to do and because it gives you good karma points is extremely, extremely rare in Cambodia and if you encounter such thing, you can count yourself as one of very few.

It is important to understand the following:

I understand that Cambodians are impoverished people with bleak outlooks for brighter future as corruption is deeply embedded in all levels of society, including high rank politicians, but that still doesn’t mean that this urban myth should continue being spread on. Legendary Khmer hospitality is a myth. If you want to experience genuine hospitality, where people give unconditionally, without expectations to get something in return, go to Eastern Europe. Finding it in Cambodia is extremely rare. And this is not limited to hospitality. The same applies to help, for example. You won’t get unconditional help in Cambodia. If you are lost, need directions or advice and approach a local, they will instantly try to take advantage of the situation and make something off of you. Under normal circumstances, locals have to fight with dozens of other locals who struggle to get to the foreigner for a shot at making money off of them. If a foreigner makes their own effort to expose themselves to a local, it will be like blessing to the local and they won’t pass on this opportunity.

Genuine hospitality in Cambodia doesn’t exist. As doesn’t unconditional help. I realize that one should strive to only say good things about others and if there is something bad, then you either need not mention it or still need to say it’s good because that’s a nice thing to do. But I believe it’s inappropriate to continue spreading on the myth about legendary Khmer hospitality even though it doesn’t exist. I believe in providing truthful information, not incomplete truth in the name of being politically correct. when something is good, I’ll say it’s good and give due respect and acknowledgement. But when something is bad, I won’t simply ignore it just so I don’t sound hurtful.

The truth is, for one case of genuine hospitality, there are hundred of cases of fake hospitality in Cambodia. Fake hospitality is often camouflaged with fancy fluff so if a person is unobservant or ignorant, they may not even realize that they were taken advantage of. The reason no one will go openly at you with fake hospitality is that in case you are that naive, then there is a chance to take advantage of you repeatedly. Perhaps that’s why urban legends about Khmer Hospitality exist. It’s like brainwash by the politicians – not only will you do as they say, you will even ask for it and recommend your friend to do it that way too.

Sticky Rice Cakes

As I was walking around Wat Bo with my camera hung around my neck, I noticed smoke rising from underneath the metal roof at an open area of the temple grounds. There were several middle aged men underneath the roof and given that it was September when temperatures in Cambodia reach extremely high levels, I did not envy them one bit as they were not only heated by the sun, but also by the fire in the midst of the roofed area. Wat Bo is a fairly quiet pagoda which doesn’t see many foreigners so my presence was instantly noticed. Even though this was only my second day in Cambodia, I was already used to the fact that Cambodians gawk at all foreigners as if they walked around with monkey on their heads, so I vastly disregarded the stares, however I was attracted by the smoke and wanted to see what they were doing under that roof so I came closer, camera still hanging off my neck.

Language barrier was impenetrable as all of the locals under that roof were aged males who could not even read or write in their native tongue, nevermind understanding foreign languages. Since my understanding of Khmer language was virtually none, any form of verbal communication was impossible. It hindered me not.

I noticed a pile of green rolls on an improvised table next to the fire. These people were obviously cooking something and wrapping it up in banana leaves to serve as food. Smiles on their faces made me feel welcome so I took pictures of what was going on and one of the men picked up one of those a leaf wrapped rolls, unwrapped it and handed it to me with a smirk and a sign to give it a bite.

Generous and Welcoming Buddhist Cambodians Offering Me a Sticky Rice Cake

Once unwrapped, I could see that it’s a rice roll that perfectly sticks together and is wrapped tightly in a banana leaf giving it almost an impression of vacuum packing. As I learned later, these were Sticky Rice Cakes (referred to in Khmer as nom ansom) and they can really stay preserved inside that banana leaf for a good month without going bad, even when stored in permanently hot environments (Most rural Cambodians don’t even have electricity, nevermind fridges).

I took that Sticky Rice Cake that was so graciously offered to me and gave it a bite. It tasted awful. It was bland and tasteless. It felt like some mass in my mouth, but it had no taste. They obviously did not add any salt or other seasoning to it so the mass lacked any taste whatsoever. Inside the rice roll was a filling. The one I started to eat had meat filling, quite possibly pork – from the looks of it. The filling was as tasteless as the rice. I was not used to eating tasteless foods prior to coming to Cambodia which made it increasingly difficult for me to enjoy it. Regardless, these men who were cooking Sticky Rice Cakes within the Wat Bo temple grounds obviously did not sport the financial riches and simple foods, such as a Sticky Rice Cake was often all they could afford to eat. And they graciously offered me one to eat right on the spot. This act of unconditional generosity was so heart-warming I got over the taste lacking sticky rice and continued pretending that I enjoyed offered cake immensely.

Pile of Sticky Rice Cake Wrapped in Banana Leaves to Preserve Them Without Storing in a Fridge

I wanted to ask what exactly these sticky rice cakes were, what exactly the filling was, how exactly they make them and whether I can leave a contribution to Wat Bo but language barrier made it impossible. And before I knew it, the man who unwrapped the sticky rice cake I was eating, already had a small plastic bag filled with about a dozen of those sticky rice cakes and handed it to me with a smile. I was trying to explain that I could not possibly accept that, seeing how these men barely had enough for themselves, but as I was talking, they kept smiling at me like the nicest people in the world, not understanding a single word I said. I did not know what to do next.

I really did not want to leave with so many rice cakes from people who obviously don’t belong anywhere near the middle class, yet I had no means to explain this to them. On the other hand, simply leaving the bag there and taking off would be extremely rude as it may make them feel like I despise them and/or their food. Without the ability to explain my thinking in words, I was in a dead lock. Last thing I wanted was to offend these genuinely nice people who don’t have much for themselves, but did not hesitate to share with a random stranger. This pile of sticky rice cakes they have just cooked may have been the food for all of the pagoda for a month. Now I was gonna leave with a dozen of the cakes I didn’t even like the taste of. But they looked so happy to have shared it with me I could not disappoint them.

I spent a little bit of time with them, slowly biting off from the sticky rice cake I had unwrapped trying to make it look like I enjoyed the taste and later made a move towards main Wat Bo pagoda to take pictures of it. I took the plastic bag filled up with still wrapped sticky rice cakes, made a hand sign that I’m going that way to take some pictures and took off without saying good bye. I still had it in my mind that as I’m taking pictures of the pagoda, I will work out the strategy to give these sticky rice cakes back to them as they’d serve them much better than they would serve me.

I Could Not Even Finish the Rice Cake I Started Because of Lacking Taste of the Mass

Wat Bo Stupas in Siem Reap, Cambodia Photo Gallery

Tops of Many Stupas – Photo Taken from Wat Bo Main Temple Walkway

Caskets – Waiting for Someone to be Put in Them?

Insides of Larger Stupa with Open Door Housing Two Tomb Stones

Photo Showing Doorways at Square Bases of Stupas

This Shrine Was Built in Form of Stupa to Give it SPiritual Power

Statues at the Doorway to a Stupa Shrine

Many Stupas Towering Up by Wat Bo in Cambodia

Surrounded by Stupas at Wat Bo, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Photo of Stupas at Wat Bo Ground with Main Pagoda in the Background

Buddhism Stupas

My first exposure to Stupas was at Wat Preah Prom Rath in Cambodian Siem Reap. At that time I had no idea what these monumental structures within Buddhist pagodas were and why they ranged so much in size, color and shape. It was apparent that Stupas are an important part of Buddhism, I just didn’t know what purpose they served. When I got to Wat Bo in Siem Reap, the Stupas were more mesmerizing than the temple itself. That’s also one of the main reasons why I focused on Stupas and managed to miss historically and culturally important Reamker paintings. So what exactly are those Buddhist Stupas and why you always see them at Temple grounds?

Stupas at Wat Bo Pagoda in Siem Reap, Cambodia

I saught answers with one of my students from the English language class at Wat Preah Prom Rath. I came to the pagoda about an hour prior to the lecture and one of the girls from the class was sitting there on the bench. Since I was entirely new to Buddhism, I asked around and she was most happy to explain. The only trick was that the class in which I was teaching was free for all, so students of all levels of English participated. The girl who was my Buddhism guide that day was a very beginner so language barrier was making it a bit difficult to understand each other.

From what I could make out, Stupas are used as graves. These monumental structures located near pagodas are basically tomb stones that house ashes of deceased Buddhists. The reason why some Stupas are bigger than other is wealth of a person or family whose ashes are housed inside. The wealthier a person, the fancier, bigger and more decorated a Stupa they can afford.

Notice the Doorway at the Base of These Stupas

Stupas oftentimes have small entrance doorways through which ashes of other members of the same family are put inside. Through this door those who are still alive also put offerings for the dead, which include food for their journey through the afterworld, flowers, money and whatever other relics may be needed. Buddhists believe in reincarnation – death is not the end, only a transition.

In Buddhism, aside from practical use as funerary monuments, Stupas are best described as sacred monuments that symbolize enlightenment. Stupas have square bases which symbolize four immesurables as taught by Buddhism. The immeasurables are:

Immeasurable love
Immeasurable compassion
Immeasurable joy
Immeasurable equanimity

Stupas Photographed from Wat Bo Main Temple

There is deep meaning to each part of Stupas. They are full of relics and holy objects, decorated with reliefs of important Buddhist events. There is powerful spirituality to each Stupa which is instantly recognized by merely looking upon one. I was drawn to those upon each encounter in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. Very powerful, mesmerising monuments that establish peace and harmony and keep negative forces at bay.

Leaking Bicycle Valve

Shortly after the purchase of bicycle I started having troubles with leaking rear tire valve. I was excited to have my own ride but the excitement only lasted a day. I went for a ride the following day and found the rear tire completely flat. Unable to ride, I took the bicycle back to the shop where it was purchased and insisted that they replace the leaking valve. Dealing with Cambodians, there was a lot of customer mistreatment when they would say something to each other in a language I clearly did not understand and had a good laugh at it while I was standing there puzzled. This type of behaviour is very common in Cambodia as is zero after-sale support.

I knew I stood a very little chance of having the issue with leaking valve resolved, but I was determined to get results. After a good while of obvious abuse when I was being ignored and had jokes made on my behalf, I made a firm requirement again that they fix the problem with rear tire valve. Eventually, after seeing that I meant business, one of the boys working in the shop inflated the tire with a hand pump. I knew this was not gonna resolve the problem as if tire held air, it wouldn’t have gone flat within one day in the first place.

Seeing that none of the shop people were willing to spend any more time with me, I left. Not surprisingly, the tire was solid flat within a day again. There was an obvious issue with the valve that could not be solved by re-inflating. I headed back to the shop and stayed very adamant demanding a solution to this and re-inflating was not it. They were not willing to take care of it as in Cambodia, after money is spent, the deal is closed and if you bought a piece of junk, it’s just tough luck.

I stood behind my rights and showed I was not going anywhere unless the valve is fixed so one of the boys eventually took the bike and started working on the leaking valve. New valve solved my problem and there were no more flat tires every day. It wasn’t easy, but standing up for myself and my rights as a customer even in a country like Cambodia where no one has any rights did eventually deliver results. It was tight, but it worked.

Where to Buy a Mountain Bike in Siem Reap?

After my failed attempt to buy a bicycle with help from a Tuk Tuk driver, I knew I was gonna have to take some risk and rely more upon myself in dealing with shops where English is not spoken. The question of “where to buy a mountain bike in Siem Reap” became more pressing as did the question of how to buy it without excessive overpaying (aka getting ripped off) just because I’m a foreigner in Cambodia. In all this melee, I’ve managed to get help from people on Couch Surfing.

It became apparent that National Road 6 is the place to go shopping for bicycles. That’s exactly the place where I was taken by a Tuk Tuk driver the day prior and had been over quoted. The hints I have received clearly suggested that there are more bicycle selling shops on National Road #6, they are just further down east. And that’s where I went.

I strolled down National Road 6 in Siem Reap, passed by the bicycle shop I went to day prior and just a bit further there was another. As it goes with National Road 6 – the shops are primarily geared towards locals so nobody, absolutely nobody speaks English and if a tourist shows up, everyone starts the smell big cash-in as that’s what Cambodians see tourists as (walking bag of money, or walking ATM machine if you will).

Realizing my options were limited, I popped in next bicycle shop and started looking at available mountain bikes and attempted to use sign language to ask about price. Everything was far more reasonable that the day prior and even though I knew I was gonna pay way more than a local would for the same piece of bike wreck, I was OK with it as prices quoted seemed to be in a more reasonable level than yesterday.

The bikes were obviously second hand (aka stolen), no names, all made in China. One way or another, I was gonna end up with a piece of junk, but this was Cambodia, I could go with the junkyard items or pay Tuk Tuks to drive me everywhere. The latter didn’t seem like a good option so bike it was gonna have to be regardless of how awful a piece of scrap metal I would get.

I tried a couple, each seemed as though it was gonna break apart upon third use but I eventually settled with imitated mountain bike that was probably stolen from a guy in Japan as it had a Japanese name painted on it. It had gears and looked a bit like a mountain bike which was a step up from most other bikes which look like they belonged in the 70’s. Pedals seemed to click in an awful way, making unpleasant rattling noise and trembled as used, but it was the best I could get for $38. Yeah, that’s what I paid for my primary means of transportation in Cambodia. Mighty $38.

Picture of My Bad-Ass Mountain Bike I Took in Angkor Wat Area

It was all worth it. I noticed the difference right upon my first ride from the bike shop back to the guesthouse. I rode past several Tuk Tuk drivers who all just stared at me. Bike eliminate a lot of annoyance from Tuk Tuk drivers and other touts who are everywhere, never leaving you alone from the day you set foot in Cambodia till the time to leave. It was awesome not being harassed by them just because I was on a bike, the only tricky part was extreme heat which made bike riding a bid challenging, but that (nature) I could deal with. Vastly encouraged, I drove my bike everywhere.

Metfone Cambodia – Easy Cell Phone Solution for Tourists

As I set out on long term travel, I packed up my unlocked LG Chocolate cell phone to use with local SIM cards at places I stop for an extended period of time. Since my cell was a GSM phone and was unlocked, it should work with any GSM network anywhere in the world and given that most mobile phone providers are GSM, this should be a good enough solution.

I knew I was gonna stay in Cambodia for a while so I wanted to get myself a local SIM card there so I’m connected and easily accessible. From the beginning it seemed like a big deal because there used to be only limited mobile phone services available to tourists but it all seemed to have changed when Metfone launched in Cambodia.

Metfone, from what I understand is a subsidy of a successful mobile provider from Vietnam that expended their services to neighbouring Cambodia where tourist boom took significant proportions and income from tourism grew exponentially. From what I was explained, prior to Metfone, tourists were only able to purchase temporary SIM cards which expired after 2 weeks and were not rechargeable. The way around it was to bribe a Tuk Tuk driver and have him buy an unrestricted SIM card under his name and use it yourself. This approach was no longer relevant since Vietnam based Metfone entered Cambodian mobile market.

The availability of unrestricted SIM cards for tourists from Metfone was a brand new thing when I came to Siem Reap so I went to the main branch located on Sivatha Boulevard, right across the street from Canadian Bank and enquired about the possibility to purchase a SIM card for long term use with my cell phone. I brought my LG unit with me to test it out first in order to make sure I don’t spend money for something that would be incompatible with my cell phone.

To my pleasant surprise, everything went smoother than I anticipated. Metfone representatives were very welcoming and put one of their SIM cards into my phone and let me use it to see that it works without issues. It costs only $3 to purchase a brand new SIM card that has no restrictions and it comes with $2 worth of call credits plus a bonus of $5 worth of call credits within Metfone network. You get your own number that you can recharge when your credit is used up and you can continue using it until you have not recharged your credit for over a month.

I have hesitated not and pulled $3 out of my pocket to get a Metfone SIM card. I was asked to provide a passport as a requirement in order to purchase a SIM card with Metfone, which I did not have on me (it wears out quickly when you carry it in your pockets all the time, plus losing it or having it stolen results in way too much headache, hence I don’t normally carry my passport on me unless can’t otherwise) and thought it was gonna be a problem, but wasn’t. I was simply subsequently asked if I had any other picture ID on me I could provide to prove my identity. I told them I had my Alberta Driver’s License which they said was OK, so I handed it to them so we moved to the last part of sealing a deal – choosing a phone number.

Metfone has that policy that for any decent, half decent and not even remotely good, but better than a randon sequence of numbers phone number you have to pay extra. All numbers available for $3 were plain and simple shit. Anything that has repeated digits or some cool combination of numbers was priced way up ($300 or so). It made no sense paying so much money for a number I’d only use for a month or two, so I was stuck with crappy numbers, but I still tried to nail down one that would be somewhat cool. I settled down with one that ended with 420.

Things change quickly in Cambodia. Only days prior to my arrival it would have been impossible to get an unrestricted cell phone number for use by a tourist (unless you’d cheat the system and obtain one under the name of a local whom you’d have to pay for doing it for you). There was even a law if my sources are correct that disallowed possession of unrestricted SIM cards by foreigners but Metfone changed it all and lawmakers followed by making Cambodia more foreigner friendly. By now, it is possible that there are other mobile providers that offer unrestricted SIM cards to tourists. Shop around to see what’s out there. At the time of this post, there were 9 different mobile providers in Cambodia. That makes for more than enough competition and tourists are the ones with money to spare. They all will want to accommodate the needs of tourists so prices and availability will match the demand.

Getting myself hooked up was really easy. No hessle whatsoever, not even absense of passport was a problem. I would just close this article with a disclaimer statement that I do not endorse Metfone, am not in any way affiliated with them nor get paid in any way. This is my journal so I’m describing things as they happened. Because I was able to get a cell number without hassle from Metfone, I have never checked with any other provider. At the time, I was quite happy and content with what I got from Metfone so I went with it.

Siem Reap River

Siem Reap River flows through the town of Siem Reap dividing it from North to South into a West Bank and an East Bank. Most of the things to do in Siem Reap are on the Western side of the river, however East is the backpackers area with budget guesthouses and inexpensive, yet good restaurants. From a standpoint of a backpacker, East side also has laundry services that are priced at $1 per kilo whereas most laundry spots on the West would ask for $2 per kilo or at best $1.50 making it an extremely expensive venture.

Two Dragons Guesthouse where I was staying during my first week in Siem Reap was within the budget area of the East of Siem Reap River even though I would not particularly think of it as budget accommodation.

I was in Siem Reap during rainy season by the Siem Reap River seemed slow flowing giving an impression of almost standing still. Waters of the river are murky and it’s very common to see a floating plastic bottle or any other piece of garbage to float on the surface. Cambodians are not clean. Throwing garbage in the river is a common practise, as is pissing and shitting into it. Many people fish on the banks of Siem Reap River and they all complain that there are fewer and fewer fish. Well duh! What did you expect if you merrily pollute your own river like there is no tomorrow and nobody regulates fishing. Overfishing will not give the fish a chance to populate the waters and those who don-t get caught have hard enough time surviving in the water atrociously polluted by both human waste and chemicals.

Water in the Siem Reap River is Dirty. Human and Chemical Waste Pollute the Water Dubbed by Garbage that's Not Bio Degradeable

There are huge trees lining the Siem Reap River on both sides which is a good thing. Occasional benches allow for heat weary passer-by to take a breather and hide from the sun in the shade of the trees. There are ongoing efforts to decorate the area around the Siem Reap River and make it more eye popping which I highly approve of, however there should also be far stricter efforts to protect the river itself from its biggest enemy – people of Cambodia.

Photo of Large Tree On a Side of the Siem Reap River

Decorations that already exist along the banks of the Siem Reap River are a solid reminder that nearby Angkor Archaeological Park draws a lot of money to the town by having tourists stay, dine and buy useless junk here. Here’s hoping provincial government will not ignore the signs and will do their best to preserve the environment and save the Siem Reap River before it’s too late.

Decorative Light Posts Like This One Line the Siem Reap River on Both Sides

Angkor Diamond Hotel is Located on the Eastern Side of the Siem Reap River