I reached Siem Reap on a hot afternoon after a boring flight from Sillypore. Although it was supposed to be the rainy season, it was all bright and clear skies in Siem Reap. Perhaps it was too hot for my liking. After getting my first Cambodian stamp on the passport, I took a moto taxi to Siem Reap. Walked around and it doesn't look different from any town. I quickly settled for a guesthouse and made my way to Angkor Wat (i.e. in order to catch the sunset).

Got a culture shock. There were so much people crowding around: I suppose everybody is trying to be an Angkor Wat coffee-table book author. I feel ashamed to say that I was one of them. It was as though if I was in a tourist zoo. Perhaps the greatest winners were the locals. There were constant chants of "Sir, do you want to buy postcards?" or "Sir, do you want cold drink?". When you shake your head in disbelief, they will provide an alternative offer: " Sir, you will buy from me when you come out?". Sometimes I wonder how will the constant pleading helps. Ok, they are earning a living (it was better than begging). But who can guarantee that I can meet them when I come out of the temples? To my surprise, it did work for once. I will tell you all about it later.

After the brief visit (I wasn't allow to enter as it was too late: 545pm), I took a ride back to Psar Chaa (the driver charged me USD$2!). I was famished and settled for a beef rice-noodle soup for 2500Riels (USD$1=4000Riels). I walked around Siem Reap and thought it was damn touristy: it was filled with travellers' cafes. When there are tourists, there will no doubt be beggars. You will then observe a huge disparity of wealth. I guess I can never fully grasped the concept of inequality.