Most times there will be a language barrier but this shouldn’t stop you from trying food carts. At first, we would move cautiously up to the food cart, looking at each other, whispering ‘do you think it’s safe to eat? What is that?’ and then point to something asking ‘how much?’ If you do ask how much, it may cause the street vendor to stop, think, and decide to tell you an inflated price. We now confidently walk up to the cart, have a look, put two fingers up, nod, hold out some cash, and hope for change. Just pretend you know what you’re doing! At times you will need…
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One Month in Cambodia – Photo Gallery
We have put together a travel photo gallery of our favourite photos from Cambodia. They are unedited photos and a collection of our impressions and memories. Please enjoy! TWOGREENBACKPACKS.COM/CAMBODIA
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Top 10 Things To Do In Cambodia
In the order that I remember them. 1. Get a Blind Massage This is definitely an experience. No pampering, no fuss, just exactly what it says on the sign. A massage by a blind masseur. 60 minutes for $5. A few dollars for a good cause to help the blind make a living working instead of on the street. Don’t let the dirt road alleyway entrance or lack of English deter you. Where: Seeing Hands 4 in Siem Reap. There are Seeing Hands franchises in Phnom Penh, and Sihanoukville too. 2. Visit Angkor Wat at the Angkor Archaeological Park. These 900 year old ruins are a spectacular sight. You can…
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The Motivation to Blog…
… Has all but disappeared. We have much to catch up on. We went on a trek with an elephant, a leech sucked my blood, we got involved in elephant politics, I accidentally let a baby drop on its head, we traveled from Cambodia to Vietnam, and now we think Lionel has malaria. More to come.
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Don’t be That Guy (or Girl) to order Crab and then Complain
Don’t be this girl. She ordered a Crab dish at the Crab Market, in a Crab Restaurant (literally called ‘The Crab Kitchen’). When the dish came she complained and asked for the staff to take out all of the meat from the shell as it was ‘too messy’ for her to do it herself. Don’t eat crab then. De-shelling it, and fighting to get to the meat is the best part. Duh.
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The Ever Present Issue Of Money
The elephant trek was largely a great experience, despite me constantly wondering if I’m yet again funding the extinction of a species. Mr. Tree had convinced us to get a guide for an additional US$20. He was supposed to speak fluent English, explain everything about the elephant and the jungle and take us to meet some local villagers, living deeper inside the jungle. Fact is, he barely spoke to us at all. Emma tried about four times to engage him in a conversation. He didn’t know how old the elephant is, how many elephants belong to his village and barely got the name of the elephant out. Suddenly he vanished…
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Leaving Cambodia!
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The Rich, The Poor And The Confused
Playing candy crush in an air conditioned bus on a ferry, eating a chocolate croissant while two hungry children knock on the window pointing at our food is not a situation I expected to be in and I didn’t like it. I wondered who is more helpless, the one helping or the one being helped? Sure, I can give these girls my bread, that woman $5, this boy my shorts until I am naked with no money, begging myself. I won’t have ended their suffering and now there is one more beggar on the streets. I find that giving money is a lazy way of helping, because it is impersonal…
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Elephant Politics In Mondulkiri
Hellbent on visiting the Elephant Valley Project, we ended up deciding against it and opted for a local elephant trek. We were met with very passionate anti-EVP opinions and stories by the locals and even after the trek with the locals, I left Sen Monorom with mixed emotions and concern for its future. I wonder if anyone has any true welfare thoughts for the region and its elephants or if it is all a battle for coin. Elephant tourism brings a lot of money to the region, so naturally, whether you are a local trying to make a living or a Western business man, you are going to want a…
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Children in Cambodia
Just a quick note that these are the opinions of myself, of what I’ve seen and heard from talking to locals, expats and fellow travellers. I won’t pretend to clearly know everything about the situation of children in Cambodia as I’ve only spent four short weeks there. This is just what I’ve seen and heard and my conclusions from it. We’ve heard from quite a few people and tourist guide books that you can come to Cambodia and volunteer at orphanages for any length of time. Initially we were really excited to check this out as we both love kids and thought it would be good to do something to…
