Where do I begin? (Hi, it's G again) We arrive to blazing heat – hotter than Bali but perhaps not as humid. Once again the ubiquitous busses take us to a very nice hotel – elegant and sleek, in contrast to Siem Riep which is dusty, bustling and colorful – filled with people, bicycles, cows being herded, markets, shops, tuk tuks, street performers, 
and lots hustle, bustle and color. Amputees (from stepping on land mines) are not uncommon. Everyone smiles. Our first venture was a river boat trip. We ride on a 30 person motor boat, with a guide pointing things out and his young son helping to man the boat. The river is a tributary of the Mekong, which is some 200 miles away. This is the dry season in Cambodia and the river is a low body of brown, filthy and very muddy water, surrounded by mountains of mud dredged by large backhoes. Along the sides of the river are shacks where people live in the most abject poverty. They fish, they scavenge for clams, their children run naked on the mud mountains, 
and they bathe in the filth of the river. It is a real and profound education in the dire poverty of this area and of how many people still live. Not everyone smiles.
Our river trip culminates at a small dock where we were initially accosted by many small boats containing mothers with very young children begging for “one dollar”. The young girls (2-4 years old) are draped in large live snakes around their necks so that we take pictures of them and then they can beg for money. It is rather jarring.
We end the day with a trip to the museum and museum store (more details on that when I get home) and a lovely dinner at our hotel, complete with gymnasts and fire dancers. Somehow the excess of food and opulence feels strange and disquieting given the contrast to the poverty. This is a nation of contrasts. Much to cry about and much beauty. Like the Balinese, the people here are genuinely lovely and happy to meet us. Everyone smiles.
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