Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodian Morning Soup (Num Banh Choc) - Angkor, Cambodia

We found our tuk-tuk driver having breakfast with other drivers when we exited the temples at Banteay Srei. He invited us to join him and he introduced us to a fantastic morning soup. It consisted of a subtle yellow curry fish broth with fresh rice noodles, paper-thin chopped banana blossom, cucumber, and cabbage and topped off with a spoonful of dark sweet soup. A bowl of bitter herbs and long beans was passed around the table as the final touch. Read about our morning visit to Banteay Srey.

Woman Washing A Water Buffalo - Angkor, Cambodia

This girl gives her water buffalo a late morning bath in the shade. Read about our morning visit to Banteay Srey.

Fish Sauteed in Saffron and Khmer Herbs - Siem Reap, Cambodia

After getting our fill of Amok curry, we sampled some of Singing Tree Cafe's seafood combinations, like this one with tender pieces of fish in saffron and khmer herbs, topped with roasted peanuts and served with nutty purple sticky rice. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Cambodian Girl - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Our tuk-tuk driver in Angkor Wat, Mr. Date, took us to his village home just south of Siem Reap. We hung out there with his family, drank coconut juice from freshly cut coconuts, and watched the kids chase the chickens. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Marti Gras - Siem Reap, Cambodia

The pub street in Siem Reap decided to have a Mardi Gras celebration the Saturday following the real day. Whoever drew the banner forgot to check his dictionary and his calendar. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Child Waiting on a Motorbike - Siem Reap, Cambodia

This girl waits for her mother to return from the market in Siem Reap. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Woman Making Palm Sugar - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Numerous families in villages between Siem Reap and Banteay Srei focus their morning efforts on boiling down the juice from palm fruit to make palm sugar candies and compressed squares used in cooking. Read about our morning visit to Banteay Srey.

Exhibition of Street Kids' Photographs - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Located near the main market in Siem Reap, this small Friends International street kids center serves as a place that street kids can come to learn, play, paint and just have a break from the street. Most of the kids are scavengers, rummaging through garbage to find salable bits. We came across this place thanks to a sign posted outside announcing a photography exhibition by street kids. The stories of these kids were heartbreaking - abuse and alcoholism span cultures and countries, unfortunately. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Garbage Collection - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Most of Siem Reap is filled with restaurants, hotels, spas and other services geared towards foreign tourists. There is another side to life here, however. These kids have outfitted their bicycles with bags to collect garbage that they hope to sell later. These kids were leaving the Siem Reap Street Children Center after watching cartoons and an educational video on the dangers of sniffing glue (which is unfortunately quite common here as well). Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Mother and Son - Siem Reap, Cambodia

A mother and son stand behind a palm sugar basket in a village between Banteay Srei and Siem Reap. Read about our morning visit to Banteay Srey.

Street Children Working on a Project - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Located near the main market in Siem Reap, this small Friends International center serves as a place where street kids can come to learn, play, paint and just have a break from the street. Most of the kids are scavengers, rummaging through garbage to find salable bits. We came across this place thanks to a sign posted outside announcing a photography exhibition by street kids. The stories of these kids were heartbreaking - abuse and alcoholism span cultures and countries, unfortunately. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Fresh Rice Noodles Under a Kromar (Cambodian Scarf) - Siem Reap, Cambodia

These rice noodles awaited their turn to be scooped into morning soup. Rice noodles are plentiful in Southeast Asia. This particular batch had to be the tastiest and freshest we encountered during our travels. Read about our morning visit to Banteay Srey.

Street Food Market - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Remarkable, dirt-cheap and authentic amok and pressed sticky rice squares with mango marked our visits to the Siem Reap street market. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Pig Snouts and Bits - Siem Reap, Cambodia

A tray full of smoked pig snouts and other bits on a side street behind the main market. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

River Life - Siem Reap, Cambodia

As soon as you begin to exit Siem Reap, spiffy becomes scruffy and real life is revealed, as it is here along the Stung Siem Reap. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Cambodian Kids - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Smiling Girl - Siem Reap, Cambodia

This girl, curious and shy, approached us from the neighbor's yard. Though tourism in Cambodia is growing, tourists are still a novelty in many small villages. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

People Working on Rice Fields - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Doesn't look like a lake, does it? During the dry season, the Tonle Sap Lake shrinks tremendously, leaving land exposed for dry rice farming. In the wet season, this area is again swallowed whole by the lake's advance. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Sleeping Pig - Siem Reap, Cambodia

This pig provided comic relief at the sobering Land Mine Museum in Siem Reap. The Land Mine Museum (www.cambodialandminemuseum.org) is located off a small dirt road between Siem Reap and the entrance to the Angkor Wat complex. It's a series of small huts and exhibitions with examples of deactivated land mines strewn all over. The museum was started by and is run by Aki Ra, a former child soldier for both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese Army. As a child soldier, he laid the mines. As an adult, his mission is to rid Cambodia of them and assist land mine victims in making lives for themselves. He and his de-mining teams continue to uncover land mines with shovels and sticks. Unfortunately, there are still millions of unexploded land mines in the further reaches of Cambodia. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Plastic Flowers and Mines - Siem Reap, Cambodia

A curious arrangement of de-activated mines, ordnance, and plastic flowers at the Land Mine Museum in Siem Reap. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Beetles and Fried Garlic - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Mmmm. Another bug variety for a mid-afternoon snack. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.

Butterfly on a Leaf - Siem Reap, Cambodia

One of the many butterflies floating around the gardens at Butterfly Garden Restaurant. The butterflies are purchased from kids living in nearby villages. After the children collect them, they come to release them in the garden twice a week. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Book Vendor - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Book vendors with hardships are a common sight on the streets of Siem Reap. Some are land mine victims, many are handicapped, or are single parents taking care of large families. Often aided by NGOs, they usually have a sign written in English explaining their story and asking tourists to buy a book to help support them. We definitely didn't need any more books - we were over-packed in this area. We did, however, have books to give that we'd already read. So, we gave them to this man so he would have more to sell (and hopefully more to earn). He lost his legs to a land mine in 1990 and a father of 3 children. His real love was making traditional woven belts (he showed us some samples), but he said they took too long to weave and didn't earn him as much money as books and postcards. Read about the other side of Siem Reap.

Surprised Girl - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Another member of Mr. Date's extended family. Read about our first impressions of Siem Reap.