Cambodia came in like a punch to the gut.  The first day we were up early at 5:00 am (along with every other Siem Reap tourist) to see sunrise over Angkor Wat.  Noted as one of the seven great wonders, Angkor Wat is a feast to behold.  It is a holy site ruin and in many felt like Machu Pitchu to me.  Ruins and religious undertones.

Angkor Wat was beautiful and peaceful but I can’t say the same for the surrounding area.  Walking between temples, there was constant haggling from locals to buy stuff.  Unfortunately, some of the worst of it was from the children.  There were so many kids running around the temples. It’s so hard to say no to them (which is the obvious reason their parents are sending out to work the troves of tourists.)

The kids come up selling postcards, guide books, magnets, anything really.  They’ll begin a speech on whatever they are selling: “Buy these. Only one dollar.  Two for three.  Good price.  Please buy lady.  Good price for you. One for one dollar, two for three dollar.  Good price lady, you buy.”  We are talking 4, 5, 6 year olds.  I can pretty much guarantee that these little ones have zero comprehension of the words they are saying.  I’m sure it’s a script rehearsed day after day.  A song of sorts, like the ABCs.

At one point, Julia and I were going into a public bathroom at one of the temples and there was a little boy sitting next to a sign saying we had to pay.  A girl walking in front of us told the boy that she wasn’t going to give him money because she had a ticket to the temple.  She was most likely correct.  Many locals set up shop in front public places and attempt to get tourists to pay to enter.  The woman refused and walked into the toilet.  This little guy was so upset, he followed her yelling at her to pay.   He was so upset and on the verge of tears.  Finally he looked at his dad who shook his head and pulled him back from the lady.

These types of things really bother me. It’s difficult not assigning judgement to a situation like this or a culture who expects this from it’s children.  It’s a challenge for me to remain an unbiased observer. What’s the right thing to do at this point? Do you pay the money?  The toilet was free, but we are talking about 25-50 cents here.  Does paying help?  Does that improve the situation? Does it give a poor family the little income they need to survive? Does it encourage parents to not send their children to school because they know their children will garner more money than they ever could? Do you try to explain to the little boy why we weren’t going to pay? I have a lot of questions and not many answers.  I truly don’t know the answer.

Julia and I were exhausted after only a few days in Siem Reap. It was hot, bustling and emotionally taxing.  On the way home from the temples the first day I was processing everything I had seen.  A holy site, massive amounts of people, unsurprised children walking around selling things and handling large amounts of cash, ruins, cars, people.   I looked off into the distance and saw a bunch of kids in huddle.  Great more kids working, I thought bitterly.  But these children were different.  They were laughing, running, smiling, yelling.  They were doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing. I looked a little closer and realized they were playing tag.