Martin in Cambodia

From Martin:

We've arrived safely in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The trip took around 11 1/2 hours, including about two and a half hours of stops for breakfast and lunch. We covered approximately 500 km. Cambodia is so much different than Vietnam. There aren't nearly as many fruit producing trees, and the traffic is a small fraction of what it was in Vietnam. The country isn't nearly as developed, which is quite understandable due to the US B-52 bombings, Khmer Rouge rule, and subsequent invasion by Vietnam. I have also noticed a lot of humanitarian aid here. There are signs advertising USAID along with other organizations. I also saw what looked to be a food truck distributing food to families. I doubt if I will see much of this in Siem Reap since it is such a tourist town.
I haven't had much interaction with the people yet since we just arrived about an hour ago. Tomorrow we will go to Angkor Wat and visit all of the temples. It looks like such an amazing place.

We spent the previous two days in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, where we spent around 3-4 hours by boat touring the region. Riding in a vehicle on the roads is not very fun. I'm sure that auto manufacturers have to find some different ways to pitch their products since the roads are so congested and bumpy. Í fight motion sickness most of the time on the road.

One thing that really surprises me here is the lack of protections for the average citizen. The plumbing and electrical systems in Vietnam have been very scary. Lines from telephone poles can dip within about 5 feet of a sidewalk. We have often seen children sandwiched between two parents on a single motorbike. And they rarely wear helmets! When we toured a couple sweatshops near Ho Chi Minh City we saw so many potentially dangerous situations for workers! I also need to ignore how my food is prepared; even in the better restaurants. Richard mentioned that raw beef was left on the "clean" floor in a restaurant we ate at yesterday for lunch (thankfully I'm not sick yet.) I can't imagine the level of fines that OSHA and the FDA would hand out if these were in the USA.

We only have 5 full days left here in Cambodia and Vietnam. Here's a rough agenda for the remaining days.

Friday, 3-18: Visit Angkor Wat (all day). Night market visit (evening)
Saturday, 3-19: Travel to Penohm Pehn. The tour company has booked a trip to the casino since it is a popular destination with Vietnamese tourists. Since we will not arrive there until evening there will probably not be much else to do.
Sunday, 3-20; Go to the large Pagoda in Penohm Pehn. The rest of the group will go to the main market in town, but Kathy and I are going to take a tuk-tuk to the killing fields memorial. Our tour guide said that it used to be a part of the tour, but that people who went on the tour became too sad. I guess that's why they added the casino then. We then will return to HCMC that evening.
Monday and Tuesday: 3/21-22: I'm not quite sure what will happen these days. I know that Kathy would like to visit a hospital in HCMC. Due to a miscommunication the University had us leaving on the 21st instead of the 23rd. I'm sure we can find something to do.

I'm not sure when I'll have time and access to the internet next, but I'll try to send out another update.

Martin Eltzroth