SIEM REAP: Rampant Consumerism

We LIKE Siem Reap, the town near to the temples of Angkor Wat. It bustles; tuk-tuk drivers importune you every few steps, restauranteurs call out their specialities as you walk past; the man who runs the Fish-nibble foot massage says happily and loudly to every tourist passer-by: “No piranha!” There is a long laneway with shops, restaurants – packed with people browsing, shopping, using the omnipresent wi-fi. And the market nearby, with its incredible tangle of goods and services…. Ahhh, the  market!

We decided to take a cooking class – just us three. We were driven to a nearby village, where we were introduced to a family who showed us their two-room home-on-stilts, and then to an airy pavilion where ingredients were laid out, precisely around three cook-stoves. Our chef led us through a three-course Cambodian meal preparation (Bill was especially adept with crispy rolled pancakes); afterwards we ate everything, appreciatively, in an open thatched hut, gazing down upon a perfect lotus in the waterway below.

There is a resurgence of interest in the traditional crafts, which were eradicated by the Khmer Rouge, and a number of NGOs are now setting up craft centres, where “impoverished youth” are housed, trained, educated – and who produce beautiful goods of fine quality.

All in all, the food was wonderful, the people friendly, beautiful and young (median age in Cambodia: 22), the weather hot (up to 40 C.) We’ll be sorry to leave.