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Border Country

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Poipet, Cambodia, 2001:  Crossing from Thailand into Cambodia was via an invisible line where the towns of Aranyaprathet (Thai) and Poipet (Cambodian) straddled the border.  There was a visa scam at Cambodian passport control regarding whether you had particular vaccinations (yellow fever)-  like it mattered…

I managed to get through without paying a bribe by doing the dumb tourist trick, plus it helped I’d purchased a visa before leaving Bangkok. Although the border between the two countries wasn’t noticable, the derelict nature of the Cambodian side made it obviously apparent you were in a different land…

We cleared the scrum of moto drivers and a girl selling sun hats and got a place on the back of a pickup truck for the dusty trip to Sisophon.. From there we eventually got a ride on the back of a 4wd… That ended up being a 6-8 hour hell ride along the remains of the bombed out road (sic) to Siem Reap…

We negotiated bribes for non existing bridges, avoided roadside land-mines, and struggled to deal with the pain of your pelvis coming through your backside …Canon EOS 100/28-105/Kodak Tri-x

Temple boy

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Angkor, Cambodia, 2001: Met this boy while visiting one of the out-lying temples at Angkor.       This was way before the present day mass tourism to Siem Reap and nearby Angkor Wat.  He and about 10 other boys seemed to be residing within the temple complex itself , making a living guiding the few tourists who visited this remote temple. An ancient buddist nun seemed to be the matriarch of this family of sorts. We met her and the rest of the family within the temple sanctuary, lit incense to buddah, & made a donation of grubby notes from our cheap backpackers budget…  Canon EOS 100/28-105/Fuji Sensia

cyclos

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2001: These cyclo drivers had the right idea, taking a siesta during the hottest time of the day. It was April, also the hottest time of the year in Cambodia.  But I was just a stupid barang who thought it was a better idea to walk around getting dehydratyed and taking pictures.   Canon EOS 100/Sigma 28-105


Bayon

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The Bayon, Angkor Thom, Cambodia 2001: This local guide posed  impassively,  but without the wry grin of the stone faces that make up the “Bayon” temple.  It was the hottest time of the year in Cambodia (april) and she was annoyed that  I wouldn’t pay her for a guided tour-  hey, I was a broke backpacker, & ran outta $ a few days later in Phnom Penh! The Bayon (12th cent) was the last state temple to be built at Angkor, consisting of 216 gigantic stone faces that stare down from the temple towers.                Canon EOS 100/Sigma 28-105