At the Royal Palace I came across this monk with the most beautiful smile and I couldn’t resist asking his permission to take his photo. I never expected the words that would soon follow.

May I take your photo?
Yes, but will you promise to email it to me?
Do you have email?
Yes, I am on yahoo. And you?

Alright I don’t get out much obviously. I didn’t know monks were up to date on email and the internet. Now I know.

Yesterday, on my first night in Siem Reap my heart sank as Sam picked me up from the bus station on his moto. He laughed as I screamed through traffic. This morning, as we made our way to Angkor Thom, both my hands that were so nervously holding on the day before, were now both on my camera, adjusting the setting and focus as we neared the breathtaking entrance to magnificent Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Angkor empire.

He accompanied me to Bayon, the first of many temples during my short stay in Siem Reap. The carved stone faces smiling down at us made up for the crowds. 

Sam reminded me to bargain for a discount at the Old Market in Siem Reap. I suppose I’m not used to paying so little for so much. For example I bought a small painting of Ta Prohm from an artist who was painting in the Ta Prohm temple complex. The cost was $10 and I didn’t bother to bargain because he’s an artist afterall. I also noticed that Sam double-checked the bill for the very in-expensive all-you-can-eat seafood and bbq dinner (which was about $3 U.S. dollars per person). He had the waitress deduct the bottle of water that we didn’t drink.

Me: Are moto accidents common?

Dav:  It’s more common in the city. Actually Jackie Chan came here to make a public service announcement about helmet use.

Me:  Do you ever use a helmet?

Dav: Only when the road is dusty.

The motorbike culture is alive in Cambodia just as it is in most Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand.  You see entire families, including babies, riding on motos without helmets.  It’s just the way it is.  You’d think I would have gotten used to the sight of babies hanging from the backs of the motos but I was always fascinated by it.  I witnessed a moto accident in Siem Riep but it wasn’t too bad since they weren’t going too fast.  It was head-on and both drivers fell and got right back up.  One moto got it worse than the other and we didn’t stay around to see what happened.  What if a baby had been involved?  Hopefully the Jackie Chan PSA changes a few perspectives.