We just spent two and a half days in Siem Reap, which in my
opinion was far too long. See, Siem Reap
is a place that just gets to you. It has some inexplicable way of getting right
to your nerves and giving them a little flick.
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| Cambodia: More annoying than this thing. |
4. The Children
I know what you’re thinking. I’m some terrible person that
hates children and is annoyed by crying
and whining. Well, all of that is true, but is not actually why the children
are annoying. Unlike the children in
Phnom Penh, who were often smart and charming and actually selling things, the
children of Siem Reap just hassle you.
They will come up to you, holding their “little brother” and a near
empty bottle and say “Don’t want money, only milk!” Now, I don’t really get
this scam, because obviously a baby needs to eat. But when one girl followed us
down an entire street telling us to go into a shop and buy milk, we saw her
blatantly pinching the baby so he would cry, because he was “hungry.” And there were kids everywhere doing
this. Now, I’m not so evil that I would
let a baby starve, but I also can’t give money to every begging child,
especially when things don’t seem quite right. Still, it's hard to say no, despite how irritating the kids are.
3. The “Salespeople”
Just to be clear, everyone is selling something in Siem
Reap. Ricky commented that he would like to meet one person that wasn’t a
tourist that didn’t want his money. It’s impossible. This town is a tourist town, and all the
people want is the dollar. You cannot walk down the street without being
shouted at by people whose soul job is to sit outside a business and shout at
you. “Lady! You have massage! Mister, you eat here!” And it’s not an offer, either. It’s a
command. These people are telling you to buy their stuff of partake of their
service. In their mind you don’t have a choice. But you do, and most often that
choice is no.
2. The Tourists
As I said a minute ago, Siem Reap is a tourist town, and boy
is it ever. Pub Street is exactly what
it sounds like and has the largest concentration of tourists that I’ve seen in
a long time. You can’t get away from them.
Once again I’m sure you’re all thinking “Good heavens, that Talia is one
anti-social nightmare.” Well sometimes. But mostly Ricky and I like to enjoy a place for its local
culture. With so many tourists, there is
no local culture, unless you count the locals who own the pubs, guesthouses,
and restaurants that cater almost solely to tourists.
1. The Tuk-Tuk Drivers
We thought we had it bad in Phnom Penh. We had no idea.
In Phnom Penh, tuk-tuk drivers would shout at you as you
pass, wanting to you to know that he was there and ready to take you wherever
you needed to go. If you said no, he might ask one more time, just to be sure,
but would otherwise leave you alone.
In Siem Reap, however, the drivers just won’t let you go.
They rarely sit in their vehicle as they ask you where you want to go. Instead,
they wander the street, especially Pub Street, walking by your side as you tell
them yet again, that no, you don’t want a tuk-tuk. And they just don’t listen.
Instead, they talk.
“Where you go, mister? You want massage? You want eat? I
take you. Where you from, lady? What
time is it? Where you stay? I take you there.”
There really is no end to their chatter, until you either
shout a very loud NO, or walk further away from the tourist crowd than they are
comfortable with.
Now, for you non-travelers, some of this may sound kind of
petty, and maybe it is. Maybe I
shouldn’t be bothered by people just trying to do their job, or other travelers
having a good time. Maybe I should learn
to be a little more patient in my travels.
In any case, I’m glad to be out of Siem Reap.
