Pictures are Sorted, Titled, and Ready to be Seen

Despite almost losing over 400 of our pictures (mishap with the camera-computer transfer, but Jeremy fixed it with some software so we recovered all except a few photos), the best of our pictures are finally ready.

We sorted through over 1,300 photos we took over the course of 7 weeks to pick out the ones we most enjoyed so that you can get a sense of our trip and the things we experienced. We also made sure to apply captions to all of the pictures so you know what you're looking at. Instead of doing a public posting on our blog, we are emailing the picture website link to everyone. Our apologies if we forgot anyone - just send either of us an email and we'll be sure to send them to you.

We hope you enjoyed our blog, as we certainly enjoyed sharing our trip with you.

Wrapping Up the Trip

Using our 3 day Angkor pass (they create an official ID card for you), we headed out to some of the farther away temples. Because we were traveling farther distances, we used a car/driver instead of our tuk tuk. We first went to Banteay Srei, a temple that is built largely with sandstone, so the current colors of the temple make it a beautiful site to see.

We then stopped at Banteay Samre, before heading to East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean, and Preah Khan. Unfortunately, after the number of temples we have seen, many of them start blurring together and many are not as magnificent as Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm. Preah Khan was somewhat different than many of the other temples; instead of simply a surrounding wall and the temple in the center, Preah Khan had 4 enclosed passages (although only the walls are currently remaining) coming from the east, west, north, and south to the temple in the center. Neak Pean was also unique in that it is a small temple built with a very wide moat completely surrounding on it, creating an island effect. Although today the moat is dry, during heavy rains it will actually flood.

Throughout our two days looking at temples, we were often approached by children (usually little girls) trying to sell us all sorts of trinkets and guide books. Their sales approach was often entertaining. It would start with "What's your name?" "Where you from?"- once you answer this question, they tell you the population of the capital. At one point I said I was from Djibouti, which produced just a smile. Unlike India, here, the kids would know to leave you alone after one or two "No thank you's." Our other favorite phrases were, "Ïf you buy, you buy from me, okay?" or "When you see temples, you buy when you come back?"

Surprisingly, we were able to get everything done before lunch. We headed to the Old Market area, which is considered the center of Siem Reap. We are bummed that we are not staying in this area, as it has the most options in terms of restaurants and activities. If the roads were better (most are dirt/mud roads that have large holes filled with rain water) we could probably walk to this area.

After a mid-afternoon nap, we headed back to the Old Market area for a good Khmer dinner - our last night on the trip. It has been an amazing 7 weeks, but as Jeremy said, we're looking forward to heading back to the States.

Woman: Hear Me Roar

For the past seven weeks we have been traveling to countries where women are not given a very strong position in society (with the exception of Singapore). It has sometimes been difficult for me, as I have had to change some of my behaviors.

In India I was very good - I covered up with my shawl every day for 16 days straight. In Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, I have not covered up for day-to-day walking around, but would almost always carry a shawl or long sleeve shirt with me in case we were going somewhere religious/sacred. I am happy to respect the local culture. The thing that gets me, is when I, as a woman, am required to cover myself up because my sex is seen as too sexual, but shirtless men walk the grounds of a sacred place.

In all the guide books we have, each one has a section for women travellers, telling me what to do and what not to do. Again, I'll abide by what is said, but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!

It has been interesting to see what positions women work in throughout the different countries. In India, rarely did you encounter a woman at work - in restaurants, men waited on us, in hotels, men cleaned our rooms - men filled most service positions. The only place we regularly saw women were as flight attendants (but sometimes still outnumbered by male flight attendants). In India, their place seemed to be more as private maid or cook, or staying home to raise and take care of the family. This surprises me, as the country has at least one very powerful female politician. We often saw signs on the back of tuk tuks saying "Women Empowerment." I doubt the drivers fully understood this concept.

In Vietnam and Thailand we saw women playing a larger role in society. They filled stereotypically female roles, and were also included in other roles such as construction. I was also really surprised (and delighted) to have a female tuk tuk driver in Sukhothai, Thailand - the first and only woman we've seen driving a form of transportation. Cambodia has also been similar, with women cooking meals in street side restaurants, while men filled more "important" roles like tour guide or front desk help.

I've chaired Women in Leadership Conferences and am part of councils for MBA women, so it's hard for me to swallow my pride and know my place is these countries. It also reminds me that I do have it pretty good in the States. We certainly have our own problems (don't get me started), but they still don't compare to where Southeast Asia is in terms of women advancement.

Taking Off the Rose-Colored Glasses

We arrived in Siem Reap, and the 6 hour drive through the country as well as Siem Reap itself has given us a better feel for the poverty level in Cambodia. When you think of a developing or 3rd world country, Cambodia definitely comes to mind. It is how you might expect a poor country to be. Unfortunately, Cambodia also has the reality that their "history" is still very recent, with Pol Pot dying less than a decade ago and the Khmer Rouge's affects still evident on the country (careful not to stray off the well-trodden path as you may step on a landmine) - all of this provides for a poor and tragic country (you can sometimes see landmine victims around town, in addition to the very poor children and adults).

Jeremy and I had an interesting conversation last night on the tuk tuk about Cambodia versus India. While the poverty levels of both countries seem to be on par, India comes across as much worse in part because the country is so filthy (people don't make an effort to pick up trash or urinate in bathrooms) and because there are so many people which the economy cannot currently support. It is also more surprising because we think India should be a lot further along than it is (because many international companies operate there and it has a larger presence on the international political and business scene), but yet Cambodia seems to be ahead of India (they even have small things like garbage pick-up which we never once saw in India).

We don't want to give the impression that Cambodia is doing really well, because it is clearly not. But they seem to have their act together a lot more than India, and will hopefully continue to thrive in the post-Khmer Rouge era.