Photo Galleries
Siem Reap Scenes
October 2008
Unlike on past trips, where her photos focused on grand vistas and beautiful buildings, this time Melissa is making an effort to capture a snapshot of what everyday life looks like on the streets of the towns where we stay. In Siem Reap, that means everything from “spirit houses” in people’s yards to street sweepers to traffic jams to naps by the riverside.
Unlike the Balinese with their multiple shrines, most Cambodians have a single "spirit house" on their property where they leave offerings
Spirit houses can be simple as well as gaudy
Scenes from our street (Wat Bo Road) in Siem Reap: the Steel Door Achievement store
The mini-refrigerator store
The orange mini market that we shopped at frequently
Siem Reap has lots of motorbikes, but not as many as Bali
I think Pier 1's papasan chairs were invented here
The main temple ("wat") in central Siem Reap
A list of donors who contributed to the wat's renovation (including, at the bottom, a tourist)
Our tuk-tuk got caught in a traffic jam after the water festival
Getting hair done seems to be a national obsession; we saw beauty salons everywhere (even in small villages)
Here we saw women carrying loads on their shoulders much more than on their heads
These buildings lining the main highway in Siem Reap were taller than anything we saw in Bali
Huge, gaudy hotels (aimed mainly at Chinese package tours) line the main highway
Siem Reap looks much cleaner than any Balinese town, thanks to the green-clad city workers who sweep the streets and pick up trash
Having a nap by the river (after the water festival)
Monks are the only people who carry umbrellas of this particular mustard-brown color (a tourist trying to buy one will be quickly dissuaded)
Siem Reap's famous late-night tourist district, full of bars and clubs (but no sex trade, that we saw)
We have no idea why a sumo wrestler with an iron advertises wifi, but we saw this sign in several places
