It is hot. It is really
hot. And the humidity. I thought I was used to humidity, but wow this is
something else. The air is thick like your aunt's thick pumpkin soup. It's an inescapable,
unmoving mass that you have to wage battle with as you make your way under the
relentless, burning sun. And when you're out visiting temples the only respite
comes from the shade that the temples themselves create. Their shadows taking
on the form of the stories carved into the walls. It's the dry season and if
you go certain places that means that your sweat (and you will sweat, it's
guaranteed) mixes with the dust kicked up from all the passing vehicles to
slowly form a paste that cakes itself to every inch of your exposed skin. Your
clothes slowly turn a shade of brown as they accumulate a layer of dust. But
this distracts from a country of warm people making ends meet in a chaotic
swirl of tuk-tuks and motorbikes. Two cities vastly different but equally
interesting in a country linked together by both a rich and terrible history. The
markets are dark, dirty. Patches of light filtering down from skylights and
lonely light bulbs reveal the hidden wares being sold. Kids run between stalls
making use of unused space for games. The scent of raw meat and mysterious
things lying in the dark announce your arrival into a different section of the
market. Monks instantly stand out from the crowd in their bright orange
garments, and children kick a ball a stone's throw from the swarm of tourists
making their way to and from Angkor Wat. Whole families whiz by on motorbikes,
taking their place in the flow of traffic which itself is almost like a living,
breathing beast. It's a totally different story outside the city where kids
slowly bike home after school. Food vendors set up shop on the sides of streets
creating restaurants to feed the transiting masses who sit on small, plastic
chairs. They leave behind piles of napkins. This is from a few scant days in
the country. I barely scratched the surface but that's the way things are.
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