We landed in Siem Reap on Christmas day in 2007. The fact that it was Christmas did not matter much in this Buddhist country and we welcomed the absence of the commercial reality of Western festivities. The timing was ideal: after the mid year rainy season and just before the hot, dry spells that settle in the area in March.
It is hard for many visitors to look at Cambodia without acknowledging its tragic, tumultuous past but we tried to take Siem Reap for what it was at this point in time: a city in transition with a sense of change filling the space and transforming landscapes daily.
Some journeys are best enjoyed post factum. In other places you feel immediately at ease. Cambodia was for us the latter: warm, gentle and open. The light was filtered through the brown-orange dust and suave. If this sounds too idyllic, it definitely was not. The poverty was at times confronting but more often seemed simply like a way of living back to basics and never bordered desperation. People had timid smiles on their faces. Those whom we met more closely worked hard, owned little, at times complained of corruption, often battled serious health problems but were strangely content.
We had a strong sense of belonging in Cambodia from the very beginning.
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