Stark Contrasts

We've arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This place looks like it is a very underdeveloped nation, but it is on Dubya's list of democracies. Here, they refer to it as a transitional democracy - meaning that they have an elected Prime Minister, but he suspends civil liberties and imprisons his opposition on occasion. The economy is very poor. Meanwhile, back in Vietnam (the communist country), they are building a brand new airport terminal, the shops we visited yesterday were like stores in the U.S., everyone speaks English, and the place is modern and clean. However, VN is not on Dubya's checklist of democracies.

We're off to visit some of the temples at Angkor this AM and will have our first bicycle ride later this afternoon.

The hotel we're in is one of the Raffles Group properties. Very colonial, very British, very lovely (a British word). They are building a lot of hotels on "the strip" here in Siem Reap. The most tourists come from Korea, followed by Japan, and then the U.S.

More to follow later on today or tomorrow (with pictures).