Angkor & its Children

People selling items outside the temple of Ta Prohm

The temples of Angkor Archaeological Park are not an easy place to write about. And it's not for the reasons you might think of. True, the place is one of the Wonders of the World, steeped in mystery and ancient history - the Khmer empire rose and fell here, and the jungle looms like a gigantic frozen green wave, ready to engulf the ruins once more. But the reason I found it hard to write about this place was not because of its past, or its setting, but because of its present – the people, and the children, who live on the fringes of the temple sites.

A little girl selling bracelets

Contrary to just about any other tourist site in the world, the Angkor Park is inhabited by local people, who are the direct descendants of the Khmer empire. The villages were there long before the archaeological park was formed, and the ruins are their cultural heritage. Unbeknownst to us at the time of our visit, I've now learned that these people have many restrictions on how they can live in the park - how they hang their laundry, build their houses, keep their chickens, etc. As a result, one of the only ways they can make a living is by selling things to the tourists who visit.


When you leave the most-beaten trails, and temples, this is when you notice the people, and the children, the most. You can never enter or leave a temple unattended. Cries of "Buy something, lady?" followed us everywhere, especially in the quietest hours. And it is heartrending to say no, over and over again.

The children are the hardest. Many start selling things for their families' small shops as soon as they can talk - we were approached by tiny kids, repetitively repeating their one question, while holding out little baskets that hung around their necks, filled with postcards, bracelets, and other trinkets.

Children playing at the edge of Sra Srang, at sunrise

We spent one very early morning at the un-touristed temple of Sra Srang, to see the sunrise. In the predawn light, children and teenagers appeared from the gloom to solicit us, giving free bracelets with the promise of "You see my shop later?" After four bracelets, we realized we were being branded... and my heart felt heavy and alarmed with the weight of all those promises. We saw the peoples' campfires in the dark, heard the roosters crowing, and listened to a young girl singing a pop song to herself as she walked at the edge of the ancient ruin.

As the sky lightened, the children talked to us, and I fed them dried mango, until after sunrise most left for a nearby school. We took a roundabout way back to our tuk-tuk, avoiding the promises and the stores. Our bodies and wallets escaped unscathed, but not our souls.

Bayon temple at sunset

The temples were still amazing and beautiful, intense in their majesty, and echoing with the power of a past empire. We looked in awe and wonder, and heard the jungle birds singing in the gigantic trees.

A traveler to Cambodia cannot forget that it is a country and a people still recovering from genocide. Visiting the Angkor Park, is not like visiting the Eiffel Tower. As a tourist, you can enter and leave Europe with your self-identity intact - but not in Cambodia and Angkor Park.