Siem Reap is the gateway to Angkor Park. Given the amount of money that flows through the Park, it’s not surprise that Siem Reap has seen a lot of development. We didn’t get to see a lot of Cambodia but it is hard to imagine a city that got more attention than Siem Reap. It is cleaner than Phnom Penh, cuter than Kampot, and has the Western restaurants of a tourist town in Thailand. It’s clear than the city has greatly benefited from its proximity to Cambodia’s biggest draw.
Another thing that explains Siem Reap’s development is the APSARA Authority. The APSARA Authority is the organization that is responsible for managing the Angkor Park and the Siem Reap area. The development of Siem Reap isn’t just a question of proximity to the Park. The entire region is administered by a single organization. The level of development in the town makes a lot more sense when you realize it’s all coordinated. It’s a very interesting situation from a planning/policy perspective. I was hoping to do a more in-depth post on it but it’s hard to find any meaningful information online, and the few pieces of research I found are behind a paywall. It’s the kind of situation to which there are analogues in the US (large development authorities controlling a region) but with the added twist of corruption and opaque governance.
Sadly, and mysteriously, my pictures of Siem Reap have all disappeared. Google is your friend if you are curious about what the place looks like. The photos that I do have are from a small circus that we went to called Phare. The performers in the circus all learned their skills through a program called Phare Ponleu Selpak, a nonprofit organization in Battambang. They take in kids from poor households and teach them performing arts skills, ranging from visual arts to gymnastics. They do a lot of good work and we were happy to support them by buying tickets.
The show we saw was set in a nightclub in Phnom Penh. The owner has a couple kooky employees and some interesting customers who end up having some fun together. The show even surprised us, with one of the waiters seducing a male customer. SE Asia generally seems to have a lax attitude towards same-gender relationships and gender-bending. Dangerous to extrapolate an entire country from one circus show but it was interesting nonetheless. The circus was a good time, one of those fun surprises you come across when traveling.
