A dog's life

My friend Thong and I went to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Some of the outdoor restaurants were already opened when we arrived. We sat and had coffee and breakfast. The woman at our restaurant told us she started at 4:30 in the morning and finished at 6 p.m. As sad as that is, it was heartbreaking to see how many children were already at the temple working. It's bad enough that these kids spend all day pestering tourists to buy cheap bracelets and postcards. It's sickening to think they start before sunrise.

Here are three little girls playing with a dog. Shortly after this photo was taken they gave him some food. He stretched out on his belly in the cool dirt and enjoyed his breakfast.


Then the dog's owner, presumably the mother of one of the girls, came over, took the dog and told the girls to get back to work. The dog's white fur is puffy and clean. It's wearing a matching pink leash and collar. The children, on the other hand, are wearing filthy, torn clothes. One of the the girls, you will notice, has no shoes.

The government here needs to realize how badly this reflects on their country. People come from all over the world to see the magnificent temples and learn about the golden age of the mighty Angkor empire, but what they also end up taking home with them is the painful and tedious experience of dealing with hundreds of dirty, poorly-clothed, poorly-fed children who are begging when they should be in school.