"I was motioned to pull over to the side of the road. They told me it was because I had my motorbike headlight on in the daytime. 'Blinding Buddha', they said. I paid the bribe demanded and was on my way."

This was Dierk telling me about government corruption in the country . A theme I will hear all the time I travel through Cambodia.

Antontio left this morning going to Battambang, Cambodia. I will join him tomorrow, but I needed to stay another day in Siem Reap to visit Dierk. I met him in Bangkok and wrote about him in one of my previous posts.

To meet Dierk I decided to take a shuttle bus to a silk farm 6 or 7 miles from town and a few miles from his house. I would tour the silk factory and Dierk would pick me up there to go to his house.

The silk factory was very interesting. They showed us how they started harveting the silk from the silk worms. Then we saw all the steps in making silk clothing and scarfs. There were 99 people employed in the factory, but only one was a man. The reason they said was that women are better at concentration, which is needed in this work. The other reason they gave was that women don't need someone to talk to as they work . That one was a little hard for me to understand. It looked like tiring work, constantly weaving the silk without rest. We followed the process through the factory all the way to the finished dresses, shirts, scarfs, etc. It was all done by hand and very impressive.

Once the tour was over, I gave Dierk a call. A few minutes later a woman rode up on a bike. She looked the group over and asked if I was Larry. It was Dierk's wife. Dierks' leg was bothering him and he didn't want to be on a bike today.

We rode with me on the back of the motorbike for several miles to a small town. Turning off onto a dirt road we bounced along for a few miles more. In places it was very washed out and difficult to navigate.

One of my goals before I left for this trip was to connect with as many locals in the areas I visited as possible, and try to see how they really lived. Seeing the tourist sites is interesting, but I hope to interact with the natives as much as possible .

I am glad Dierk invited me to his home. As far back on this dirt road as we are going, it must be very basic housing. Then, we stop at a large gate. A two story house sits on the other side. It's Dierk and Mehshas' house.

He had the house built just a few years ago. It is all cement, even the interior walls. The interior is sparsely filled with furniture and quiet basic. It's really a nice place, though, compared to Cambodia standards. I was really impressed when he took me upstairs. The upper level is open. There is so much you could do with this space. He intends to put mats down and teach some martial arts eventually.

The property was filled with termite hills when he bought it, but had them bulldozed down. He also had to cut a lot of eucalyptus trees. They use too much water, so most had to go.

There are cashew nut and papaya trees all over the property . The cashew nuts are in a shell. Inside the shell around the nut is poisonous. So, the nuts have to be roasted when picked, then shelled. The nut has a flower attached that is used to make jam. Mehsha served me some she made when we ate and it was very good.

While I was there, the neighbor decided to burn some brush. It got out of hand and soon was on Dierks property. So, we all three got to fight the forest fire for a while.

Besides the 'blinding Buddha' story, I got some other good information about the country from Dierk. I was curious about the schools, because while Antonio and I were biking around we saw kids coming and going to school even on weekends and at all hours of the day. Dierk said the schools operate 7 days a weeks, although the kids may only go 5 of those days. It's a rotation system and the same goes for the hours. Some go in the morning and some in the afternoon. Then, they switch after a month. The morning kids go from noon to 5 and the afternoon kids switch to 7-noon . The reason is there is no cooling and the afternoons get very hot in the rooms. Monthly switching makes it more equal for the students.

There is no mandatory attendance here, so many kids drop out of school to help make money for the family.

Teachers make $50 a month and often the qualtiy of teaching is lacking. Also, the police make $50 a month and this is what breeds the bribery corruption.

The driving here is something else. Motorbikes will drive on either side of the road. Autos will pass and the oncoming vehicle will move onto the dirt shoulder if need be. Two lanes become four with the autos, motorbikes and tuk tuks creating their own lane. I don't know if there are any speed limits.

Dierk explained that the right of way is always to the largest vehicle. Even at a 4-way stop situation. Government vehicles have priority, then large trucks, busses or other large vehicles, then automobiles, then motobikes and tuk tuks . I guess the same applies to which side of the road you want, at least it seems that way sometimes to me.

I got a motorbike taxi back to town. This is a great couple and I really enjoyed my time spent with both Dierk and Mehshas. She is a very hard worker and excellent host. I don't believe she stopped working the entire time I was there, but was smiling all the time.

Back in town, at the hostel, I got ready and headed into town. The hostel is about a half mile from the main drag, I guess. I walk down the dirt road towards the main street. On the way, there is a pizza place. It's called Happy Pizza. The pizzas are heavily topped with marijuana. All drugs, including marijuana, is illegal in Cambodia, but marijuana is traditionally used in food preparation. It is often found sprinkled on pizza. Everyone says these pizzas have a lot of marijuana on them. I pass on by.

A 20 minute walk and I am in the middle of the Siem Reap night life . It is a lively area. There is Pub Street and the Old Market. I walked through the Old Market, enjoying the sights and crowds. There is food on sale to take home or eat on the street. Clothes and jewelry and souvenirs, restaurants, bars, massage parlors, bakeries, just about anything you might want. No cars are allowed at night, just motorbikes and pedestrians. The streets are full with foreigners walking around.

Tuk Tuk drivers constantly call out "Tuk Tuk?", hoping you need a ride somewhere. A lot of foreigners ignore them and complain about them. I feel they are just offering a service if you need it. On the other hand, it does become tiring when you just want to walk and look to always be saying, "No tuk tuk". However, tonight I am alone as Antonio has moved on to Battambang.

So, when a tuk tuk driver called out to me, I tried a different approach. I walked over to them and said I didn't need one, but then struck up a conversation with them . In a couple of minutes they would be laughing and talking. I think all day long they get ignored and enjoyed someone being friendly and helping them pass the time waiting on a customer. I did this several times throughout the night and had a lot of fun with these friendly workers.

Then, I passed a Foot Massage place. You can get full massages or foot massages everywhere here. But, what I am interested in is the Fish Foot Massage. All these small fish nibble at your feet eating the dry skin off. For $1 you get to have the Fish Massage and your pick of a canned soft drink or beer while the fish nibble away at your feet. The fish massage takes place outside on the sidewalk, but the other massages are indoors.

It was fun and I was the only customer for a while, so I got to chat with the attendant. I found out a lot about his job and his life in Cambodia. He works 12 hours, 7 days a week and gets off only two days a month. He earns $100 a month . He says jobs are hard to find and this is actually a pretty good salary.

While walking through the streets I came upon some street musicians. These were not the usual musicians you might find on the streets. They are amputees.

Even though the years of guerrilla war has ended in Cambodia, it is still heavily mined. As a matter of fact, Cambodia is the most densely mined country in the world. There are up to 8 million land mines left in the country. There are 50,000 amputees and another 2,000 mine victims each year. These statistics are just horrendous. This area and south to the Thailand border are most infected areas.

I listened to the music for a while and then left a donation. I imagine many of these men were working their fields when they were unfortunate enough to step on one of the mines. War takes so many casualties in so many ways.

I left the Old Market area and walked across the street to the Siem Reap River . It runs through the town and at night the pedestrian bridges light up, and floating Chinese lanterns anchored in the river liven up the area. On one side of the river are benches and a wide walk where people walk and sit and enjoy the evenings, looking at the river. Across the bridges is the Night Market. It is a little upscale from the Old Market and is big enough to keep you busy for a big part of the night. The entire area is very exciting. I sat on the bridge for a while, on the benches along each side, and looked at the river scene.

By now it's getting late and I need to be up early tomorrow to travel.

Walking back through the Old Market and Pub Streets, I am approached by a Cambodian woman carrying a baby just a few months old. She wants food for the baby. She is very convicing and the sight of her and the baby makes people want to help. HOWEVER, I have heard about her. This is a scam. She uses her baby to scam foreigners. If you agree to buy the baby milk, she takes you into a small store. But, the milk costs $20. She explains it is a special milk the baby needs. Once you pay for the milk, she goes out the back way and can be seen selling the milk for a few dollars and she splits the $20 with the store clerk. So, I walk on by.

I walk out of town and down my dirt road to my Khmer style bed for the night.