Siem Reap

Next to being touristy, Siem Reap has some treats to offer. More than anywhere else in Cambodia we were able to find a ton of fair trade and hipster shops exactly to our liking. A lot of them, as well as a good hand full of restaurants are in it for the good cause as they donate their profits to foundations and NGOs!

Next to that, the city has a vibrant art scene. In one of the arty fair trade shops we found a flyer for the 10th Angkor photo festival. This was awesome as they held several vernissages on consecutive nights here. We were able to visit 2 of them. As they came with a fair share of free drinks even Karsten was happy to go there. Jen and Alex, those would have been the perfect thing to enjoy together!

The first vernissage was for a cambodian photographer who exhibited the pictures he took as a memorial for the crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. He took pictures of everyday objects that people had to get rid of during that time as they tried everything possible not to be noted and identified by the regime. For example passports and fotos were frantically buried in the ground as they gave away identity and therefore profession of the carrier. If that profession was associated with education it would have meant certain death if officials had found out.

The second one was for an English photographer who made wildlife trade the center of his work. His photographs depict the cruel consequences of wildlife trade for purposes such as eating, showcasing as trophies and using for traditional medicine.

If you are still looking for causes to donate to in order to increase your tax deductions, the childsafe network and wildlife alliance are probably worthy causes!Read more