A somber reminder, in the midst of such beauty

Even as you gaze upon the wonders of Angkor and its temples, their intricacy, beauty, style and scale, do remember to look around beyond them, to more modern times. 

Cambodia has an unfortunate history of war and human carnage. While much of that, thankfully, is now in the distant past, the country has made efforts to make sure locals and visitors never forget about the landmines and the havoc they wrought then, and wreck even now. 

Media reports will tell you that even today, that up to 

6 million landmines remain in the land, and Cambodia has the highest rate of accidents caused by landmines. A lot of effort at clean up is on, but it isnt easy. Hopefully one day the land will be free of this scrouge. 

A reminder of the landmines and the havoc they caused is at almost every tourist site in Siem Reap. At almost every major walkway, there are small tents (See photo- this one was at Bantaey Srei temple) under which landmine affected persons sing or play music- they even play music depending on the nationality of the tourists passing by. Tourists can donate if they so wish, but never once did they ever solicit.