Angkor What?

We were suppose to go on another do-good trip through The Villas today, but they changed the start time and didn't tell us - the guide showed up at The Treehouse at 8:30 a.m. and we were still in our pjs. I guess the lesson is to always check and double check. The morning part was a trip to a very poor village outside Siem Reap to see everyday life and how they've set up a water filter system. We met a couple that did go and they said it was amazing but heartbreaking. The villagers were eating dog! While they were doing that, we went to the Artisans Angkor workshop where they train locals to make traditional crafts - silk painting and stone/wood carving. It seems like a great program - gives them skills they can take back to their villages - and it really makes you see what you're paying for. They have a fantastic boutique with all of their crafts, but we couldn't decide what to buy so we're going back tomorrow. We also checked out some other shops and the market downtown; I want to buy so much. We were suppose to go to Sala Bai for lunch, but the restaurant was closed for final exams. Sala Bai is a hospitality school with a hotel and restaurant to teach the locals how to eventually (and hopefully) run their own hotels for the temple tourists. I was really disappointed; I thought something like that would make a good freelance article. Oh, well.

We met up with the group for lunch at The Villas (I had DELICIOUS stir fry) instead and then toured a pottery school and a silk farm. It's amazing that a fabric that comes from worms is a such a high-brow thing. They do all the threading and weaving by hand - the beginners take a whole day to do one meter of fabric. I'll never complain about the price of silk stuff again - It should be more!