In Poipet

Arrived in Poipet on the 12th of December, I got a room at the casino area of the city. The border area is set up for Thais to gamble. 10 or so casinos were built just over the border of Thailand (casinos are illegal in Thailand) in Cambodia. Thais from across the country travel via cheap tour bus to the border then stay in nice clean rooms at these resorts mostly worked by Cambodians (who speak Thai and some English). I did the same thing as the Thai gamblers, got a cheap bus ride (200 baht 100 baht for Thais) to the border then stayed in a cheap room (600 baht) a night, during the days I crossed through the border check point and walked through Poipet making photographs.

Walking through the back areas of Poipet I saw poverty like I have never seen before, children with open sores running though muddy, filthy garbage filled streets. Families living next to garbage dumps in wooden shacks full of holes, most of what I saw was much worse than Klong Toey slum in Bangkok.

I have to think about all I saw, have to write in more detail later, feel tired today, feel overwhelmed by the experience.

I am so lucky to be born where I was born, I can still see the faces of the children living in the slum shacks of Poipet, still see there eyes filled with wonder as they saw me walk past, still see how some were scared, how others yelled "Hello!!!!!!!!!!!" with big smiles. I hope the photos I made do justice to the people that allowed me to photograph them.