Book vendors with hardships are a common sight on the streets of Siem Reap. Some are land mine victims, many are handicapped, or are single parents taking care of large families. Often aided by NGOs, they usually have a sign written in English explaining their story and asking tourists to buy a book to help support them.
We definitely didn't need any more books - we were over-packed in this area. We did, however, have books to give that we'd already read. So, we gave them to this man so he would have more to sell (and hopefully more to earn).
He lost his legs to a land mine in 1990 and a father of 3 children. His real love was making traditional woven belts (he showed us some samples), but he said they took too long to weave and didn't earn him as much money as books and postcards.
Read about the other side of Siem Reap.
