As we arrived for sunset, Sokhoeun explained that this mountain is where they obtained the building materials for the new buildings in Siem Reap. I told him this part of the mountain was called a quarry. After he stopped the cycle he asked me to spell it for him in his notebook. Then he added, "Please correct my pronunciation, I want my English to be better."

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Each of the next three mornings Sokhoeun and Chou Na were waiting for us at the entrance of the hotel. They drove us to the Angkorian temples of our choosing. They waited as Will and I spent our time exploring the ruins of the ancient Khmer empire. During the afternoon heat we would take a break and return back to Siem Reap for lunch. After the heat had subsided we would hop back on the motorcycles and head back to the temples to explore until sunset.

Angkor is magnificent: Bayon with its beneficent faces, Angkor Wat like a five pointed jewel rising from the jungle, and Ta Prohm still enshrouded by the jungle. Will and I studied the reliefs of the Buddhist Ramayana, entered the private sanctuaries, and explored the hidden corridors of long gone Khmer Kings.

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Equally inspiring though were the journeys to and from the temples spent with Sokhoeun. This was my education on the new Cambodia. Sokhoeun is my age, 29. He lives with his mother, sister, and grandfather. His father was killed during the Pol Pot regime. His mother is my mother's age, 51, and is a rice farmer. His sister is one year younger than mine. She attends the local high school. However, in Cambodia school is not free; you have to pay for your education. The grandfather is 78, the same age as mine. He stays at home, "because he is old."

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As a motorcycle driver, Sokhoeun makes $7 a day. As we arrived at each temple, Sokhoeun would give us a brief introduction to each temple: what it was used for, the meaning of the name, who built it, the construction and the layout. Sokhoeun wants to become a guide at Angkor. They make $20 a day. While Will and I were inside studying the temples, he was studying Khmer history books. He hopes to pass the government test and become an officially sanctioned Angkor guide this year.

Banteay Srei, the Citadel of the Women, is one of the most beautful Angkorian ruins. Constructed of pink sandstone, it has the most delicate and ornate carvings. It is also located quite far from the rest of the complex. Our trip to the temple was on dirt roads through small villages. Sokhoeun pointed out the tall palm trees and the people on bicycles carrying long wooden cylinders. They were carrying Palm Sugar Wine. We were there during the palm sugar harvest. Along the roadside many houses had a basket full of palm frond packages. These were palm sugar pancakes, Sokhoeun explained. We stopped and Will and I purchased one. They tasted similar to maple sugar candy. The girls selling the candy laughed as we tried it.

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While in Cambodia, I wanted to see silk being made. On a 10km ride outside of Siem Reap, Sokhoeun and Chou Na took us to Artisans d'Angkor. It is a school where Angkorian style silk weaving is taught. We saw the whole process from the planting of mulberry trees used to feed the silkworms to the weaving of intricate patterns with finished silk thread. There was something, however, not quite authentic about the experience. On the way back to the guesthouse, I asked Sokhoeun if the Cambodian woman who gave the tour owned the school. He said no. All the silk businesses, in fact all large Cambodian businesses were owned by French or Thais. Cambodians, he explained do not have that amount of money.

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I asked what he thought about rice farming. It appeared to Will and I as if the farmers had quite a good life. Children played and swam in the river. Water buffalo and cows lazily grazed while fat pigs laid in the shade and dogs ran around. Sokhoeun said, "It is a good life and hard work." I asked if his mother was happy. He said, "Yes, she is very happy. But, for me, I want something different. I want to be a guide. I want to have a different life."

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Sokhoeun met us early in the morning to say goodbye. On the way to airport he pointed out all the hotels being built to accommodate the coming hoards of tourists to Angkor. I stared in amazement at the concrete structures popping up like zits on the face of a prepubescent teen. Change is coming quickly for Siem Reap, Angkor and Cambodia.

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I came to see the picturesque scenery of rural Cambodia and to explore the relics of past Khmer glories. But there is a new Cambodia that is just as interesting and even more exciting than it's past. Like Sokhoeun, it is striving, reaching for the future.