The guide politely told us about improvements to local life due to tourism dollars. Most tourists would gladly take these observations as compliments.

The tourist sites, if a bit dusty, are fairly good in terms of sanitation, with the toilets cleaner than many we see back home. And, most important of all, the people we met there were helpful and friendly.

But the shocking images of landfills that have so often been carefully kept out of our view should make us think again. Not long ago, before locals were overtaken by progress, these people used to take everything they needed from nature; whatever they discarded afterward could be reabsorbed quickly by the environment.

Food for thought

In contrast, waste that refuses to be reduced and assimilated by nature are stains of prosperity and symbols of affluence.

In a sense expanding landfills testifies to improvements in standards of living, suggesting that consumption has come into its own. And here is where the scavengers come in, as they try to salvage some residual value from these heaps of non-degradable industrial waste: plastics, electronic devices, bottles, metals and disposables.

Probably the curiosity of the outsiders had been so piqued that a visit to the dump was included in their tour itineraries. I do not know if these tourists realize they are confronting the direct consequence of prosperity.

Braving bad smells caused by mountains of toxic waste and decaying food, are these tourists seeking catharsis, just as watching a Greek tragedy?

Whatever their true motivations, I hope the trip will give them food for thought about what reckless consumption all adds up to.

For Siem Reap, in recent years, the influx of tourists — and their dollars — has caused an exponential increase in the amount of rubbish taken to the dump site.

The significance of the dump visit would be lost if the tourists — and everybody else — remain blind to the growing pile of rubbish as a global problem.