Cambodia Part 2

Beware the sunglasses seller who isn’t selling sunglasses!

I got approached by a few different sunglasses sellers, most of whom had a pretty good array of reasonably priced very good fake Ray Bans and a variety of other fakes. All these guys seemed to be genuinely trying to sell sunglasses, and even though I didn’t need or want any I am always happy to engage in a bit of banter. But then there was the sunglasses seller whose wares were rather ordinary at best. A collection of no name glasses that looked old, dusty and covered in fingerprints. At first I just tried ignoring him, but he was fairly persistent so eventually I told him that his glasses were crap in comparison to all the other sellers. At this point he took out a pair and removed the false cover of the compartment to show me what he was really selling. So, once we established the fact that I was not a customer for sunglasses or anything else that he might be selling, he turned out to be quite an interesting character to chat with. He is Vietnamese, makes his living by selling homegrown weed to tourists (apparently the French are his best customers), and told me that if I hire a scooter I shouldn’t get a helmet. That seemed a bit odd so I pushed for more details. Apparently the police target tourists on scooters wearing helmets, as wearing a helmet suggests that you have money to spare! I guess it costs as much to hire a helmet as it does to hire the scooter. Anyway, apparently the police stop you and ask for your licence. Although you don’t need one to get the scooter it is still a legal requirement. If they can’t get you on the licence then they will ask for your passport. If they can’t get you for not having your passport then they search you to see what else they can get you for. Of course, it is all about the bribe. According to our Vietnamese friend $200 can make just about any problem with the police go away.

A week in Cambodia isn’t very long, but it is long enough for a taste, and for me to be certain that I will be back in a few months for a longer stay, hopefully in conjunction with a much longer South East Asian experience. It isn’t really long enough to make any informed comment about the place, but I do have a few observations, some good, some not so.

• Culture, history and religion: I really would love to spend a bit more time finding out about this, but on face value what you see is a predominantly Buddhist country with clear evidence of French influence. Plenty of beautiful Buddhist temples and statues to see sitting alongside European architecture in Phnom Penh at least. Cambodia has been through quite a bit of turmoil in recent history. Independence from France, invasion by Vietnam, American bombing, but by far the most disturbing is what the Khmer Rouge did in the 70’s. They wiped out around 2 million Cambodians under a rule of torture and terror and hid it from the rest of the world. There are a number of ‘killing fields’ around the country where the evidence of the mass graves can been seen. The Tuol Sleng ‘genocide museum’ in Phnom Penh is a must see and is certainly as moving and disturbing as any Nazi concentration camp. This is where much of the torture and inhumanity happened before victims were taken out to the killing fields.

• Tourism: certainly on the rise, but still fairly low key compared to many parts of Asia. In the beach areas though there is a thriving backpacker market and heavy Chinese investment with casinos and hotels popping up in Central Sihanoukville. Way more cranes on the horizon there than I have ever seen anywhere. I lost count at 30. There is obviously a seedy side of Tourism in Phnom Penh though. I saw way too many middle aged western men hanging out with young Cambodian women, and way too many bars with young women hanging around outside.

• Safety and security: I never felt threatened or concerned for my safety (apart from when on a bus on the highway) at all. In the night markets there were plenty of warnings about pickpockets and bag snatchers but the simple solution to that is have pockets with zips and carry your bag on your front. We did a lot of walking in Phnom Penh, night and day, and I never felt unsafe.
• Food and drink: the coffee is excellent, beer and cocktails ridiculously cheap and the food is good. Not awesome like Thai or Indian, but good. Spicy but not like Thai hot. Mostly the food is cheap, and if you eat where the locals do it’s really cheap. Be brave and eat at the night market when in Phnom Penh, well worth the experience. You pick what you want and then sit on a mat in the middle of the market and they will cook it and bring it to you: awesome. Don’t forget to take your shoes off before stepping on the mat, remember not to point at what you want and remember to only eat with your right hand.

• The People: The immigration and customs officials at the airport could do with a bit of customer service training. They were extremely unfriendly and unwelcoming, but after that it was all good. All the Cambodians we engaged with were friendly and helpful. Their English is very good so communication isn’t an issue and I never felt like I was being ripped off or coaxed to part with my money on some ruse or other.

Anyway, thank you Cambodia, I will certain be back to see a bit more of this beautiful country in the not too distant future.

Now, onto the Commonwealth Games village.