I knew arriving in Cambodia would be a shock. I had never been to S.E Asia. I had never travelled alone. I knew it would be a culture shock. It was, in spades. For first few hours I thought I’d made a mistake. 3 weeks later I’m fascinated by the country.
Cambodia is a country I knew little about before I decided to go. Pol Pot, the killing fields, the landmine problem, and the Heart Of Darkness was about it really. What I found was a country, where despite it’s dark recent history, its crushing poverty, huge corruption and exploitation, was a beautiful country full of friendly, open people, who just want to move onwards and upwards.
I arrived at the airport, passed though the visa section, $20 dollars for a month visa, and made my exit. The airport is a pretty small airport, but I already had seen 10+ amputees. I was the only non-asian around at the time, so I stuck out, and as I walked out of the airport door, I was immediately set upon by 10s of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, shouting at me for my business. I couldn’t actually move physically, there were so many. Deciding that choosing one would calm the storm I picked the nearest guy. The crowd disappeared.
The drive to town was interesting . The roads in Cambodia range in quality, but they all share one common attribute: chaos. No traffic lights. No Rules. No right or left side of the road. All traffic travels in all directions on each side of the road. The traffic mostly consists of motorbikes with 2 – 5 people on each, maybe some shopping too. There are tuk-tuks too, some cars (mostly government officals, police etc.) and trucks full of workers. All of these weave in and out of each other, using their horns liberally.
My taxi driver, starts to do a little PR for the taxi business. Have you been to Cambodia before? No? You shouldn’t use the Tuk-tuks the drivers will rob you. You shouldn’t stay in this place you will be eaten by mosqitos. Don’t go here at night, you will be killed. I’ll bring to the best hotel. (and collect a kickback). I’ll collect you in the morning and bring you on a tour. etc. etc. Then he pretty much refused to bring me where I wanted to go, which was the lake, where there are many hostels, and insisted on bringing me to the river (the Mekong). As this conversation unfolded, I saw my first non-asians I had seen since arriving. They were sitting in the back of tuk-tuk. The front of the tuk-tuk, was on top of a body lying on the ground, dead. The women in the back was sobbing as her husband/boyfriend comforted her. A large crowd had gathered around the scene, staring at the couple, as if that was more unusual sight. Ok, to the river then. I needed some space. I needed to get out of this cab.
I found a hotel, the River View, at $10 per night, ensuite, with air-con. I paid my taxi driver and told him I wouldn’t need him tomorrow. I went to my room. I was already exhausted. I felt a little vunerable. I was in a hotel I hadn’t planed to be in, in an area I hadn’t planned to be in. I didn’t have any recommendation about the place. It was clean. The staff were ok, but I’d felt a little pushed into it. Leason one learnt, don’t accept no.
One of the issues with travel in Cambodia you have to come to terms with is carrying money. There are basically no banks in Cambodia (this is about to change I believe), no atms, no creditcards and very few places take travellers cheques. This means you got to carry all your money with you. I kept my money (U.S Dollars) separated, in
1. A traditional money belt thingie. I hate these things in a warm climate. Make you sweat.
2. A hidden money belt. This is a cool little money belt that looks like a normal belt, that you just wear as normal. It could fit $100 tightly folded.
3. A hidden pocket in my trousers.
4. My room.
5. The hotel receptions usually have a deposit service. Now this isn’t exactly Fort Knox. The first hotel I stayed, it basically consisted of using a lot of staples and sellotape on a brown envelope that I had to sign on the four edges.
In Cambodia, the currency that is used is A) U.S Dollars and B) the Riel (notes, there are no coins in Cambodia). There are approx. 4000 riel to a Dollar. You don’t need to bring any Riel with you to Cambodia as you will get your change in both dollars and Riels.
As I mentioned there are practically no banks in Cambodia. So how does your average Cambodian save money? A Cambodian friend later told me, they buy Silver or jewellery. Then when they have saved a little more they trade up. When they have enough, they sell they silver etc. and buy a motorbike or whatever. If you go to any of the big markets your will lots of jewellery stalls with Cambodians trading and arguing over the price of a piece.
I left my hotel and went for a walk. The banks of Mekong river bustle with activity. They are many riverside bars and restaurant that cater mostly for tourists. As you sit with your beer looking out over the river, you can watch whole families living on the banks of the river, preparing for the night. Naked babies lying on pavement sleeping being cooled by their mothers, waving a kromar (the checked Cambodian scarf used for everything) , clothes being washed in the river, beggars of all ages. However you notice the police keeping most away in this area, as businesses pay them to keep most beggars away from their clientale. You can read or hear or see poverty like this on T.V. but to see with your own eyes as you sit and eat or drink a beer is something different.
I stopped at a restaurant that looked like they server Khmer food. There was a group of Americans sitting in the restaurant, and one of the group was explaining to others about the restuarant. It had been set up to fund an orphanage . All the people that worked there were from the orphanage and all profits went to pay for education and keep of the kids. They didn’t get money from anywhere else. I was glad I’d picked this place.
While eating, some of the younger ophans, 8-12 year olds, try to sell you stuff, postcards, travel books (near perfect photocopies of the loney planets guide, complete with colour pictures), etc. They speak good English too, and are pretty tough negotiaters, I bought a few postcards, at 10 for a $1 you can’t go wrong. The kids chat with you, and ask you about your country, so the next time they meet an Irish person, they can amaze them into a purchase by being able to name the capital and the presidents name. These kids are street smart.
After dinner, I headed for a beer, and met an Irish couple on a world tour. We ended up in the Heart Of Darkness bar, which has a nice mix of travellers and Cambodians, and good Irish whisky! Its a good fun place, and a good place to meet other travellers. I get some advice on somewhere better to stay, ($3 dollars a night) and what to see and do tomorrow.
As I turned in, late that night, I released I had more questions then answers about Cambodia. This trip was going to be interesting.
