Chasing Amy-Lou

Arriving in Bali early Wednesday evening after a day of sitting around airports trying to delay the onset of boredom, trying not to spend all my money on wine and chocolate and trying not to smell like a poof’s palace (no offence, Graeme Brown) by dousing myself in all the perfume samples from duty free, I decided it only right to reflect on Cambodia and the perceptions I’d gained from the short time I’d spent in the country.

The Currency: The Cambodian currency is confusing. The local currency, Riel, is similar in denominations to that of the Vietnamese Dong and Laotian Kip and is widely used among Cambodian nationals in cities and also in rural areas. However, the US dollar appears to be the preferred unit of currency in all the major cities. As I understand it, during the Khmer Rouge regime, the Riel was devalued so much that by the 80s it was worthless. In an attempt to rebuild the country, the US introduced the dollar into Cambodia to increase its chances of becoming prosperous once more.

However, it’s now dominating the economy and many people would like to see a return to the Riel. I am one of those people. If you pay for something in dollars in Cambodia, more often than not you’ll receive change in Riel and also in dollars. Not confusing at all. And trying to work out your money and trying to work out prices can be frustrating. It also makes everything seem cheap (it is, it’s cheaper than Australia or Britain), but for SE Asia, it’s actually not as cheap as one would imagine. And not only this, the dominance of US currency, for me, feels a little wrong; for a country that has been so fraught with wars and corruption, I felt it needed to regain some form of sovereignity, if only to take back a sense of pride.

The Politics: I had heard and read that the government in Cambodia is still terribly corrupt. In 2010 Anti-Corruption Laws were introduced which essentially meant that any cases of bribery, extortion or fraud had to be prosecuted. However, in 2016, Cambodia was ranked bottom in a poll of corrupt countries and is perceived to be the most corrupt country among its South East Asian counterparts.

Corruption for Cambodians is encountered in every walk of life, from accessing medical services and education, to traffic violations and business interactions, from importing and exporting goods to child trafficking and prostitution. Red tape is prominent and bribery is still very much commonplace.

The Cambodian government is also still headed by former Khmer Rouge Commanders which is slightly strange and ironic seeing as the country was brought to its knees under the Khmer Rouge regime. And political opponents of Hun Sen (the Cambodian President since 1985) have accused him of being a puppet for the Vietnamese government which again, in its very essence is ironic.

Vietnam liberated Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge at end of seventies and occupied it until 1993 and still to this day have terrific influence in Cambodian politics. Tensions and relations also remain very fraught, with Vietnam using the occupation of Cambodia to benefit its own interests, such as extorting money, and taking from historical sites such as Angkor Wat for example.

These issues surrounding the government and corruption are obviously a lot more convoluted and run deeper than anything I’ve written in this post, but by knowing this and speaking to Cambodian nationals about it, it kind of made my outlook of Cambodia a little more unfavourable. I actually feel sorry for Cambodians and hope they can get themselves out of this vicious circle of corrupt tyranny. However, I fear it will take more than just hope.

Poverty and Wealth: Places like Phnom Penh and Siem Reap are very rich. You only have to look at the grandness of the buildings, the cars, the houses, the jewellery, and the shops to know this. However, there’s an obvious and frustrating contrast between the very wealthy and the very poor. Those who are poor (and I don’t mean poor like me, I mean bottom of the barrel poor – I can still afford to put food in my stomach and don’t have to buy red wine all the time, that’s a luxury my current – if somewhat insecure – financial situation allows me) are really poor; they live in huts and can barely afford to feed their families let alone dream of owning nice cars or clothes. Yet those who are wealthy are extremely wealthy; the vehicles on the roads give perfect examples – with everything from Lexus to Ford, Nissan to Toyota dominating the tarmac. And they’re not small cars either, they’re huge rangers or utes, estates and wagons. It’s sickening to see the blatant juxtaposition, but it also provides some hope that despite corruption, there could, in the future, be a chance for the poor to better themselves – but that of course, all depends on the continuing acceleration of capitalism.

The Climate: The climate in Cambodia is hot. Even in winter it’s hot. But it does have a dry and a wet season, although not like you’d be lead to believe. The dry season runs from around December to April where the land remains arid and the sun is hottest, however there are the occasional monsoons. The wet season runs from May to November and despite being called ‘wet’ the showers are infrequent and short and temperatures still remain high. I liked the climate in Cambodia, although when I was there it persistently rained for a good proportion of my trip, something I was definitely not happy about, especially when my waterproof turned out not to be waterproof and my soaked body resembled that of a shrivelled old witch’s.

The People: I found the people in Cambodia to be strange. There were the overly friendly, smiling locals who were only too happy to lend a hand and help you out. But then there were the people who wouldn’t know how to crack a smile if they’d been punched in the face by one. However, these sour faced Cambodians, like me, may just have had a bad case of resting bitch face, for as soon as I smiled at them, they grinned right back, ear to ear, laughter lines, creases, the works.

The people were also very persistent, especially in their selling techniques: in Angkor Wat and Siem Reap for example we could not escape the cries of: “Lady, lady, you want t-shirt? Lady, you want water? Lady, you wanna buy? Lady, you want tuk-tuk? You want hashish?” It was relentless, more so than anywhere I’d been before and after a while it became very, very annoying, irritating and frustrating. If the Cambodian people could just clock on that aggressive selling techniques didn’t work then they’d probably find that they’d sell a lot more t-shirts, water and whatever other tat it was they were trying to get rid of.

In general though despite these differences, I did find the Cambodian people to be nice. When I stayed in Kampot and especially when I volunteered near Takeo, they were very generous, very helpful, and were also eager to learn. I found the younger generations to be more friendly and outspoken than the older generations too, which I guess is only as a reflection of the Khmer Rouge regime and a result of wanting to better themselves.

The Buses: Just like the wine in Vietnam, the less I say about the buses in Cambodia, the better. I’ve been on some horrific forms of transportation in my time but these buses, the way they packed you in like sardines and the way they operated the companies was traumatising. The mini-bus situations were just as bad. I had to laugh so many times at the procedures and way of doing things with transportation in Cambodia if only for one reason – if I didn’t find the comical side in it all, I would’ve succumbed to tears, and that’s not what I wanted from my trip at all.

In conclusion then, I have to say I still remain very indifferent towards Cambodia. Like I mentioned in a previous blog, I can’t quite make my mind up about it. It’s a colourful place full of culture and history. It’s also a very interesting place, and is somewhere I’d like to spend some more time, probably partaking in more volunteering than actual sight-seeing. Hopefully in the future I can find a way to return.