Cambodia is very different from Laos even though everything seems the same at first. After a few days of observation, I find Cambodia to be very different from their Laos and Thailand counterparts. The way they conduct business is different, the food is surprisingly similar to their Eastern neighbour (Vietnam), the people’s attitude is different, the children here are witty and clever, and the Cambodian (aka Khmer) history is harsh. The French had their influence here as well noticeably on the architecture and the famous baguette bread. I personally like Cambodia a lot. I prefer the Khmer food since it reminds me so much of my mom’s cooking. I like the vibrant cities of Siem Reap and particularly the capital Phnom Penh. I just love the lush and very green vegetation here.
Our first contact with Cambodia was rather unpleasant. We were well prepared though, thanks to our guidebook that warned us about bogus surcharge for everything. For example once you passed the Laotian border and walk towards the Cambodia border you get waved over to the “Health Inspection” table. They point a heat sensor gun to your forehead and within a second it reads your body temperature. That one second just cost you one US dollar. The scam is if you’re feverish, you are unhealthy and are not allowed in the country. So they would conveniently have a pill to sell you for US$1 that would help lower your temperature so you can pass the “test” the next time. Although it was a very suspicious practice nobody dare to challenge them and ask questions. Because we all wanted our little paper that we think we’d need at the visa and passport check point. At the checkpoint, it cost another US$1 to have our paper processed. Why? Just because :o) One US dollar is a small price to pay to not get in trouble with the men in uniform, no one wanted to be left behind between the two borders. Everything in Cambodia cost a dollar, we’d hear that every time we ask for a price for anything :o)
The Khmer customer service is terrible. The driver made us wait at the border for 2 hours for no reason before we hit the road again. One thing we learn on our travels in Indochina is to just go with the flow and smile. A smile takes you a long way. Even though we don’t understand what is happening and we worry about missing a connecting bus or boat, we have to remind ourselves to simply go with the flow because there is a system, THEIR system. Everything always works out at the end.
While we waited for our bus taking us to Ban Lung in the north-east of the country, we met a couple who were leaving Cambodia and who had a terrible experience. They went on and on about how they did not enjoy the people, the country and the roads of Cambodia. It made us doubt our decision of coming here, especially after the saga at the border. But our motto is to just go with the flow and smile so that’s what we did and we are having a good time so far. Perhaps that couple would be more happy in Laos where the locals don’t hassle you for anything, or maybe this couple will find other things to complain about anyways ;o)
We did a great tour in Ban Lung where we visited a village. This village was under siege when the Khmer Rouge was in control of the entire country. We visited a big hole in the ground that was meant for the Khmer Rouge to execute and burry the villagers once they had no more use for them. Fortunately, the village survived. The locals at the village also believe in ghosts and spirits. Someone passing away is a good thing because they believe that person is getting a better life. So there is no sad funeral but rather a big celebration. The village is totally self sufficient. They eat their own rice crop, fresh water comes from a whole in the ground and the pigs, hen and cows running around freely among the locals will take turn being part of a good meal. We witnessed a sacrifice of a piglet. A man just finished building a house and it is tradition to sacrifice an animal to offer it to the spirits in return for good luck.
I mentioned earlier the kids are clever and witty – these kids speak almost perfect English. If they see you ride your bike on the streets they would run out to wave and say a clear “hello”. The braver one would go the extra mile and ask you how you are doing and where you’re from. The ones you see selling random stuff at the temples or in the streets would greet you in English and ask you where you’re from. As soon as you tell them where you’re from, they would right away blur out the capital of your country and greet you in your mother tongue. I tested one of them and said I was German. The 8 year old then greeted me in German and told me Berlin was the capital. Then she commented my accent does not sound German :o) Hahaha I was so busted!
Gen and I have been biking a lot. It is a great way to see the country and to make our dollar last. But we just have no luck with bicycles here. So far we had two flat tires and another one with a chain from hell that refused to stay on the sprockets. Me second flat tire happened when I was about 7 km away from the nearest village. When I tried asking for help, everyone kept pointing in the same direction. I’m thinking there must be one of their neighbours down the road who could help me. One hour and a half later of walking beside my bike in the 35 degrees, I saw a scooter shop. This is what they had been telling me all this time: go to the shop in town! Of course in the village no one speaks English, but with a fat smile on my face and a little bit of miming, we were all speaking the same language. They fixed my tire and off I happily went.
