Cambodia

April 8:   My tour in Cambodia begins with a drive through the countryside, stopping to visit a small rural village.  Even before we arrive at our destination, it becomes evident that this country is different.  It's not the poverty or the heat or the landscape.  It's not the skinny cows eating garbage by the roadside.  We've seen similar conditions in other places.  It's the energy of the people.  In their movement, their passively sad expessions, the slowness of their driving.  There is a palpable sadness that seems to permeate this place.  Cambodia suffered a genocide 30 years ago that exerts a powerful influence among their society today.  Our tour guide tells us a bit about this, that his grandparents were killed in that episode.  He emphasizes how important it is for Cambodians to have a peaceful leader.

In the village we observe a few classrooms in progress, with children in class, maybe 8 to 10 years old, learning math.  We are allowed to photograph them, and they delight in seeing their images on our cameras.  We wander deeper into the village, past the school.  We see many younger children, too young for school.  We take their pictures as well and they too are very excited to see their images.  We stay in the village for quite a while, moved by their innocence and wonder. 

Some adults sit in huts along the path, tending to their small cache of goods - perhaps some fruit or meat or prepared foods.  They are hoping to trade or sell this to the other villagers.  We are told that many of these children have rarely or perhaps never seen westerners.  A few skinny cows and water buffalo wander about.  Some young men work at swinging a sledge hammer to break rocks to help decorate the ground outside the village temple.  We peek inside the temple - a small but beautifully painted place for these Buddhists.  The farming here is all done by hand, with the help of animals when available.  There is no money for tractors or power tools. 

We leave the village and visit a central marketplace in a small city.  Even in this city the drivers move slowly.  The market is an open-air space covered with a huge metal roof, covering perhaps 5 acres or so.  There are hundreds of vendors, selling all manner of food, clothes, electronics, toys, flowers and more. There are few lights, so it is fairly dark in most of this marketplace.  Most of the shoppers are locals but there are also plenty of tourists, all wandering together in the hot, humid air.  Unlike anyplace we've seen in Asia, the vendors here, even in this small city, are passive.  No one pushes, no one rushes.  They wait quietly for you to come to them.  There is almost no haggling over price.  You might get 10% off the initial price, but try for more, or try the tactic of walking away, and they simply don't pursue you.  There are a few beggars, but they too barely assert themselves.

Finally we visit a 5-star beach resort (Sokha Beach Resort at Sihanouk Ville) - a strange contrast to the sadness we've just seen.  Time to sit on the beach, by the pool, get a massage or enjoy a meal.  This is a fairly new resort, one of several in a country that is trying to attract foreign investment and tourism money.  The resort is very nice, inexpensive, and has plenty of European, Russian and other tourists visiting.   Maybe the investment strategy will work, as it seems to be working for Vietnam next door.  For now however, the main products of Cambodia seem to be rice and small children.  We later learn that some Cambodians sneak across the border into Thailand to work as domestic servants for $50 to $200 per month, often for middle class families there.  I leave Cambodia with increased awareness of the place, and of the sadness they endure.

For more photos, please see Brigit's blog at http://anchorsawaygrandworldcruise.blogspot.com/