Report From The Field 9
Current Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Besides being very hot, Cambodia can be seen as a land of contrasts. Phnom Penh (and so far, all of Cambodia), is a beautiful city. However, one does not need to look hard to find the scars the city bears from the Pol Pot regime and the sadness of the country. There's an obvious generation gap in the country, about 50% of the population are people under the age of 17 - as for the generation before this, most are missing. As well, a good percentage of the population makes about 65 cents a day. The division between rich and poor are also very obvious. The rich drives Lexus SUVs and Mercedes Benz, the poor will follow you for blocks, begging you for money or try to solicite you to buy something. Like the older generations or those who have lost a limb to landmines (which are quite a few), the middle class also seems to be missing.
Many people still remembers the horrors of the Pol Pot regime. For one, our tour guide to the Killing Fields today is a survivor. From the age of 7 to 11, he lived with the horrors of Pol Pot. Along the way, he lost his father and 2 sisters. He also tells us that many people in Cambodia still feels the aftershocks of the event, with many survivors having nightmares and anger control problems.
Phnom Penh itself is a very lovely city. Situated right at the joining of 3 major rivers (including the mighty Mekong), the city bustles with vespas and life. Even amongst its nice hotels and casinos, the "real Cambodia" is still not hard to find. Young kids work the streets all day long, trying to sell any books (copied) they can to visitors. We made friends with a few of those, while just as many cursed us off as well (Fuck you rolls off their tongues very easily).
People are very nice. Their physical features surprised me as well - the Indianization of Cambodia can be seen quite clear in the features of many people's faces. At times, Cambodia can even feel like India.
Tomorrow, will leave for Siem Reap. Angkor Wats await.
By the way, the night out in Saigon was fabulous:
Dinner at Allybooz, a drink at the Blue Gecko (Aussie hang out spot), a drink at Saigon Saigon (Caravelle Hotel - where all the foreign correspondents hung out during the Vietnam War), a drinkt at Level 23 (Sheraton - and by a drink, I meant a drink. $7 for 1 drink!!), drinks at Go2, dancing at Lost In Saigon, then finally drinks at Allybooz again before ending the night with a few more drinks at the hotel. Fabulous.
Besides being very hot, Cambodia can be seen as a land of contrasts. Phnom Penh (and so far, all of Cambodia), is a beautiful city. However, one does not need to look hard to find the scars the city bears from the Pol Pot regime and the sadness of the country. There's an obvious generation gap in the country, about 50% of the population are people under the age of 17 - as for the generation before this, most are missing. As well, a good percentage of the population makes about 65 cents a day. The division between rich and poor are also very obvious. The rich drives Lexus SUVs and Mercedes Benz, the poor will follow you for blocks, begging you for money or try to solicite you to buy something. Like the older generations or those who have lost a limb to landmines (which are quite a few), the middle class also seems to be missing.
Many people still remembers the horrors of the Pol Pot regime. For one, our tour guide to the Killing Fields today is a survivor. From the age of 7 to 11, he lived with the horrors of Pol Pot. Along the way, he lost his father and 2 sisters. He also tells us that many people in Cambodia still feels the aftershocks of the event, with many survivors having nightmares and anger control problems.
Phnom Penh itself is a very lovely city. Situated right at the joining of 3 major rivers (including the mighty Mekong), the city bustles with vespas and life. Even amongst its nice hotels and casinos, the "real Cambodia" is still not hard to find. Young kids work the streets all day long, trying to sell any books (copied) they can to visitors. We made friends with a few of those, while just as many cursed us off as well (Fuck you rolls off their tongues very easily).
People are very nice. Their physical features surprised me as well - the Indianization of Cambodia can be seen quite clear in the features of many people's faces. At times, Cambodia can even feel like India.
Tomorrow, will leave for Siem Reap. Angkor Wats await.
By the way, the night out in Saigon was fabulous:
Dinner at Allybooz, a drink at the Blue Gecko (Aussie hang out spot), a drink at Saigon Saigon (Caravelle Hotel - where all the foreign correspondents hung out during the Vietnam War), a drinkt at Level 23 (Sheraton - and by a drink, I meant a drink. $7 for 1 drink!!), drinks at Go2, dancing at Lost In Saigon, then finally drinks at Allybooz again before ending the night with a few more drinks at the hotel. Fabulous.
2 Comments:
wow, I just read all your entries on Vietnam and it's really amazing...I was there once 4 years ago and now I really want to go back and visit!
How is the ao dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) by the way? And did you get to eat any hu tieu? and nuoc mia is really, really good like duylinh said.
Oi choi oi, Tran, go to Cambodia or Laos before you go back to Vietnam! :)
The ao dai, btw, looks interesting. Will post a picture soon...
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