Cambodia: You’re never far away from the smell of something burning.
That’s my unofficial slogan for the time being.
As compared to Vietnam, there’s less infrastructure (even in the big cities), and it’s far dirtier yet more expensive. On the bright side, the people are happy and helpful. You can get a big smile out of someone with a friendly “Hello.”
So far I’ve spent time in Phnom Penh, the capital, and Kampot. While there are plenty of tuk tuk drivers trying to hook you up with a ride, one refusal is enough to send them on their way.. It seems less touristy than other places, which is kind of curious because most people speak pretty good English and they accept the US Dollar everywhere.
Almost all prices are given in USD actually. That is likely what’s driving up the cost of everything. It’s easiest to work in 25¢ increments so most things are at least $1. Take for example num pang, the Cambodian equivalent of a banh mi. In Vietnam, it was 65¢ for the simple street sandwich. Here, it’s $2.50 for basically the same thing (but this one has a chive chutney and a little more baguette). Also, a standard draft beer will run you $1 in Cambodia whereas you could get it for 20¢ in Vietnam.
Most of you reading this are asking why I’m bickering about a few quarters. Remember that I don’t have an active income…and Europe is next so I need to spend as little as possible. Plus, for good or bad, I’ve always been a pretty frugal guy. That, combined with an extended stay in a country that has the cheapest prices I’ve seen for just about everything (Vietnam), has cemented a low value into my brain. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to adjust that. I mean, of course I’ll re-acclimate to American prices…but a $12 beer is going to be extra infuriating.
Money complaints aside, there’s something I’m still trying to figure out about Cambodia. It’s not totally clicking. I can’t tell if it’s the lack of development, an obvious system, or another issue. Their alphabet is awesome though. Is that the only thing about Cambodia I’ve liked so far? Maybe. That seems a bit harsh. And I’m cruising through the country pretty quickly so I won’t have a full account of the place.
I have been in awe of two things though: the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. This is what I did on my first full day here. A depressingly brutal start.
At the S-21 prison, there were gruesome photos of its final inhabitants, who succumbed to torture, bodies abandoned as the staff fled. Walking into those rooms was heavy. There were walls and walls of prisoner headshots — women and children included. Only a few people survived this particular security unit. Heavy.
The next destination, Choeung Ek, was also a lot to take in. We walked around the site where thousands were brought to face their end. Mass graves. A tree specifically used to kill babies. A place where bone fragments and teeth resurface every year during the rainy season. These are the scenes we’re seeing as we listen to the audio guide retell stories of the Khmer Rouge nightmare in painful detail.
The last stop on the grounds was the memorial stupa that houses over 5,000 skulls. There’s also an identification process showing what weapons were used to kill. It’s unbelievable standing there and realizing that those are all actual human remains. The heaviest. How people could do that to other people…there really are no words.
On a brighter note, I met a nice Italian dude named Davide on the bus to Kampot. We were staying at the same place so we became motorbike partners and toured the area together over two days.
The first day we had a nice ride through a nearby National Park, finding semi-scenic mountain views and a nearly dry waterfall.
At night, we went to the city center to find some dinner. We came across a street vendor selling insects, which is a very common local snack. I’ll tell you what $2 can get you here: a fuck ton of fried bugs. We tried worms, frogs, and crickets — easily the best. It was a strange sensation to fish something out of a bag by its leg and then go straight for the crunch. Gotta be adventurous though. Eventually, you start popping them like any other snack. And you know how you just keep grabbing whatever’s in front of you? That was happening. I had to cut myself off so I wouldn’t hate life later. Flash forward: it wasn’t full on hate, but there was certainly some dislike.
The next morning we got an early start riding through some very rural Cambodian villages to find a slightly underwhelming cave temple. We traversed a few more bumpy dirt roads, said “Hello!” to several giddy school children, and passed by basic houses with at least one water buffalo each. We drove around a “secret lake” in the middle of nowhere. It was definitely hot enough to swim but the promise of leeches was a dealbreaker.
Then, we got to a pepper farm called La Plantation. We were just in time for the free tour so we were shown around the grounds and taught about pepper picking and processing. The green ones become black pepper and the red ones, when skinned, become white pepper. There was a free taste test of many varieties…and I had no water left. “We all cry together,” said our guide. The best I think was the long red pepper. Finally, Davide and I ate at the on-premises restaurant. Absolutely stunning marinated barbecue ribs. Oh my Jesus. Could’ve polished off a full rack of them bad boys.
We waited out a short rainstorm before hopping back on the bike. We conquered the freshly muddy, nearly flooded roads for another 40 minutes before taking a short walk around the small town of Kep. It’s known for the beach and crab market. It must’ve been a weird time though because there weren’t many people or vendors set up yet. There was a large group of under-18s doing a choreographed dance to “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie,” so that was a peculiar scene.
After escaping the twilight zone, it was another 40 minute ride back to our hostel. We spent around 7hrs out in the sun on that damn motorbike. You need a strong core and flexible leg muscles to be bounced around in that position for so long. I don’t have either of those things, so I was feeling it.
A few beers at happy hour helped. It seemed like there were a lot of long-term foreigners living and working in the area. Kind of random because Kampot is a somewhat small riverside town. Plus, it’s the shoulder period heading into the low/wet season so it’s relatively empty. Sounds like it’s easy to get a visa and a job in the country though.
The night market beckoned us at dinner time. We got some noodles and then cruised around the city to see what else it had to offer. There were 3 or 4 hotspots but nothing enticing. I have to imagine half of those places are closing down for a few months soon. It’s hard to tell because I still don’t get Cambodia yet.
Early the next day, it was time for Davide and I to part ways. He was boarding a ferry to a southern island for a Workaway and I was catching a 10hr bus to Siem Reap.
Angkor Wat here I come!