Thoughts on my new home.
Trip Start
Mar 03, 2005
1
8
80
Trip End
Apr 08, 2006
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Oh my god! Phnom Penh! It's starting to sink in that this crazy busy bustling city is my new home, although I still find myself staring from the terrace at the guys sitting on their motos and the kids running around and the old ladies pulling carts of exotic fruits and I'm just lost for words!
I've become quite good friends with the couple I met at the conference dinner on saturday night, Matt and Shirin, which has certainly made it easier for me. Not only knowing someone my age working at the same school, but meeting people here that I have a lot in common with and I can talk with for hours. On monday I met them for breakfast, and after Matt went to work Shirin and I spent the entire day wandering through the city and chatting. It is such an incredible city, really, I keep saying it but it's only because I'm still blown away by it. It's just got something that no other city I've been to has. For starters, it's not a huge overwhelming headspin like Bangkok or London. In fact it really is quite small and in the week I've been here I've managed to get my bearings and visit almost every corner. There are only about a million people here, and despite being a city a little like the others I've seen in South East Asia, with motorbikes zooming around everywhere, it does have more of a laid back feel to it.
It is also a very attractive city. This is something I noticed on day one here. There are huge boulevards everywhere, with hundreds of lamp posts, small gardens, green lawns and trees! There are trees everywhere! It really surprised me how green this place was. It wasn't until monday, my fourth day here that I visited the riverfront for the first time as well. Shirin found it pretty funny when I crossed Sisowath Quay and just stood there blown away by the site that greeted me. On one side of the road are beautiful old french buildings, containing restaurants, bars, shops, everything. On the otherside, under the shade of hundreds of palm trees is the convergence of three of South East Asia's largest rivers, the Mekong, Tonle Sap and Tonle Bassac. Right there! If I wasn't already convinced that this was a cool city, I was now. Last night was the icing on the cake, enjoying a few Anchor beers at a wooden guesthouse watching a beautiful sunset over Boeung Kak lake.
But while it's a pretty small, attractive city, there is a lot going on that isn't so obvious. And that's the thing I know I'll find difficult about living here. The culture and way of life. Sure everyone knows about the Khmer Rouge but that was thirty years ago yeah? Surely it doesn't play a part in things any more? Well the legacy of that atrocity remains everywhere. Travellers complain about it being more expensive than Thailand. "I thought it would be cheaper here, because it's poorer". A decade's education was lost, and along with that many skills. There is virtually no manufacturing here, and just about everything is imported from Thailand and Vietnam, inflating the prices. I think this is one of the reasons why it seems so laid back, on the surface at least. I don't think I've ever visited a place where it feels so easy to do nothing. And that's because so many people are simply doing nothing. Walking along the riverside, up to Wat Phnom, and through the market, the locals just sit and chat, maybe have a sleep, and if they sell a few items in a day for a dollar or two then they're set. On every corner there is group of about six or seven guys sitting on their motos just waiting to give someone a ride for 1000 riel (30 cents). I think most of them are waiting all day.
So it's pretty sad really. To see the immense poverty and the people just sitting back, not really doing much. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking it's all because of the revolution. I can't even imagine what this place would be like if it never happened. S-21 hasn't left me yet, and I still see that awful building with the brick cells and knocked out doorways. For my first five or six days I just couldn't comprehend that every single person I saw over the age of 35 lived through the revolution and probably remembers it. Maybe they were separated from there brothers and sisters, had there parents bludgeoned to death, while they worked ridiculous hours for a few spoonfuls of rice. But then I thought of something else. Not everyone here is a victim. Something like that didn't occur for four years without a lot of manpower. Maybe that guy I just got a moto ride with did lose his parents, or maybe he was a ten year old kid strapped with a machine gun who shot engineering students at S-21, and later helped senior guards torture prisoners because they went to the toilet without asking permission. There are secrets everywhere. I just need to stop thinking about them.
So that's about it for now. Thoughts on my first week in my new home. I'm really excited about beginning work. The school is fantastic, it has a huge range of resources, and I'll be teaching mostly university students. The few people I've met seem great as well. One thing playing on my mind is the fact I need to find somewhere to live. It shouldn't pose too much of a problem, seeing as though I'm not moving a bed, sofa, cupboard, bookcase etc, but a backpack full of clothes. Also, the guesthouse I'm staying at is pretty cool. It is ina quiet area of town, and I've become mates with just about every moto in the street. A few have also given me their number in case "I get into any trouble". So there's no real rush to move.
But work is still two and a half weeks away! It was a crazy two day journey to get here, an overwhelming two day conference, and a slightly stressful few days with the job interview and getting used to my new surroundings. So the plan now? Well, I'm going to have that break on the beach I've been planning since day one in Bangkok! First thing tomorrow morning I'm heading to Sihanoukville, and I'll spend a week on the coast before coming back here in time for Phnom Penh's first ever drum n bass! Matt is djing, as well as another mate of his. Can't wait for that one! Then I'll look into finding a place and preparing for school.
