Yorron's travel blogs:
- THE JOURNEY WITHIN: Using unfamiliar destinations as... 2007
- Blogless travels 1982
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Smile, you are in Cambodia!
Entry 20 of 47 | show all | print this entry |
"There is beauty in all we know and beauty in all we don't know. Our journey is to love it all."
- Thomas Warfield, 1999
After almost two months in Thailand I finally managed to pull myself out of this captivating country and headed to the Kingdom of Cambodia. Goodbye beautiful people!
The six and a half bus ride from the Had Lek border crossing to Phnom Penh is "interrupted" every time we have to cross a river, which is about five times. The mode of transportation for crossing each river varies from one to another. Once it was a large motorized raft, once two wooden boats tied together, once the ferry is large enough to carry our bus! In every stop there's a makeshift food court/market to serve the passengers and in the background there is always the soon-to-be-completed bridge that future travelers will use.
(Fear of lack thought: In a year or two the bridges will be completed and travelers will zoom through this beautiful countryside without getting to enjoy meeting the locals.)
We arrive in Phnom Penh in the late afternoon. As we enter this sprawling village called a city my first thought is that this is yet another overcrowded, polluted, poor Asian city. But I remind myself my intention to be unconditionally loving, peaceful and joyful and I remind myself my friend's Thomas' quote about beauty abound everywhere so I tell myself that "there's nothing wrong here" and focus on opening my mind to see what are the hidden gems of this seemingly "Been there, done that" kind of a place.
After unpacking I go out to explore the town. Outside my hotel I ask a Caucasian man in his fifties in which direction was the riverfront and he tells me he's heading there and invited me to join him. Michael does not like it here. As he points to me local points of interest along our walk he also share with me his perspective of the city: the people here do not smile, they are lazy, the string of restaurants on the river front that caters to tourists are ripoffs. The tourists that go there are stupid. Etc. Etc.
In the past I would quickly find a way to end an experience such as this one. Right now I'm in a different state of mind. I stick around fascinated to name to myself the fears that govern his perspective; lack, harm, inequality, and separation. I notice how the same rise in me. ("I'm more enlightened than you, I look to see the harmony and beauty around and know that complaining is attracting what I do not want")
We continued walking together and eventually sat at a charming local bar serving medical-herbs-infused-wine(!). By the end of the evening, before I get a chance to ponder way, I was already deeply in love with this city.
The Khmer people are simply delightful. Amazingly beautiful with striking facial features they look nothing like their Thai neighbors. Kind, humble and gentle, they will always respond to your greeting with a huge innocent-yet-seductive smile. They are always happy to talk with you and are fascinated and humbled by the Westerners interest in their country.
It is a poor country on the edge of a new prosperous beginning. Poor beggars of all kinds (amputees, blind people, young mothers, and children of all ages) ask for your kindness as you dine in beautiful Western style restaurants. The city skyline is constantly changing with hi-rise buildings popping everywhere.
It is a cosmopolitan city with large boulevards, public plazas and malls where people gather in the cool evening. As I continue to explore this place I keep on finding infinite gems of beauty in every part of it.
Motorbikes, cyclo, and tuktuk drivers are everywhere, every single one of them will greet you with a wave, letting you know that they are here for you in case you need a ride. They don't get upset when you refuse a ride and for the most part they are just happy to be talking to a tourist. While some will offer you a ride for an inflated price (they'll ask for a dollar for a fifty cents ride) because they know it's a sum of money that won't make a difference to you, they'll often offer you a ride for "up to you" fare.
The vibrant night life here is incredible for a city of such small size. There are several gay bars, great night clubs and karaoke bars that put the ones in the USA to shame.
Food wise, at least at first glance, Cambodia is certainly not the orgasmic culinary experience that Japan and Thailand are. While the Khmer cuisine is similar to Thai, it lacks the abundance and creativity displayed everywhere in Thailand. It could be because here is a poorer country. I don't know. To "compensate", Phnom penh features a large number of restaurants serving excellent Western dishes (which is certainly not the case in Thailand) in beautiful French colonial settings.
The city's traffic is a perfect metaphor to the Cambodian lifestyle; an orchestrated chaos of motorbikes, tuktuks, expensive cars, and pedestrians all going in different directions through wide boulevards without traffic lights. Imagine looking at a colony of microorganisms under a microscope and you'll get an understanding of the traffic here. Everyone is going somewhere and seemingly there are no rules to the traffic. And yet there are no accidents, as every driver is respectful of all other beings that cross his/way. Marvelous!
Crossing the street here is an exciting adventure: I completely ignore the traffic and simply walk slowly to my destination. I might as well do it with my eyes closed. I never get hit, not even a close call. It's kind of a "Live and Let Live" mentality that allows people to be as they wish and all expressions are honored evenly.
Case and point: While I'm typing this entry at an Internet cafe the Khmer guy in the booth next to me is conducting a loud conversation over the Internet. The store keeper is singing a song to her chat buddy. The monk in the cubicle next to me is uploading file from a key chain hardrive he brought with him. In here, people seem to let you do whatever you want to do. They simply choose accept you as you are rather than be disturbed by your actions.
I love it here and I'm smiling a lot. After all, I am in the land of smiles!
Latest Comments (2)
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Re: Kingdom of Cambodia (reply)
Mar 15, 2008 00:11 EST by yorron
Hello my friend
Thank you for your comment.
I hope you'll come to visit Cambodia soon. While I'm sure it will be lovely even 20 years from now, it is an especially fascinating country right now. The most amazing thing I find about the country is the people, and people do change, so now is a beautiful time to 'catch' the locals while they are still innocent, loving and humble.
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Kingdom of Cambodia (reply)
Mar 14, 2008 19:38 EST by 07teka.c
Hello,
I'm glad that your visiting Srok Khmer (Cambodia). I'm Cambodian, but was born here in the US. I long to go to Cambodia.
I just wanted to comment about the food in Cambodia. My mom told me before she left because of Khmer Rouge there use to be an abundance of good food everywhere. I do think because the country is poor becasue of the war, there's not much variety anymore.show all
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