Cambodia: Random Facts, Thoughts and Observations

People

Cambodian people are by far and wide some of the loveliest people I have ever met, anywhere in the world. From tiny children to elderly couples, everyone wants to greet us and welcome us to Cambodia. Teenagers wave and shout hello as the drive past on their scooters, little children pause their games to grin at us and say hello. From our first impression at Koh Kong and Sihanoukville where we felt everybody was out to con or rob us, our opinion of the Khmer people has changed entirely. They are such a warm, friendly lot. It’s amazing when you think about all they’ve been through. The Cambodians we've met have been very open with us about their experiences during the Khmer Rouge period; they've shared their stories with us of the relatives they lost, or how they managed to escape. We've been astounded by how gentle and loving the people are, when they could so easily be bitter with resentment and grief.

Food 

Khmer food isn’t as good as Thai food, but it’s nice: rice, noodles, soups and curries. Some of the more exotic delicacies we’ve come across include: fried snake, embryo egg (boiled with a partially developed chicken inside), fried frog and ice cream baguettes. The less touristy places always provide you with a pot a jasmine tea and a glass of ice – for free.

Money 

There’s a two tiered pricing system in Cambodia which means tourists pay a premium. Restaurants often have two menus, one in Khmer and one in English, the English prices twice as high as the Khmer prices. The same goes for bus tickets, hotel rates and the rest. There are no coins in Cambodia. Dollars are used down to the one dollar bill, any smaller change is given in riel.

Post

There is no real postal service in Cambodia, mail is delivered by the intercity buses in a complicated web of drop-offs and pick-ups. People wait with their parcels along the main roads where the buses pass, they flag down a bus going to their desired destination and for a small fee the bus driver will drop off their package along the roadside further down the way, where the recipient is waiting. If the recipient is unaware, the package will be dropped off at the local post office, or with a helpful villager who hopefully won’t steal the goods! We discovered this after leaving our homestay in Lvea village, when we realised it would be near impossible to keep in touch with our kind host, Wanah. The post is also the reason that any journey in Cambodia takes a hell of a lot longer than it should. For example, these deliveries are the reason why it took us over five hours to cover the 170km from Phnom Penh to Kampot.

Clothes

Cambodian women are crazy about pyjamas. Brightly coloured, matching two pieces pyjama sets are the norm on the street throughout Cambodia (although less so in Phnom Penh.) It’s as if somebody imported pyjamas for the first time but never passed on the message that elsewhere they’re worn for bed. Waitresses, chefs, shopkeepers and school children go about their business in their pyjamas. I even saw one lady wearing a dressing gown as a coat. Strangely, the men don’t seem to share this love of pyjamas, maybe they know the truth about them being made for bedtime and are having a secret laugh at the women?!

The Patriarchy 

Which brings me on to…sexism! Despite Cambodians being so friendly and polite, I have become invisible again here. It’s not as bad as India, and I’m sure solo female travellers wouldn’t notice it, but walking down the street with Ric I am invisible to vendors, hawkers and tuk-tuk drivers. I should consider myself lucky to not get “tuk-tuk sir?” shouted at me every two minutes, but every now and then I’d like to be offered.