Yesterday I came across a travel documentary about Cambodia and it reminded me of my travels to Cambodia some three years ago. Cambodia was a country that has left deep thoughts in my mind ever since I left. Cambodia made me think twice about life and the way that we think. I can still remember my arrival… I travelled by local bus from Bangkok to the Cambodian border: Siem Reap. It was a really long journey at the time, but it was the best way to observe local towns and villages and their people. When I arrived in Cambodia the intense change in society was noticeable. I went from the buddhist flamboyance of Thailand, to the war torn reality of the Cambodian people, it touched me. I will never forget the sad, sorrowful expressions on the people’s faces.
I saw children with missing limbs digging amongst the plastic bottles that foreigners had left, simply just to find a few drops of pure water. I saw old Cambodian men and woman carrying European travelers on their backs across the border because the travelers were too tired to walk. I was confronted by officials that exuded a presence of corruption, however, one must bare in mind that they too, were just trying to lives. The worst thing that anguished me though was a young girl that I saw chained to a bridge in the sunlight, someone had dug her eyes out and trained her to be a beggar. It was truly, an awful, saddening thing to witness, whilst trying to bare in mind that all border towns around the world sometimes show the worst side of a society. Several thoughts went through my mind at the time.
Amongst the saddening presence, a Dutch man – perhaps in his late fifties confronted me in the middle of the dust ridden streets. Nothing about him was descent, he was dirty in every sense. The only thing pure about him were his light blue eyes, they were as blue as clean water. Even his clothes were stained with dirt. My perception made me wary. For the past month in Banglâmphu I had experienced various propositions from foreigners offering the exchange of funds for intimacy, so I was already wary of such characters. The Dutch man’s words were “The Cambodian women here are so cheap and so delicious.” He was the epitome of a foreign user, riddled with the a noticeable lack of dignity or respect.
While many things in Cambodia were saddening at a first glance, there were other things that were impeccably beautiful about Cambodia and Cambodian people. The Cambodia that I experienced made me aware of life and it’s unpredictability. It reminded me that good can eventuate from bad circumstances, and that even in the most torn parts of the world, some of the most sincere people are the people who have very little or close to nothing. That is the beauty of Cambodia. A lot of people have absolutely nothing, but they have more faith in their hearts than others that have a lot. They’re constantly hoping for the best, even if they receive the worst. The documentary I saw yesterday reminded me of a few good traveling experiences I have had and some of the best, most appreciative people I have come across.
I recall one of these moments, one year ago in the Pacific… It was my last few days in Le Mandarin and I had a suit case full of clothes and other things. My suit case was so full that I had to sit on it to zip it up for my flight schedule. I stood around in my room for hours, wondering what I was going to do with everything that I had collected, I had so many things and I was afraid of breaking my suitcase. And then I thought of the hostesses at the hotel who had been taking care of my room for the duration of my travels, they were doing their usual cleaning route down the hall way so I asked them to come to my room to pick through some of the things I couldn’t take with me on my flight schedule. I knew they would appreciate it because they were hard working. I had things that I didn’t need, such as expensive clothing from Italy that I wore once ever two years and so I let them take the items. They didn’t know how to thank me, so they hugged me before I left. I can still remember the sense of surprise and the smiles on their faces. I’ll never forget it.
