Cambodia

I went to Cambodia recently and learnt that only 10% of the takings at Angkor Wat go to local Cambodian people. The contract to manage the site was given to a Vietnamese mate of the ruling elite who lives in a palace and also owns the top of a mountain, Thansur Bokor Highland Resort, near Kampot where he has built a casino. When you think of the thousands passing through there every day, it makes our tour group buying exercise books, pens, toothpaste, toothbrushes and shampoo to give to local school children on our homestay visit fatuous.

It also makes me cross. Cambodia, as a developing country, reminded me of my time in Cameroon. The infrastructure of roads is pants. They don’t have a good rail network. This is what the proceeds from Ankor Wat should be going towards.

Angkor Wat is incomparable, Siem Reap touristy, Battambang and Kampot worth a visit and the best beach for back packers and laid back ness – Otres. The food was yum especially green and red curries and ashok which is a sort of curry paste they serve in a banana leaf.

There were several shops and ‘institutions’ we visited that had been set up with foreign investment. Just from a design aspect alone they stood out a mile from what local people were doing. I am not sure exactly how I feel about them. If the greater profits go to local people then is that OK? Is it good even if it just provides work and training for local people?

This is my hit list for the best of what I saw in order of merit (mine!)
Seeing Hands – massage by blind Cambodians. We used the place in Kampot, but they were everywhere and much better value than the traditional salons.
Tiny Kampot Pillows, Kampot. Run by three Cambodian women. Excellent value stitched items, cheaper and more variety than anywhere else we saw.
Soria Moria Hotel in Siem Reap. Set up by Scandinavians, but 51% Cambodian ownership. Had a rooftop jacuzzi and bar that made an afternoon memorable.
Romdeng restaurant, Phnom Penh. Excellent food and ambience with a little swimming pool in lovely gardens. They also sell Friends’n’stuff craft items which make great presents.(friends-international.org)
Mekong Quilts, Siem Reap. Helping women in Cambodia and Vietnam. More expensive, but beautiful and original items including bamboo bikes.

We visited the Killing Fields and the torture centre Tuol Sleng. Both were immeasurably moving. This is history in my lifetime. Every inmate was photographed and there are boards and boards of black and white portrait photos of mainly young men and women and some children. Then of course there are the skulls ……

I would also recommend doing a local bike ride in both Cambodia and Vietnam. It’s flat so easy to cover long distances and you get to see local small businesses up close and personal and hear individual stories, especially in relation to how the displacement in the war affected them and their livelihoods. We took a tour in Battambang which included cottage industries of rice paper, banana chips, rice wine, local fruit production and rice cake.