Travels in cambodia

[happy daze john in oz]

CAMBODIA

Cambodia is without doubt the poorest nation within the AsiaPacific region, though with the assistance of the Chinese there are signs ofimprovement.
Our tour there took us to visit a local village and see howthe people there live. This was an improvement on out last visit going thistime to a less rural part of the country. The Cambodians live a simple andbasic life with little of the luxuries we in the west so often take for grantedeven such a simple thing as hot water is never ‘on tap’.

The current government is aware that if the country is toimprove then education of the people is paramount. A visit to the local schoolwas interesting. A class of 28 second year students all dressed in a uniform ofwhite shirts and grey shorts for both male and female. One female teacher perclass who are paid US $70 per month! But there was a great sense of pride evenwith ones so young as they stood to sing the national song for us.

From there to visit the local Pagoda where the monks live,local monks who dedicate their lives to one of austerity and prayer. Theysurvive on one meal per day with food they gather by begging from the localswho give to them willingly.

I managed a long and constructive conversation with theguide we had whilst most of the others in the tour were busy taking photos ofthe surrounds. I have over the years found that if you take the time to shogenuine interest the guides will tell you a lot more than to the rest of thepeople on the tour. I spoke to him of the Pol Pot times and how it all beganand ended. His story was thus.

At the time of the rise of Pol Pot he was a ten year oldorphan taken in by the monks, as was the case with many orphans, and amongstthose forced to march to the Thailand border for safety. There is now a strongbelief with the Cambodian people that the King at the time was working with PolPot to divide the nation and by doing so rid it of the poorest people. 3.5million were killed by the regime in an attempt to reach this situation. At onepoint all the poorer people were driven out of the capital so that thewealthier people could habit it. Why did the west not come to our aid he asked?Quite simple I told him, you had nothing the west wanted, no oil or richminerals and the country was not of strategic significance.
He the told me that in the end Pol Pot and the then Kingvanished into China, and it is now very evident that the Chinese have a greathold on the country investing billions, not just for the benefit of theCambodians, but for China as well.
Much of the clothing we buy bearing the ‘Made in China’label are in fact made in Chinese owned factories in Cambodia where outsourcingbrings lower wages that those paid to similar workers in China.

The tours of Vietnam and Cambodia made me realise that we inthe west take so much of our daily lives for granted and I believe it would dosome of our leaders to go and see how the real people of these countries liverather that just seeing the leaders.
Travel is one of the greatest enlighteners any one canexperience and I will do so for as long as I am able.

I now believe in the concept.
Cover the Earth before it covers you.

[Doc Vernon]

Another nice interesting post there John!
Alay enjoy reading your Travel away experiences!
Cheers

[corrientes]

I can recommend a little book if you are interested in those two countries. Recent and very mindful of the amount of old weaponry lying around. Beautifully written.
"A Short Ride in the Jungle" by Antonia Bolingbroke Kent. Plucky young lady. Incidentally it is her second book, the first being an account of her 12,000 mile journey in a Tuk Tuk from Bangkok to Brighton!!

[Captain Kong]

Welcome home John
another good informative story, It really does open your eyes when travelling, even more than it did when we were sailing there.
Cheers
Brian