Iris and I came back from a short 4-days-3-nights holiday at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was her first and my second, albeit after nearly 2 decades since my last visit to this developing country.
In all honesty, 4 days were pretty long a stay for us--2 or 3 days actually would suffice but due to the flight's schedule this was the best arrangement we could have.
Personally, this trip brought back many memories for me during my first mission trip in my then-young Christian journey. I was part of the team that was led by Jeffrey and Serene Lum to visit our Cambodian missionaries, Alvin Tan and family, who is now a full time pastor with Bartley Christian Church. The team included Pastor Joseph Lee, Lue Chong, Zhiqiang and a few young adults in the mid-1990's.
Back then, Cambodia was still very back dated and streets were loitered with naked children and occasional sights of handicapped adults were not uncommon. They would beg and ask for food, money and whatever else they could ask you for. I could still vividly remember the joy on the faces of the housekeepers who've helped kept our hotel rooms (or do you call them hostels by our standards) during our stay when we tipped them $1USD per person--they were so overjoyed!
Things have changed, and Cambodia has caught up quite a bit. No longer do you need to worry about bribing the customs officer or being over charged ridiculously for a taxi or tuk-tuk ride, or over a restaurant meal. Cambodians, given their sad and undesirable past, are still very friendly and non-intrusive group of people with a rich culture.
Well, here are 5 things I've learned from my most recent trip to Phnom Penh:
1. US Currencies Are Still Very Much Recognized
Almost two decades ago, we had to use the American currency for our daily expenses. Not much have changed nowadays, despite the Cambodians having their own currency (rate is about $1 USD to $4,000 Riel). For bigger denominations, the US notes are used while for smaller currencies (cents), the Riel is being used.
2. Cambodians Are Catching Up With Their English
In comparison to Vietnam or Thailand, the Cambodians counterparts are brushing up their English pretty quickly. Most are able to converse pretty well with tourists in simple English. We were particularly impressed with our accidental tuk-tuk driver (whom we engaged on our first outdoor tour and thereafter became our tuk-tuk driver until we depart) who spoke well and understood us in our Singapore Singlish.
3. Cambodia Dishes Taste Very Much Like Its Neighbours
Just in case you are wondering, nope we did not try the local natural delicacies such as the red tree ants, scorpions, cockroaches, silk worms etc. But we did try a couple of their local dishes such as the beef lok lak (which resembles the Thai beef basil rice) and the red curry. Their dishes are quite unlike their neighbours Thailand or Vietnam which feature contrasting and lightly-flavoured taste.
4. Phnom Penh Is Very Much City-Like In Comparison To Siam Reap
Okay, we did not really drive up to Siam Reap to visit the Angkor Wat and other temples, but our sister-in-law recently went to Siam Reap and it was a vastly different story that she's told us. Her pictures, too, painted a different perspective to life in Phnom Penh. Sadly though, they have only their one-shopping mall till date though many more are expected along the way.
5. You Can Literally Tour Phnom Penh In One Day
Yes, that is not quite an extreme statement, but given the most popular tourists attractions listed on Trip Advisor and other holiday sites, the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center (a.k.a. the Killing Fields) and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (a.k.a. S21) provide a sad glimpse of their Khmer Rouge and is achievable in one morning. Similarly, the Royal Palace, National Museum and the Silver Pagoda are all clustered together and you can complete them in an afternoon.
Of course, you can tour the Central Market and the Russian Market (for the shopaholics in your group) but there is nothing much you may want to buy except for souvenirs and some counterfeits backpacks (which seems a good value for their workmanship) and sportswear.
Some reflections:
Cambodia indeed has a very sad and horrifying past during the Khmer Rouge regime. Now nearly 40 years on, Cambodians are trying very hard to move on. Nearly 2 millions lives were lost, which is around 1 in 4 of the population in Cambodia perished in this undesired regime that lasted nearly 4 years. According to reports, high ranking officials, civic servants, professionals etc., were killed and one could imagine how long it might take for a country like Cambodia to rebuild itself.
Pessimism aside, it is encouraging to see Cambodians picking themselves up--they are making English an important language of their lives, educational centres are sprouting up all around, and civilization and industrialization is becoming a part of the country. Things are looking bright and positive for Cambodia, and all fingers are crossed for this humble nation of the ASEAN countries.
